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Planning amendment certified

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The Associated Press

Published: June 24, 2009

TALLAHASSEE - A proposed Florida constitutional amendment that would give voters a say on how their communities grow, including such decisions as where shopping centers, homes and roads are built, will be on the 2010 ballot.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning on Monday declared Florida Hometown Democracy had collected the required number of signatures. He designated it Amendment 4.

The announcement culminated a four-year petition drive that began after the Florida Supreme Court blocked an earlier version in 2005. The justices, though, cleared the way for getting on the 2010 ballot by striking down a law that would have let voters revoke their signatures on citizen initiative petitions.

"It's been a lot of sweat and tears," said Palm Beach lawyer Lesley Blackner, who co-founded Hometown Democracy with Tallahassee lawyer Ross Burnaman. "It's been a crusade to get to this point."

If the proposal gets 60 percent approval at the polls, Hometown Democracy would require local referendums on changes to city and county comprehensive plans.

Business and development interests that opposed the petition drive will shift their focus to defeating the amendment at the polls. They say Hometown Democracy would slow growth and be a drag on Florida's already sagging economy.

Local government officials and the 1000 Friends of Florida have also opposed the amendment, although the environmental group is planning to reconsider its position.

Opponents have begun their own petition drive for a competing Smarter Growth amendment with a provision saying it would prevail if voters approve both.

Smarter Growth would require referendums on planning changes only if 10 percent of registered voters sign a petition within 60 days - and they'd be able to sign only at the supervisor of elections office.

4 amendments

Four amendments have been certified for Florida's 2010 ballot, with the first three proposed by the Legislature and the fourth through a petition drive:

Amendment 1: Would repeal a constitutional provision that requires public financing of campaigns for governor and the three Cabinet positions for those candidates who agree to spending limits.

Amendment 2: Would require the Legislature to provide an additional homestead property tax exemption by law for military personnel including reservists and National Guard members deployed in the previous year outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of military operations designated by the Legislature.

Amendment 3: Would lower the cap on property tax assessment increases on businesses and other non-homestead properties from 10 percent to 5 percent and require the Legislature to provide an additional homestead exemption for people who have not owned a principal residence during the preceding eight years.

Amendment 4: Would require voter approval of new city and county comprehensive plans or amendments to those plans.

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