Put people in charge of growth

Put people in charge of growth?

by Deborah Nelson
June 3, 2007

“It’s the merging of an elite group that makes its money off development, with elected officials who do their bidding…Honey, it’s just a bunch of good old boys in the back room, cutting deals.”

Florida Hometown Democracy founder Lesley Blackner,
on Florida’s growth management process

“If you all want to see what your future looks like, I suggest you get in the car and drive down to Tampa or Orlando,” guest speaker Lesley Blackner recently remarked at a Pensacola League of Women Voters forum.

The Palm Beach attorney was talking about Florida’s ever-increasing growth rate, which in some areas, has heralded unprecedented water shortages.

In 2003, Blackner formed the Florida Hometown Democracy movement as a response to development levels in Central and South Florida. The group proposes a Constitutional amendment that would require voter approval for Comprehensive Plan changes.

Comprehensive Plans are maintained by each county, to guide where growth and development will go.

Large-scale land use changes, such as the Jubilee subdivision slated for Pace, require a Comp Plan Amendment, if the land is not designated for such growth. County Commissioners hold final approval over Amendments, which must also be reviewed by Florida’s Department of Community Affairs.

The process was designed in 1985 to curb sprawl as Florida’s population expands. But lately, Blackner notes, South Floridians are beginning to eye the Panhandle, to escape overdevelopment.

“We’re now pushing 20 million in Florida, many of whom are coming to a neighborhood near you,” she remarks.

Blackner, who has described Florida’s legislature as “by, of and for developers,” believes the Comp Plan Amendment process is controlled by political, rather than community interests.

“The whole system has been hijacked by the most powerful crew out there, the developer money,” she contends. “I think really, it’s a charade. The commissioners have forgotten who they’re really [elected] for… Comp plans were supposed to protect Florida from overdevelopment and make sure the quality of life was maintained.”

The Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment would transfer that responsibility to voters.

“People feel powerless, but what better way to empower people than through the ballot box,” Blackner observes. “Isn’t that what America’s all about?”

Politics-based land planning, says Blackner, have left Central and South Florida developed beyond the capacities of roads, schools and water to support their populations.

Citizens may challenge Comp Plan changes, but rarely win in court.

“Miami-Dade is out of potable water,” Blackner notes. “But guess what? They keep building. They don’t stop…why is it so hard to fight city hall in court?”

Land use decisions, she notes, are local political issues that have a particularly direct impact on communities.

“The only job of local government is to protect the quality of life of the citizens,” she remarks. “These commissioners should not be approving a decision unless a determination is made they’re serving the public interest.”

But in the high-stakes building industry, that process is often influenced by big money politics.

“The whole system is just too susceptible to corruption,” Blackner remarks. “…they have construed the public interest as just keeping the growth machine going.”

Blackner’s efforts have not gone unnoticed in those quarters.

Last year, amending Florida’s Constitution became more difficult: it now requires 60 percent voter approval. Florida Hometown Democracy has been credited with inspiring that initiative -- some believe it was sponsored by the building industry preparing for the possibility of the Amendment making the 2008 ballot.

Blackner says her efforts are inspired by watching her childhood Jacksonville neighborhood be gradually bulldozed over.

“I’m not a radical,” she remarks. “I respect authority. My father was a Navy pilot and I’ve worked for [various judges]. I’m not a hippie or a radical.”

It’s time for Floridians to assume control over the State’s “postcard paradise,” she says, before it’s all paved over.

“The people should have the final say because, hey, the people are going to have to live with the consequences,” she notes.

Florida Hometown Democracy organizers have collected about half the required 611,000 Amendment petition signatures, and hope to make the 2008 ballot.

More information is available at www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.

Q&A with Lesley Blackner:

Q. Where is the Florida Hometown Democracy movement, progresswise, today?
A. We have collected over 300,000 petitions....we need 611,000 by the end of this year to make the 2008 ballot. Few have come from the Panhandle.

Q. Northwest Florida hasn’t yet experienced the mass development Central and South Florida have seen. Why should Panhandle residents be concerned about overdevelopment?
A. Folks should take a drive to the rest of Florida. It wasn't so very long ago that all of Florida was like the Panhandle. The Panhandle will be just like the rest of Florida if the developers have their way. It's just a matter of a few short years. Witness the change of St. Joe from a paper company to a development company.

Q. Growth requires new roads, schools and other public infrastructure. We hear much talk from local politicians about ‘making growth pay for itself,’ via measures like impact fees. Santa Rosa imposed a small roadway impact fee on developers (which they may defer for seven years), and recently tried (unsuccessfully) to raise sales taxes to pay for new roads. From your experience throughout the rest of Florida, can growth ever pay for itself?
A. The history of Florida has been that new development does not pay for itself and the costs are born by existing residents. The old timers see all the money going to pay for infrastructure and services for the newcomers. Meanwhile, the old timers see a decline in their quality of services. Given Floridians aversion to increased taxes I really doubt you will ever see growth pay its way. The more crowded a county becomes, the more expensive it is to live in. You see gas taxes and all sorts of assessments creep in...but you still have the endless backlog of infrastructure.

Q. Development is often described by local politicians as the only way to create ‘good paying jobs,’ and ‘expand the tax base’ to pay for services. This is a compelling argument considering the Pensacola Bay Area’s poor economy. How would you respond?
A. Please tell me where the "good paying jobs are" associated with endless construction. Construction workers are not at the top of the economic food chain...go out and look at a construction site. Now we see poorly paid immigrants doing many of the jobs. What sorts of salaries are they making? Just building more residential construction perpetuates the low wage cycle. Plus, you have to find the money to pay for all the new infrastructure.