Keys proposal shows why Amendment 4 needed

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Guest Column

Keys proposal shows why Amendment 4 needed

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Should that little piece of paradise known as Wisteria Island off Key West be paved into 75 units and lots of retail? Right now, three votes by Monroe County commissioners are all it would take.

But that should change in November, because Amendment 4 is on the ballot. Amendment 4 would give voters the right to decide if a proposed change to community plans is worthwhile for a community. Under Amendment 4 to the state Constitution, Monroe County voters would have the final say over Wisteria Island.

Right now, politicians have exclusive control over changes to your community's long-range growth blueprint, called a local comprehensive plan. Under Amendment 4, your city or county commission would study, hold public hearings and vote on proposed changes to the overall land-use plan just like they do now. The new step would be that once a commission approves a plan change, voters would get to approve or veto it on the next regularly scheduled Election Day. That's it. No special elections required.

What would it cost Monroe County taxpayers to run services and infrastructure out to Wisteria Island? No doubt many millions. Since voters have to pay taxes to extend the schools, police, fire, water, sewer and roads for all these new developments that politicians keep approving, citizens need to vote on it. Is a new development affordable for our community? We should get a vote since we are the ones who must pay sales and property taxes to support new development. Even when developments sit empty, taxpayers still foot the bill for the infrastructure.

Do the Keys need even more over-development that is not part of the comprehensive plan? The Keys are Exhibit A for the need to control development and protect the region's unique, fragile ecosystems. Over and over, history has demonstrated that local officials are too often incapable of protecting Florida from insane overdevelopment.

The truth is that our homes and our communities are just too important to leave in the hands of politicians and lobbyists. Florida ranks as the No. 1 state in America for public corruption, according to a new New York Times analysis of federal statistics. From 1998 to 2007, 824 Florida politicians were convicted of public corruption -- about seven a month for 10 years straight.

Of course, people who profit from the status quo are terrified of Amendment 4. The very people who turned Florida into a bubble and crashed it with overbuilding are in full spin mode. They will say just about anything to preserve a bankrupt status quo that works for them but does not work for Floridians.

Immunize yourself now from the coming tide of misinformation. Amendment 4 would apply only to changes to the community's overall comprehensive land-use plan, a long-term blueprint that should be changed very carefully and with community input. Amendment 4 wouldn't require votes on minor changes like rezonings, variances or individual development approvals.

On Nov. 2, we will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for real change that can break through the corruption and sweetheart dealings that are costing all Floridians. Get the facts about Amendment 4 at www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.

Editor's note: Since the Keys are designated an Area of Critical State Concern, the County Commission would not get final say over plans for Wisteria Island; that would fall to the state Department of Community Affairs.