This is a re-post of an article authored by Ryan Houck. I support VOTE No on 4. I understand the oppositions view point, but in my opinion the amendment is not designed to empower voters. It is designed to hand over power to special interest lawyers and hand us taxpayers the bill. The amendment needs to be better written in order to be acceptable. As it is now, it is like taking a machine gun to kill a flea (as quoted by the Fl Times Union), and I agree with them.
Amendment 4 will devastate Florida's economy. By costing jobs and contributing to our state's record unemployment, this ill-timed, misguided proposal has the capacity to crush what is left of Florida's economic future. According to a study conducted by The Washington Economics Group, Amendment 4 would likely cost Florida 267,247 jobs and reduce economic output by $34 billion annually. Consequently, business groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Economic Development Council are opposed to this amendment. Mark Wilson, President of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, stated, "If you like the recession, you'll love Amendment 4."
Amendment 4 will promote sprawl. Environmental groups, such as 1,000 Friends of Florida and the Florida Forestry Association, have expressed concern that Amendment 4 will actually serve to exacerbate the sprawling patterns of development it claims to remedy. They worry that, by making it more difficult to amend comprehensive plans, Amendment 4 will lock in place the poor planning decisions of the past, thereby making smart, well-coordinated growth impossible. 1,000 Friends of Florida cites "piecemeal planning, and the possibility of ‘planning gridlock'," as reasons for their opposition to the proposal.
Amendment 4 is poor public policy. For this reason, the Florida American Planning Association opposes the amendment. In fact, their website refers to Amendment 4 as "a single, expensive, and unwieldy solution to a complex and important set of issues." Under Amendment 4, Floridians would be forced to vote on hundreds, even thousands, of comprehensive plan amendments each year. According to the Department of Community Affairs Sunset Review, there were nearly 6,500 changes to local government comprehensive plans in fiscal year 2006-2007, and a 2003 Department of Community Affairs Program Summary reports 16,581 plan amendments in 1999.
Amendment 4 will delay community improvements. The WEG study states that Amendment 4 would "force local and state governments to either raise taxes or cut services." Ultimately, the study notes, "Public schools, public safety and local health care services would suffer from both the direct impact of Amendment 4 (delay construction until the next election) and the indirect impact of fewer tax revenues from which to fund needed operations and capital investments." As Floridians struggle to make ends meet, the last thing our state needs is a proposal which will delay the creation of much-need schools, hospitals, and fire stations. For this reason, the Florida School Boards Association opposes Amendment 4.
Amendment 4 will hurt Florida's working families. TheFlorida State Council of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, an AFL-CIO/CLC trade union, states "Amendment (4) poses a grave threat to Florida's unique quality of life, the stability of its communities, and the prosperity of its families..."
The coalition of opposition to Amendment 4 is virtually unprecedented in its diversity and scope because the threat of this proposal transcends traditional social and political boundaries. To learn more or to get involved, please visit www.florida2010.org, and remember, this November, VOTE NO on Amendment 4!
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