Amendment 4: Power to the People

Guest Commentary by Gwen Azama-Edwards
Daytona Beach

Contact: 386-767-8847 Cell 386-453-4410

Floridians will get the chance Nov. 2 to give themselves new power and a new vote. Amendment 4, on the statewide ballot, is a nonpartisan citizens’ movement that will empower ordinary Floridians. It will give us a seat at the table — a vote — on issues that affect our community.

We all watch politicians approve new developments left and right, and we all watch tax dollars go to pay for schools, police, fire, water, sewer and roads for all these new developments, while our neighborhoods languish. Is a new development affordable to our community? We should get a vote before we’re forced to pay.

Amendment 4 — called Florida Hometown Democracy — will give us that vote. Under Amendment 4, citizens will have the opportunity to give a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down — the final say — when their local council or commission approves major development changes.

Politicians are still approving more development today, even though you drive around and see empty strip malls and foreclosed houses. Even if no one’s living or working in those ghost buildings, all of us in the county have to pay for the services, and that means higher sales and property taxes.

Study after study shows development doesn’t pay for itself; we taxpayers subsidize it. Things have been too cozy between Florida politicians and real-estate speculators. They busted the economy, ran off with the loot, and left us paying the bills. What we’re saying with Amendment 4 is: If it affects my home and my taxes, I want to vote on it. That’s just common sense.

Here’s how Amendment 4 will work: Local city or county commissions will study, hold public hearings, and vote on changes to the overall land-use plan (local comprehensive land-use plan) just like they do now. The new step is that once a commission approves a plan change, voters will get to approve or veto it at the next regularly scheduled Election Day. That’s it. If you agree with the commission’s decision, vote for it. If not, vote it down. No special elections required.

These comprehensive land-use plans are designed to guide future growth, and there is plenty of land in these plans set aside for building now and into the future (and that means jobs, too). In fact, all the plans in Florida combined have enough land set aside for enough building to quadruple our current state population.

Under Amendment 4, we’ll hold a vote only when someone insists on building outside the plan’s already approved areas. That makes sense, because everyone in the city or county has to pay tax money to extend services to developments that are outside of our planned growth boundaries. Amendment 4 applies only to changes to the overall comprehensive land use plan. It doesn’t require votes on minor changes like rezonings, variances, or set backs.

Voters won’t vote on every new grocery store or car lot, but will get to vote when politicians decide to change farmland to apartments, or turn a residential area into a commercial zone, for example. After all, when it comes to our homes and our communities, these should be our choices!

— Azama-Edwards is a retired Daytona Beach city clerk and former Daytona Beach city commissioner. She hosts the Truth Radio Show on Goliath Radio, and is president and CEO of A-E Enterprises Inc.