New Florida State-wide Petition drive to begin

The most respected environmental groups in Florida have joined hands to push for a constitutional amendment in order to dedicate and protect money geared towards conservation projects, drinking water supplies and restore the Everglades:  Trust for Public Land, Audubon Florida, Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, 1000 Friends of Florida, and Defenders of Wildlife.

A portion of the Doc stamp revenue has been used to pay off bond debt but also to support the land Acquisition Trust Fund for public recreation and conservation. Some of the bonds will be paid off in 2013 and this group fears that the freed up money will be allotted to the general fund instead of environmental projects such as the Everglades restoration and wildlife habitats unless it is protected in the Florida Constitution.

They need to gather 676,811 signatures from registered Florida voters by next year's general election. As we all know how hard it is to petition, those who would like to volunteer or who want to support the measure can visit FloridaWaterLandLegacy.org,, call 850-629-4656, or email campaign@FloridaWaterLandLegacy.org .

Watchdog of Growth Management in Florida, John DeGrove

With all the work on giving people a say and local governments control over future development, Governor Rick Scott wiped it all away with a flash of a pen.

Department of Community Affairs founder, John DeGrove just passed away. He was responsible for the 1985 Growth Management Act and the State Comprehensive Plan. All developers were required to meet certain standards of local governments and meet concurrency before any development was approved. DeGrove was also one of the advisers in developing the national and internationally acclaimed five water districts and was a founder of 1000 Friends of Florida.

Read about him in The Palm Beach Post.

HB 7207 - Jeff Clemens gets one right

Comment Up
On an 87 to 31 vote, HB 7207 was passed by the Florida House. It also passed in the Senate. This is a vote that Rep. Jeff Clemens got right...he voted NO to passage of the Bill.

Evelyn Duplecy, District Secretary on his Staff, called late this morning to confirm his vote. When asked for his reasons, she said it was " because it is a "bad bill" and then reminded me that I can find all the outcomes of the votes on-line. This Bill was voted on Saturday and the final votes are not recorded there as yet. I want to give Rep. Clemens credit when it is due. I agree that it was a "bad" Bill but the Republicans have taken over all common sense when it comes to Florida.

HB 7207 is the "Growth Management" Bill that dissolved the Department of Community Affairs. 1000 Friends of Florida and the Wildlife Federation wrote a letter to Gov. Scott that said, “It would undermine 35 years of thoughtful statewide growth management policies.”

What the Bills says:
Redesignates "Local Government Comprehensive Planning & Land Development Regulation Act" as "Community Planning Act"; revises & provides intent & purpose of act; revises definitions; revises scope of act; revises & provides duties of local governments & municipalities relating to comprehensive plans; deletes retroactive effect; encourages local governments to apply for certain innovative planning tools; authorizes state land planning agency & other appropriate state & regional agencies to use direct & indirect technical assistance, etc.

Effective Date: upon becoming a law

You Must have "Standing" so say the Judges

Appeals court sanctions environmental groups in land-use case

December 14, 2010
By: Bruce Ritchie of Florida Tribune

A state appeals court ruled on Tuesday that environmental groups must pay the attorneys fees of Martin County, the Florida Department of Community Affairs and development interests for appealing a land-use case.

Richard Grosso, an attorney for the groups 1000 Friends of Florida and the Martin County Conservation Alliance, says the ruling sets a chilling precedent for groups that seek to enforce state growth management laws.

To read the rest of the article, CLICK HERE and scroll down.

Growth Lobbyists have stuck their middle finger in the eye of the voters

Wonks Are Just Shocked That Anyone Supports Amendment 4.

The “Hometown Democracy” amendment is a terrible idea, and I’m voting for it .State and local governments have made an absolute mess of growth management.

This “management” consists mainly of a war of attrition between a developer and the nearby neighborhoods, and inevitably the developers, with their full-time professionals and pockets of capital, outlast the amateur citizens who have to dig into their own pockets to defend their interests.

The Chamber of Commerce and the real estate industry are running expensive PR campaigns to persuade people the economy will collapse if Amendment 4, “Hometown Democracy,” passes. Hey, guess what?

The economy collapsed BEFORE this thing passed — thanks to growth run amok.

The goal of the amendment is not to have people vote on all the changes to plans. The goal is to force governments to create good plans and stick to them. The Chamber says there are 10,000 changes to land-use plans every year, and they’d all need to be voted on. 10,000! That’s not a plan. That’s a developer playground.

That’s a reason to support Amendment 4, notoppose it.

Call me irresponsible. I expect the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Realtors and St. Joe and lots of others will. Under their Orwellian name of “Floridians for Smarter Growth,” they are just shocked, shocked that anyone can support this initiative.

All the wonky “policy” people I know are horrified that growth management may be taken away from, well, the wonky people who have been screwing it all up.

The environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida, which had opposed Hometown Democracy for a long time, has changed its mind. The polls say it’s close, but the business crowd has done its work and scared a lot of peopleaway. Every vote will matter.

Clear-cutting trees, backed-up intersections, flyovers, the ridiculous traffic patterns around our interstates, crowded classrooms, growing costs of keeping up with infrastructure — all have roots in bad growth management.

Slow down development, and our communities will be more livable and our property values will recover faster.

In Tallahassee, some one said we already have more public hearings than the law requires.

Repeated public hearings are stupid. It’s just another way to wear down citizens, who shout and scream and maybe get a “compromise” that the developers expected in the first place, while elected officials take a walk and avoid responsibility.

An army of well-paid professionals represents developers for as long as it takes to get the project through, while neighbors have to dig into savings and take time off from work or family to mount an opposition.

It’s not a fair system. It just isn’t.

The past four years, with Hometown Democracy chugging toward the ballot, gave those “Smarter Growth” developers plenty of time to produce a credible alternative. Tom Pelham, the head of the state’s growth-planning agency who knows what a mess we have, proposed one. But the Legislature, two-thirds Republican and enriched by campaign contributions from the real-estate industry, neutered what was left of state growth-man­agement after Gov. Jeb Bush and even refused to extend the life of Pelham’s agency.

The growth lobbyists don’t want “smarter growth.” They want growth, period. Instead of looking for “smarter management” of growth, they just stuck their middle finger in the eye of the voters.

So there’s only one last chance to bring them to heel: Amendment 4.

Yes, referendums on growth plans are a terrible idea. It’s not the way we should govern ourselves. But what else can you do?

Worry not: The system eventually will find a way to survive with Hometown Democracy. Nothing has ever thwarted the development industry in Florida, and this won’t either. Vote for Amendment 4?

Call me irresponsible.

I call it irresistible.

Neil Skene

President of 1000 Friends of Florida speaks to Florida's Woes

Letters to the Editor for Monday, Oct. 25
The Palm Beach Post

According to news reports, Rick Scott would support eliminating the state's land planning agency, the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA). He claims, "It's really impacted people that want to build things; it's really killing jobs." House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, concurs, noting that DCA's functions could be distributed to other agencies.

Everyone should be sensitive to the need to create and maintain jobs. But blaming DCA for this state's economic woes is tragically misguided.

Since January 2007, DCA has approved comprehensive plan amendments that allow for 558,400 additional residential units and 1.43 billion square feet of nonresidential space, all of which remains unbuilt. On top of this, Florida is among the top three states in number of foreclosures, and has an existing vacant housing inventory of between 300,000 and 400,000 units.

What is really killing jobs in Florida is the fact that with so many vacant dwellings on the market, lenders are understandably unwilling to finance new construction. Once the economy rebounds and the inventory of overbuilt housing is sold, then there is plenty of opportunity for builders to construct the dwelling units and offices already approved by local governments and DCA.

While some candidates are channeling the rage felt by builders and developers, they fail to recognize the level of anger of average citizens who are fed up with the overcrowded roads and schools, sprawling development and degraded natural areas. Widespread public support for Amendment 4, which would require voter approval of each local comprehensive plan amendment, is but one manifestation.

Florida's growth-management laws help to protect sensitive natural areas from inappropriate development and rural areas from sprawling over-development, provide for greater coordination between local governments, balance local issues with state legislative priorities, require that infrastructure be in place to support new development and require citizen participation in the development review process. If Florida loses DCA or key portions of its growth-management laws, all of this could be in jeopardy.

CHARLES PATTISON

Tallahassee

Editor's note: Charles Pattison is president of 1000 Friends of Florida, which advocates for growth management.

1000 Friends of Florida changes position on Amendment 4

Comment Up
1000 Friends of Florida Announces Neutral Position on Amendment 4, Florida Hometown Democracy

September 13, 2010

After much debate and careful consideration, 1000 Friends of Florida has refined its position on Amendment 4 and is now taking a neutral position on Florida Hometown Democracy. On the ballot this November, the proposed constitutional amendment would require that local voters approve any amendments to their local comprehensive plans.

“The Board still believes that there are flaws with Amendment 4,” notes 1000 Friends of Florida Chairman Emeritus Nathaniel Reed. “However, we also recognize that the on-the-ground results of the existing growth management system are far from perfect and need major improvement,” he explains. “Amendment 4 may be the catalyst that is needed to promote positive change.”

Since the amendment was first announced, the Board of Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida has been on record as not supporting it for a host of reasons. However, given the unwillingness of some local governments and the Florida Legislature to address serious shortcomings with Florida’s existing growth management system, the Board now is taking a neutral position on Amendment 4.

The built vacant housing inventory in Florida hovers between 300,000 and 400,000 dwelling units, and the Department of Community Affairs indicates that over the last two years an additional 600,000 dwelling units and 1 billion square feet of non-residential office and institutional space have been approved but not yet constructed.

“1000 Friends certainly understands the need to create construction and other jobs for Floridians,” 1000 Friends Board President Victoria Tschinkel explains. “But in light of such dramatic existing and proposed overdevelopment , this excess capacity will provide construction and related jobs for Floridians for years to come, whether or not the amendment passes.”

“We urge Florida’s voters to carefully evaluate 1000 Friends’ attached analysis, other information, and their local and state growth management experiences when voting on this important constitutional amendment,” says 1000 Friends President Charles Pattison.

Should Amendment 4 pass, 1000 Friends will work with state and local leaders and citizens to help establish a fair and equitable new process. Should Amendment 4 fail, 1000 Friends resolves to work with the same parties toward meaningful reform to Florida’s growth management process.

“Whatever the outcome in November, Florida cannot return to ‘business as usual,’” states Reed. “The recent economic crisis has proven all too clearly that a growth- and development-driven economy is costly, shortsighted, and untenable over the long haul.

1000 Friends of Developers

Comment Up
It’s not news that 1000 Friends of Florida declines to support Amendment 4 (popularly known as Florida Hometown Democracy), the November ballot issue that gives voters veto power over changes to their local comprehensive land-use plans.

1000 Friends of Florida announced that position many months ago. Indeed, because almost all the Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida are developers, politicians, and paid consultants to developers and politicians -- and the organization’s big donations largely come from the development industry, the only real news would be if they supported Amendment 4.

Amendment 4 is of course strongly opposed by most developers and politicians -- individuals who don’t want their trading of favors disrupted by a voter veto.

It cannot be disputed that 1000 Friends of Florida is heavily influenced by developers and politicians. Many of the biggest contributors and sponsors of 1000 Friends of Florida are large developers as well as major firms that are consultants and attorneys for developers. Their donor list is a virtual Who’s Who of the Florida development industry.

It includes developers St. Joe Company, Babcock Properties, Baldwin Park Development Company, A. Duda & Sons, and Harmony Development Company; planning firms Glatting Jackson and WilsonMiller; engineers PBSJ; economists for developers Fishkind & Associates; and the following big developer law firms: Ruden McClosky, Greenberg Traurig, Cobb Cole and , Fowler White Biggs and Bryant Miller.

Other major donors include Mosaic Phosphate Company, FPL, and Nestle Waters North America, as well as the Florida Homebuilders Association, the Florida Association of Realtors, The Florida League of Cities, and a subsidiary of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. This is just a small portion of the development interests who are donors to 1000 Friends – the full list is a matter of record.

Perhaps even better at explaining the group’s opposition to Amendment 4 is the fact that almost all the Board of Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida are real estate developers, consultants to developers, and politicians. It's understandable that the group would side with the developers and politicians, who form their Board of Directors and are their big contributors, on a matter that most developers and politicians strongly oppose, but "understandable" doesn't make their position on Amendment 4 right.

By contrast, Amendment 4 has on its side numerous environmental, homeowner, neighborhood, and other community organizations that are not unduly influenced by developers and politicians, including The Florida Sierra Club and its local groups, Florida Wildlife Federation, Environment Florida, Florida Public Interest Research Group, Florida Consumer Action Network, Alliance To Protect Water Resources, Environmental & Land Use Law Center Save The Manatee Club, Student Environmental Association, and Wetlands Alert, as well as many local Audubon groups. The full list is available at Florida Hometown Democracy.

Amendment 4 takes control of the future of our communities away from the developers and politicians, and puts it back where it belongs, in the hands of the people. Considering the sprawl, traffic congestion, tax hikes, environmental destruction, and economic collapse that over-development has brought to Florida under the control of the developers and the politicians, "the apostles of greed," the people can most likely do a better job.

Muriel Riles

Editor's Note: Many members of 1000 Friends of Florida on an individual basis support Florida Hometown Democracy

Florida Hometown Democracy meeting in West Palm Beach

Today's theme was Give Yourself a Vote on Growth.

In the foreground, Katie Mcgiveron of Lake Worth, Chair of Save Our Neighborhood, Inc. Political Action Committee and Vice President of her neighborhood association, Residents of Lake Osborne Heights. Drew Martin, Executive Committee of the Sierra Club Loxahatchee and Supervisor of the PB County Soil and Water Conservation District 2 was also among the attendees.

Others there were people very much involved and dedicated to saving our great State and our home values: former elected officials, folks who had run for elected office, attorneys, news editor, Al Forman who writes the Martin County Defender, and Lesley Blackner, founder of Florida Hometown Democracy to name a few.

I thought the meeting was for south Florida but it only included people from Broward, Martin and Palm Beach Counties. Needless to say, no one in the building profession was there...no developers, no planners, no one from the Chamber of Commerce...no one trying to ruin our State by claiming that development is our only way out of our problems. Reality has proved that over-development has been the cause of our problems and not the solution.

Our goal for this year is to spread the word to Vote Yes for Amendment 4 in 2010 in order to save our quality of life, our home values, our wildlife and our future. Please help us out by going to our newly designed web site, Florida Hometown Democracy.

Also, all of you in the Stuart area, we will be attending the Florida Hometown Democracy meeting in association with The Martin County Consensus, Inc. at the Armstrong Wing of the Blake Library, 2351 Monterey Road, Stuart on October 26 at 6pm. Not only will Lesley Blackner be speaking but Nathaniel Reed, Chairman and Founder of 1000 Friends of Florida. The meeting is free to the public. Hope to see you there.

Let's start making some Sense

Gov. Crist said, "stick it in your ear" to the taxpayers when he signed SB 360. Right now, the Bill is being scrutinized by the eight counties and the 240 cities that will be affected by this Bill and how roads will be paid, by whom and who exactly has oversight for development projects.


A project in southern Palm Beach County. Will the developer pay for these roads? This Bill favors the very people who created the problems in the State.

The Sierra Club says:

West Palm Beach is the fourth most "sprawl-threatened" medium-sized city in the nation. According to the Surface Transportation Policy Project, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton is the seventh most dangerous large metropolitan area in the country for pedestrians, due in large part to its sprawling development patterns.

The American Farmland Trust says:

It identified the Florida Everglades and associated area as the sixth most threatened prime farmland in the nation, due to the impacts of sprawling urban development.

Read what 1000 Friends of Florida say about smart growth.

I can agree with former P&Z Chair and current CRA member when he says to channel new growth to developed areas on the coast and revive our older communities. Building up is fine too as long as we do not get Miami Beach or Fort Lauderdale in Lake Worth and we can support the increased population and the stress on our resources--more people, more consumption and we are running out of water. This is the challenge.

We just don't trust developers and why should we? We don't trust politicians when they go around our own Comp Plan. We don't trust them when they give grants to developers for failed projects. We certainly don't trust them when they are allowed to build a building like The Lucerne. And we don't trust them when they say build 100 feet or higher just so that they (the developer) can make more money.

We wanted to live here, a smaller city, but compromise is in order. What worries many of us is the "growth at any cost attitude" that we feel developers and certain city officials have had for way too long. It is time, once again, for communication here in our City. The City of Lake Worth's Comprehensive Plan is now in its final stages and the desires of all our citizens are important. Let's get it right and let's get going. Maybe we can do a better job for our own city than Gov. Crist did for the State with his passing of SB 360.

Let's put land use changes in the hands of the voters. We really do need Florida Hometown Democracy.