Amendment 4 is a citizen initiated constitutional amendment in the state of Florida. If passed, the amendment would require that any changed to local land-use plans be approved by voters instead of county and city commissioners. A yes vote, approves the constitutional change. A no vote rejects it.

Yes on Amendment 4: Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 is a citizen-initiated referendum to amend the state constitution to allow voters to determine how their communities develop.

Instead of relying on elected officials to determine future growth, Amendment 4 puts that duty directly in the hands of voters. A simple explanation is that if passed, the amendment will give citizens the right to approve or deny proposed changes to their comprehensive plans approved by their local officials.

There has been a lot of misinformation spread by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Home Builders Association about Amendment 4 such as the warning that citizens will have to “vote on everything.”

This is simply not the case. Zoning and variance issues would not fall under the scope of this amendment. Only changes to the land use element first approved by local officials would be subject to a vote.

Material circulated first by developer-backed Save Our Constitution, Inc. and now by Floridians for Smarter Growth and their new incarnation, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, deceptively describe the amendment as putting land use changes “in the hands of special interest groups.”

They mean you – Florida voters who care about their quality of life.

They compare Amendment 4 to the ballot initiative passed in St. Pete Beach and this is also misleading. In the case of St. Pete Beach, the land use issues were put directly to a vote before they went through the public hearing process or were voted on by elected officials and completely circumvented the growth management process mandated by the state.

The prediction that if Amendment 4 passes, the construction industry and our economy will come to a grinding halt does not take into account the already approved residential densities, industrial and economic centers and commercial land allocations already existing on comprehensive plans throughout the state. Right now, our city and county land use plans have, on the books, designations that allow development for over 100 million people. Florida’s current population is about 18 million; tens of thousands of empty homes have yet to be sold.

Opponents also assume that the electorate will reject every proposed change. That is an assumption that cannot be predicted.

What opponents are really saying is that they want to continue the status quo of exerting influence over elected officials, maintain their much-too-cozy relationship with them and bypass the people most affected by reckless overdevelopment. The status quo that the development industry is so desperate to protect has resulted in clogged highways, overcrowded schools and strained natural resources, including water shortages that have prompted watering restrictions and overpumping of groundwater.

Amendment 4 puts the power of protecting neighborhoods from costly and unwanted growth back in the hands of the people.

No on Amendment 4: Waiting on a response from No on Amendment 4