May 29, 2010
This is one of the most important posts on this blog. It explains not only why St. Pete Beach's disastrous experiment with Hometown Democracy-style land use regulations is a clear example of the flaws in Amendment 4, but also explains in detail why comp plans should NOT be put on the ballot.
July 12, 2010
St. Pete Beach Did Not Circumvent the Growth Management Act
July 12, 2010
St. Pete Beach Did Not Circumvent the Growth Management Act
Hometown Democracy supporters often try to diminish the importance of St. Pete Beach to the Amendment 4 debate by arguing that the city circumvented Florida's Growth Management Act when it put citizen-initiated comp plan changes on the ballot before they were submitted to and approved by the city commission and state growth management officials (along with the public hearings that are part of that process). This blogpost explains why that argument is wrong.
May 31, 2010
Amendment 4 supporters repeatedly claim that Amendment 4 does not require special elections. This post explains why that claim is false and why cities can be forced to have special elections where comp plan changes are the only item on the ballot.
June 6, 2010
Amendment 4 supporters have claimed that Amendment 4 won't stop development because "lots of shovel-ready projects have already been approved." This post exposes the flaws in that argument and explains how businesses in St. Pete Beach have suffered as a result of its Amendment 4-style rules.
July 3, 2010
In this post I illustrate the far-ranging, unintended consequences of Amendment 4 by explaining how Amendment 4 will undermine the efforts of citizens and city officials to protect the beaches of St. Pete Beach from chronic erosion.
July 11, 2010
Most City Officials are not Crooks, they're Heroes!
Hometown Democracy folks argue that Amendment 4 is necessary to counteract corrupt local officials and to give people a voice, but most city officials are not corrupt, and most citizens have more power and voice than they realize...they simply need to use it!
May 9, 2010
Amendment 4 supporters claim that Hometown Democracy / Amendment 4 is necessary to prevent sprawl, but this post explains how Amendment 4 actually threatens to promote urban sprawl and counteract the efforts of urban planners to re-invent in improve Florida's infrastructure.
