Builders Block Aug/Sept 2009 : Page 1
The Official publicaTiOn Of The charlOTTe-DesOTO builDing inDusTry assOciaTiOn insiDe Sept. 23 Green Building Council Lunch Meeting Noon in the CDBIA Training Room RSVP to jennifer@cdbia.com Sept. 25 Building Industry Oversight Committee Meeting Sept. 26-27 Home&Garden Show Call (239) 466-6300 to Register. Oct. 3 Charlotte Harbor Challenge and Ultimate Rib Fest Oct. 6 GMM CDBIA and FHBA Governmental Affairs Chairman Suzanne Graham, Ameri- can Pest Control Management, with NAHB Past-Chairman Sandy Dunn, FHBA Director Don Wetherington and FHBA Senior Officer Michael Rahn. Five Reasons to Vote ‘No’on Amendment 4 1) Amendment 4 will leave LEVEL ONE Florida in a permanent recession. Designed to bring economic growth to a halt, Amendment 4 will solidify the loss of nearly 500,000 Florida jobs. Due to the expense, red-tape and uncertainty imposed by Amendment 4, new businesses will find it virtually impossible to move to Florida. Existing businesses will find it nearly impos- sible to grow and Florida’s working families will suffer the most. ® home water systems LEVEL TWO • $1,000 (FOUR AVAILABLE) 2) Amendment 4 has already failed miserably in one small, LEVEL THREE • $750 (10 AVAILABLE) Call (941) 625-0804 or click here for more about Sponsorship Opportunities. Florida town. In 2006, the small Pinel- las county town of St. Pete Beach adopted a local version of Amendment 4. The result has been economic collapse, an impossible growth-management process and endless litigation at taxpayer expense. When St. Pete Beach voters approved four pro-growth changes to their comprehensive plan, Amendment 4 lawyers sued to overturn the election. More than a year after voting to change their comprehensive plan, the people of St. Pete Beach are still defending their vote in court. St. Pete Beach is a town of only 10,000 voters and Amendment 4 has augusT/sepTember 2009 already cost its taxpayers over half-a-million dollars in legal fees. Imagine the extraordi- nary costs and litigation that would result if Amendment 4 is taken statewide. 3) Amendment 4 will turn our planning process into a political process, boosting the influence of special interest groups and side- lining ordinary citizens. Amendment 4 advocates do not want to empower vot- ers; they want to stop growth at any cost. Under their proposal, special interests on both sides of the development debate will gain influence at the expense of ordinary citizens. Rather than being compelled to compromise, interest groups will be encour- aged to draft the most extreme proposals and hire political consultants to sell them. Under Amendment 4, sound bites will have more influence than sound planning. 4) Amendment 4 will lead to ex- traordinary costs, disruption and disorder at the ballot box. Under Amendment 4, the taxpayers will be forced to fund expensive elections for every tech- Please See AMeND, Page .
Five Reasons To Vote 'No' On Amendment 4
1) Amendment 4 will leave Florida in a permanent recession.
Designed to bring economic growth to a halt, Amendment 4 will solidify the loss of nearly 500,000 Florida jobs. Due to the expense, red-tape and uncertainty imposed by Amendment 4, new businesses will find it virtually impossible to move to Florida.
Existing businesses will find it nearly impossible to grow and Florida’s working families will suffer the most.
2) Amendment 4 has already failed miserably in one small, Florida town. In 2006, the small Pinellas county town of St. Pete Beach adopted a local version of Amendment 4. The result has been economic collapse, an impossible growth-management process and endless litigation at taxpayer expense. When St. Pete Beach voters approved four pro-growth changes to their comprehensive plan, Amendment 4 lawyers sued to overturn the election. More than a year after voting to change their comprehensive plan, the people of St. Pete Beach are still defending their vote in court. St. Pete Beach is a town of only 10,000 voters and Amendment 4 hasAlready cost its taxpayers over half-a-million dollars in legal fees. Imagine the extraordinary costs and litigation that would result if Amendment 4 is taken statewide.
3) Amendment 4 will turn our planning process into a political process, boosting the influence of special interest groups and sidelining ordinary citizens. Amendment 4 advocates do not want to empower voters; they want to stop growth at any cost.
Under their proposal, special interests on both sides of the development debate will gain influence at the expense of ordinary citizens. Rather than being compelled to compromise, interest groups will be encouraged to draft the most extreme proposals and hire political consultants to sell them. Under Amendment 4, sound bites will have more influence than sound planning.
4) Amendment 4 will lead to extraordinary costs, disruption and disorder at the ballot box. Under Amendment 4, the taxpayers will be forced to fund expensive elections for every tech-Nical change to their local comprehensive plan. It would not be uncommon for voters to face 200 or 300 minor land use issues on a single ballot. If Amendment 4 had been law in 2006, the residents of Carrabelle—a small Franklin County town—would have voted 617 times!
5) Amendment 4 is opposed by a broad and diverse coalition. Over 135 organizations are opposing Amendment 4 for a variety of reasons. These organizations include: the Florida Chamber of Commerce, 1000 Friends of Florida, the Florida American Planning Association, the Florida League of Cities, the Florida State Council of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Florida Health Care Association.
