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> Home > Our Priority Issues > The Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment The Florida Hometown Democracy AmendmentHelp citizens solve traffic gridlock problems. Learn more August 25, 2009 -- the Jacksonville City Council approved a resolution to oppose Amendment 4. The vote was taken without discussion or comment. The resolution was sponsored by City Council President Dan Davis, who, coincidently, is Executive Director of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, which opposes the amendment. Please read the new article below: Myths of Amendment 4 Build support for Amendment 4 with these resources: Talking Points Please print and distribute these handouts: flyer 4 quarter page handouts help pass Amendment 4 in November 2010 How many times in the past years have you driven by a forest cut to the ground for new homes, seen a waterway polluted by sediment and run-off, been stuck in traffic gridlock, seen neighborhoods turned into strip shopping centers. Do you wonder what happened to the deer, otters, birds that used to live in the woods near your home? Is the only green space around you filled with For Sale signs? Do you ask yourself why your taxes are so high; your schools are so overcrowded when our leaders pronounce that growth is good for our state? You are not alone in asking questions with few answers. The statistics on Florida's growth woes are frightening. Citizens everywhere in the state are asking questions about how much they are expected to endure in their community. Where is the planning to control growth and protect the environment? Florida state law requires that each county have a Comprehensive Plan - a plan for a county's growth that will ensure adequate roads, schools, and provide conservation of the environment and natural resources. While these plans are in place, they have a loophole large enough to put an entire new city of homes into - often several thousand homes in one vote. In our fair cities and counties, lawmakers are giving in to developers' whims by simply amending the Comprehensive Plan at every turn - often more than one hundred times in one month! - rendering the plan completely ineffective and meaningless. But we have the power to change this unchecked, unreasoned growth. It's all included in the Hometown Democracy Amendment - a chance for all the citizens of a community to vote when a change to the Comprehensive Plan is proposed. Changes to the comprehensive plan of our county would be done in an orderly way. Planners would review the proposed changes, elected councilmen would have a chance to comment and hold hearings but in the end the voters would approve or deny the changes. Rivals say it would be cumbersome. Obviously, with time, as the population of Florida changes, the Plan will need to be changed. But there's already a provision for that in the Florida state law. The Plan is reviewed and amended every 10 years. The only reason to not support the Hometown Democracy Amendment is if you like seeing unchecked urban sprawl; if you like to sit in traffic on a road that wasn't built for the proper capacity in time; if you enjoy seeing wildlife suffer because there isn't any place else for them to go.
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