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Bob Rhodes discussed growth management policies
February 10, 2010
During a February 10, 2010 forum Bob Rhodes, a leading expert on growth management, described a controversial growth regulation amendment on the 2010 ballot as the “elephant in the growth management policy room.” This could radically change the way Florida regulates growth and development. Amendment 4 would require that all local government Comprehensive Plans and plan amendments be approved by voter referendum before becoming effective.
Amendment 4 would require all local government Comprehensive Plans and plan amendments be approved by voter referendum before becoming effective, part of a wider direct democracy movement that gives citizens a larger say in land-use planning. In what some described as a bid to “boost growth,” the Florida Legislature rolled back much of the state’s growth management laws in the past session. It was the latest move in debate that has raged for decades over the negative effects of unplanned growth.
Business groups insist continued development is necessary to revive the state’s moribund economy, while environmentalists point to the devastation to the Everglades, rivers and forests, as well as the huge number of empty, foreclosed developments blighting many metropolitan areas. Amendment 4 would require referendums at the local level for virtually every growth plan. Opponents say it would be costly and unworkable, strapping local leaders with lawsuits, while supporters stress the freedom it would give citizens over unresponsive bureaucracies.