Opposing viewpoints to speak on the Hometown Democracy amendment at public forum

SARASOTA, FL (November 1, 2007) – USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Institute for Public Policy and Leadership (IPPL) will be hosting an open forum on Thursday, Nov. 8 from 10:00 a.m. to noon to discuss a proposed constitutional amendment that could alter the way local government decides important growth issues.

The Hometown Democracy forum is free and open to the public, and will feature opposing viewpoints from Ross Burnaman, a Tallahassee attorney who is co-author of the Hometown Democracy initiative, and Ryan Houck, executive director of Floridians for Smarter Growth, a consortium of business interests organized to defeat the amendment.  The event will be held in the Selby Auditorium on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, located at 8350 N. Tamiami Trail.

The Hometown Democracy campaign is collecting signatures on petitions calling for a vote by the people any time any city or county government decides to alter its plan regulating growth. Hometown Democracy advocates must collect 611,000 signatures by Feb. 1 to qualify the amendment for the fall 2008 ballot.

If approved, the amendment would require local governments to submit to the people any proposed change to their comprehensive plans. Such plans are required by state law to guide elected officials in considering future land uses, such as new residential developments, new or widened roads, school sites and commercial or office districts. Currently, most city and county commissions in Florida have the power to approve changes to their plans by a simple majority vote. 

Hometown Democracy advocates say the amendment is needed to rein in runaway growth that threatens to overwhelm what remains of Florida’s natural beauty.  Opponents say it is a stealth plan to stifle growth by creating gridlock in the land-use-planning process, which they say would devastate Florida’s growth-dependent economy. The proposed amendment is regarded as a defining moment in state policy-making history, with far-reaching consequences if 60 percent of Florida’s voters approve it.

To reserve a spot at the event, please register at www.sarasota.usf.edu/ippl or call 941-359-4602.  For more information, call Donna Fitzpatrick-Conard 941-359-4774.