On May 3, the Gainesville Alachua County Association of Realtors and League of Women Voters hosted a Town Hall Meeting to discuss Amendment 4, a land-use amendment that will be on the ballot in November. The four-person panel of speakers included opponents of the amendment local environmentalist Rob Brinkman; Adam Babington, the legislative counsel for the Florida Chamber of Commerce; and the proponents, Earl Starnes, a professor emeritus of Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Florida; and Ross Burnaman, the co-author of the amendment.
The proponents of Amendment 4 claim that the additional public referendum for any changes to a city or county’s local comprehensive plan will “get a handle on the overdevelopment and the lack of public participation in our planning process." Babington explained that Amendment 4 would politicize the planning process, forcing all development proposals to include a costly political campaign. He believes this will kill growth, lead to higher taxes and fewer jobs, and ultimately make the current recession permanent. Both of the opponents recognized the flaws in Florida’s comprehensive planning but believe Amendment 4 is not the answer. “It’s difficult to have an overall scheme for how our communities will grow,” Babington said, “if each piece of the puzzle is subject to a political process like Amendment 4.”
Brinkman argued that restrictions to local comprehensive plans will make it difficult to build lasting communities.
"We need to make sustainable communities for future generations,” Brinkman said. “If we freeze ourselves in place, we will not be able to build those sustainable communities.”
An Economic Impact Analysis of the proposed Amendment 4 on the economic development of Florida by Washington Economics Group Inc. found that 106,652 to 267,247 jobs will be lost, which will result in a $1.6 billion to $4.1 billion loss in tax revenue for the state.
Read the Florida Chamber's stance on Amendment 4.Read more about Amendment 4.