Old Florida fights back (When the Town Council is in cahoots with Big Developers)

[seafan]

Old Florida fights back

By NICK JOHNSON
December 25, 2007



Stephen J. Coddington, Times (2006)

Nestled along the northern banks of the Withlacoochee River just as it makes a final crawl to the Gulf of Mexico lies the village of Yankeetown, population about 760.
It's a snapshot of old Florida thrown into turmoil when residents found out their Town Council and developers had plans that could drastically change it.

"It would destroy the reason why I live here," Charlene Strong said.

.....

A majority of Yankeetown's voters passed a charter amendment making it the second municipality in Florida to require voter approval of any comprehensive plan changes.
The idea has been picking up steam as residents around the state see their local representation getting too cozy with developers. People who had never been to a city meeting find themselves organizing opposition groups and seeking more direct control over decisions that could change the landscape of their town.

In Yankeetown, the step toward a more direct local democracy came after the revelation that the town's representatives had been less than forthcoming about the large land development deal.

"It looked like they were trying to shoehorn the developers," said Ed Candela, a Town Council member.

.....

What followed was an outcry by residents alleging that their representatives had been holding secret meetings with the developers resulting in an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. So many people resigned from the Town Council that it was unable to hold a quorum, forcing then Gov. Jeb Bush to call for a special election to save the town's government from dissolving.

.....

The same idea is being pushed at the state level by the group known as Florida Hometown Democracy.
They are currently petitioning to have a measure put before voters in 2008 that would require resident approval of city or county comprehensive plan change.
"This whole movement is really born of frustration that our local governments don't really represent the people anymore; they too often represent the developers," said Lesley Blackner, president of Hometown Democracy.

.....

(Attorney Ken Weiss): "People are going to be fighting developers forever. The citizens have to win every fight; the developers only have to win once and the land is gone."

Bravo for Yankeetown!



Developers try to mislead signers of 2008 "Florida Hometown Democracy" ballot petition

[Lefta Dissenter]

1. Thank you for posting this!

Incredibly timely for issues I've been working on for the past year or so. :hi:

[madfloridian]

2. People are going to be fighting developers here forever....

And corporations to which Jeb turned over our state.

[Yuugal]

3. Good to see them fighting the good fight.

I recently moved to upstate NY but spent the first 42 years of my life on Long Island. It used to be so beautiful with tons of parks and lakes and streams and great coastal fishing and beaches. The developers completely built the island out until there wasn't a lot left. Every little piece of woods got a house plopped on it. The local govt's were always in cahoots with the developers who turned a really great place to raise kids into a sprawling, yawning suburban dungheap from shore to shore. My house required 7400 dollars a year in taxes and my sisters slightly larger house is now 13k for taxes. Thats more than my rent here on the house we have now.

You don't just get the over-development. You get to foot the tax bill too.

[malaise]

4. People are finally waking up

Great news!

[flashl]

5. K&R

[lostnfound]

6. Gov Reubin Askew knew the dangers of "representatives holding secret meetings"

and campaigned to get the Sunshine Amendment passed in 1976.
(Needless to say, he was a Democrat.)

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. That's the Florida experience, in a nutshell.

Except that in this case, Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement actually investigated the claims of ex parte communications and pushed out the sons of bitches. I guess I live in a county where the good ole boys have more power. I guess that makes sense, since they got away with helping steal the 2000 election.

Well done, Yankeetown!

[jackster]

8. BRAVO!

As a native Floridian from a neighboring county, I know Yankeetown and I'm finally seeing people all over Florida begin to stand up to the developers. My county, while recently thwarting the county commissioners plans for 1) a freaking BOMBING range from Eglin AFB and 2) a coal-powered energy plant and 3) a fancy resort and marina that would decimate one of the world's largest expanses of sawgrass is still strongly in the hold of the republicans and conservative democrats who've run the county ever since a cellulose mill opened there in 1955. Pollution is horrible, the beaches unfit for swimming, and the unemployment rates are high. They need jobs there but decent employers don't want to operate due to the pollution from the cellulose mill. They're decent people but uneducated and easily swayed by the far right. As I noted, there is hope. I truly believe that part of it is because they're seeing their sporting rights curtailed - in order to hunt, you have to join a hunting club that costs hundreds of dollars per year. Fish are disappearing. North Florida's abundant natural beauty is being fiddled with and these people aren't happy!