Mark Teaters and Patricia Humphries of HOAGG
Florida Hometown Democracy
| Greetings folks at Homeowners Association of Golden Gate Estates! We’re reaching out to you as leaders of your local community organization to introduce you to Amendment 4/ Florida Hometown Democracy. It is a non-partisan process and simply the most important issue for taxpayers and homeowners on the November 2010 ballot....- a return of power to the people.
Overdevelopment has crashed Florida’s economy, driven up our property taxes, driven down our home values, and
degraded our wonderful Floridian quality of life. Amendment
4, when passed, will empower local voters to have “a seat at the table” – by letting
them actually vote to approve or veto proposed changes to their community’s comprehensive
growth plan, changes that can drastically alter our communities
forever.
Irresponsible
development can profoundly change the character of our community, so we
deserve a say in these questions—it’s our homes, our taxes, and our quality
of life. We have learned the hard way that decisions that will affect
the future of our community or neighborhood are too important to leave solely
in the hands of our elected officials.
In a nutshell, if you're not familiar with Amendment 4: If a development like a Wal-Mart, a subdivision, or strip mall is planned to be built but is not compatible with your local master land use plan, (comprehensive plan) voters would get to vote yes or no on the proposed change after your elected commission says ‘yes’. The vote would occur at the next regularly scheduled election--no expensive special elections are required.
As you might imagine we face formidable opposition to this very powerful reform. Led by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the politically connected development community will say anything to convince people to vote against Amen.4. We need civic-minded people like you and your group to help us get the truth out and to spread the word to vote YES on Amendment 4!
For
more information, or for a speaker at one of your upcoming meetings, please
reply to us as soon as possible. Barbara Herrin FHD Deputy Treasurer PO Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170-0636. |