Background Info about Hometown Democracy

What is Hometown Democracy?
This amendment lets voters decide whether their city or county comprehensive land use plan will be changed or adopted. Currently, city and county commissions make those decisions.

One goal of Florida’s 1985 Growth Management Act is to encourage citizen participation. Some citizens are active in local planning; many more do not participate in the current process. The current process has failed Florida repeatedly. Florida’s Hometown Democracy Amendment will guarantee local “ownership” of community plans at the ballot box. Because Floridians are stuck with the consequences of comprehensive plan changes, it makes sense that they should have the final say over proposed changes that can determine the destiny of their communities for generations to come.

News articles
"Builders Back Rule Changing Amendment" (Tampa Tribune, September 27, 2006) http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBVNUA7LSE.html

"Lake responds to grass-roots growth appeal" (Orlando Sentinel, July 7, 2006) Opinion Column (you can go to http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com/ and click on Media...the link for this article on the Orlando Sentinel website has expired and you must now pay for the entire article)

Legal Cases

• City of Eastlake v. Forest City Enterprises, Inc., [426 US 668 or 96 S.Ct. 2358 or 49 L.Ed.2d 132], a 1976 decision, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of referenda to make local land use decisions, stating:
  Under our constitutional assumptions, all power derives from the people, who can delegate it to representative instruments which they create. See, E.g., The Federalist No. 39 (v. Madison). In establishing legislative bodies, the people can reserve to themselves power to deal directly with matters which might otherwise be assigned to the legislature.

• In 1983, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the use of referenda on proposed local land use changes in Florida Land Company v. City of Winter Springs [427 So.2d 170], stating:
  The concept of referendum is thought by many to be a keystone of self-government, and its increasing use is indicative of a desire on the part of the electorate to exercise greater control over the laws which directly affect them.

(NOTE: I tried to find nonbiased information but that is pretty difficult. This info page is meant to provide nonbiased background.)