On November 2, 2010, Floridians will be asked to vote on Constitutional Amendment #4, which says any changes in a local government’s comprehensive plan affecting zoning will require the majority of the local electors to approve the referendum. In layman’s terms, Amendment #4 will require the people to vote on every land use change in a county if they want to do something other than what was planned as far back as 20 years ago. In a county the size of Lake, it would not be uncommon to have hundreds if not a thousand minor zoning changes to vote on each year.
There has been a lot of noise on both sides of the issue, as the anti-growth lobbyists say this will control sprawl while business groups warn against massive jobs losses in Florida and the burden on voters. On Tuesday night, May 11, 2010, at a city commission meeting in Leesburg, Florida, the clearest example of the dangers that Amendment #4 will pose was on the agenda. Under public hearings on the agenda, Christian Worship Center had two items which dealt with annexing 4.3 acres into the city, one item amending the comprehensive plan, and one item seeking to rezone the 4.3 acres. These four separate items required votes from the commission, so it is unclear in an Amendment #4 environment if the voters would have to vote on each one.
The Christian Worship Center was opened January 2000 by Pastor John Christian and his wife, Pastor Constance Poitier Christian, and this church has become one of the leading places of worship in the Leesburg African-American community. Pastor Christian’s outreach has become so popular that he’s been elected to the Leesburg City Commission where he has served as Mayor on several occasions. Because of Pastor Christian’s commission connections, he abstained from all voting on the property matters, but the changes in annexation, comprehensive plan, and zoning all received unanimous support by the other commission members despite acrimony on a previous issue on the agenda. With these approvals from the City of Leesburg, the Christian Worship Center plans to expand their church, offer an assisted living facility, and expand their recreational area. Later in the process, the church hopes to open a thrift store and beauty shop to serve the needs of its community.
For the sake of discussion, imagine if Pastor Christian had decided to wait one year to expand his church and Amendment #4 passes in November. What would he have to do in May 2011 to make these changes to his church? First and foremost, he must gain the necessary approvals from the City of Leesburg and any other government agency required in the building process. Amendment #4 does not eliminate any steps in the building process; rather, it adds to them.
Next, Pastors John and Constance Christian would have to place their request among hundreds of others on the ballot for November 2012. Yes, a year and a half later because Leesburg does not have off year elections. In the meantime, the Christians would have to spend huge amounts of money to ensure voters support their referendum while the needs of their church and community go un-served. The fight for most referendums in a post Amendment #4 will be the automatic NO that will be cast by many in the electorate who do not understand the issues.
Let’s take Pastor Christian’s scenario one more rung up the imagination ladder, but let’s add some conflict. Say the large, old Church of Leesburg didn’t want its thrift shop to compete with the Christian Worship Center’s new thrift shop, and its Pastor told their members to vote against the land change. This large church could vote down the small church and in essence ruin a tremendous outreach program as well as limit its competition. Also, what if there is a racial component to any issue? There’s no doubt that if Amendment #4 is passed, there will be groups who will abuse the rules to their advantage.
When asked about the perils of Amendment #4, Pastor John Christian said:
“As a community leader, many residents in my district will be disengaged in a voting process to approve pieces of land that have little immediate impact on their lives. This leaves me to wonder if only a few people will make decisions that impact everyone.”
Pastor Christian went on to say:
“Local elected officials are elected by the people to represent the best interest of the people. Responsible government deserves to be governed by responsible and informed citizens. I believe Amendment #4 will slow down an already lengthy process to get items approved.”
As it relates to a project like the Christian Worship Center, Pastor Christian said:
“Small organizations will be forced to spend dollars for legal advice, engineers that could be put back into the community. Time was a factor due to excitement of my congregation that is looking forward to a new happening on the property. For small developers, any additional cost or time to develop a small parcel would be just too difficult and impede the desire to move forward with good community projects.”
After realizing what could be the negative impact of Amendment #4 on his community, Pastor Christian, in his sermon the next Sunday, spoke to his congregation about the seriousness of the issue, and afterwards said, “They were looking at me like what is Amendment #4?” Citizens of Florida must be educated on the unintended consequences of this job killing amendment before it’s too late.
The impact Amendment #4 will have on many churches and non-profit organizations has not been fully explored because it is those organizations who seek a huge majority of exceptions for their outreach projects. Projects and monies, which could be used to serve the neediest in our community, will be squandered away on election referendums.
Because the City of Leesburg was able to approve those changes in their comprehensive plan, Pastor Christian says he will be able to hire 7 to 10 people to augment his staff of 27 who, in turn, can better serve the people within his community. Had Amendment #4 been in place, this project would have probably been dead. For the good of your community, vote NO on Amendment #4.
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