On March 13, citizens of the City of Lake Worth, Florida rejected a local super-majority charter amendment.  The amendment’s architect was none other than Lesley Blackner, well-known as the founder of the statewide Hometown Democracy effort.  Through the use of paid signature gatherers and the help of interest groups such as ACORN, the Sierra Club, and the Green Party, Blackner was able to gather enough signatures to get her super-majority amendment on the March 13th ballot. 

The super-majority amendment would have effectively shut down all building and redevelopment in Lake Worth.  While the city’s charter already called for approval by three out of five sitting commissioners for any change to the city’s comprehensive plan, this measure would have raised that requirement to four out of five commissioners, misplacing ruling power with the commission’s minority.  

At first glance, this charter amendment seemed like a slam dunk for super-majority advocates.  After all, residents have elected an anarchist to their City Commission; and the head of the national Green Party calls Lake Worth home.  Despite an environment hostile toward the building and business communities, the measure was defeated by 188 votes out of the more than 3,700 votes cast.

Unfortunately, Lake Worth is just the tip of the iceberg.  Similar localized measures to limit zoning and planning changes are surfacing in other parts of Florida.  Blackner and other Hometown Democracy advocates are hoping to use local anti-growth victories as a part of their larger strategy – passing the statewide Hometown Democracy constitutional amendment.

The Hometown Democracy amendment would require that every proposed change to a county comprehensive plan be approved by the voters. That would mean that in 2003-04 Palm Beach County voters would have had to vote on 1,500 changes to their local comprehensive plan, resulting in the halt of local development and a loss of thousands of jobs.

For the amendment to reach the November 2008 ballot, Hometown Democracy advocates must gather 611,009 valid signatures from across the state by February 1, 2008.  While third parties report the current tally to be around 150,000 signatures, insiders allege to have more than 300,000 signatures in-hand.

A statewide Hometown Democracy amendment remains probable for the November 2008 ballot.  And while the Lake Worth was a great milestone in our battle against Hometown Democracy advocates, it is certainly not the last local measure we are likely to see in the coming months.

For more information on the Lake Worth super-majority amendment, e-mail Wayne Berstch with the Florida HBA. For more information on NAHB's Political Operations, e-mail Gideon Lett, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8585.

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