Keeping the spirit of Florida Hometown Democracy alive

Florida's editorial boards are good at wringing their hands.

2011-02-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

The hand-wringing of newspaper editorial pages continues over the promised demise of the Department of Community Affairs, the State’s growth oversight agency. Of course, the media lied through their teeth about Amendment 4, and now it’s back to business as usual.

One break from the usual bad news, Floridians have a unique opportunity to give themselves and future generations a remarkable gift. A proposal is being floated to turn 150,000 acres north of Lake Okeechobee into a refuge. Read more at:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/turning-ranches-into-one-big-refuge-1218687.html

Let’s all do our part and make sure this happens. Please send your comment before February 28 to: Cheri Ehrhardt, Natural Resource Planner, Everglades Headwaters Proposal, PO Box 2683, Titusville, FL 32781

Do you really want to see the entire state of Florida paved over?

On another note: Here’s the latest study proving that growth doesn’t pay its way. (Yes, it’s true, even though the people in power continue to claim otherwise.)

Growth and Prosperity

Public policy often based on unsupported assumptions

By Eben Fodor

Most cities in the U.S. have operated on the assumption that growth is inherently beneficial and that more and faster growth will benefit local residents economically. Local growth is often cited as the cure for urban ailments, especially the need for local jobs. But does the empirical evidence show that growth is actually providing these benefits?

Local metro areas follow the general conclusions of this study. MSA stands for Metropolitan Statistical Area.

To test claims about the benefits of local growth, I examined the relationship between growth and prosperity in U.S. metro areas. This study looked at the 100 largest U.S. metro areas (representing 66 percent of the total U.S. population) using the latest federal data for the 2000-09 period. The average annual population growth rate of each metro area was compared with unemployment rate, per capita income and poverty rate using graphical and statistical analysis.

The “conventional wisdom” that growth generates economic and employment benefits was not supported by the data. The study found that those metro areas that have fared the best had the lowest growth rates. Even metro areas with stable or declining populations tended to fare better than fast-growing areas in terms of basic measures of economic well-being.

Some of the remarkable findings:

• Faster-growing areas did not have lower unemployment rates.

• Faster-growing areas tended to have lower per capita income than slower-growing areas. Per capita income in 2009 tended to decline almost $2,500 for each 1 percent increase in growth rate.

• Residents of faster-growing areas had greater income declines during the recession.

• Faster-growing areas tended to have higher poverty rates.

The 25 slowest-growing and 25 fastest-growing areas were compared. The 25 slowest-growing metro areas outperformed the 25 fastest-growing in every category and averaged $8,455 more in per capita personal income in 2009. They also had lower unemployment and poverty rates.

Another remarkable finding is that stable metro areas (those with little or no growth) did relatively well. Statistically speaking, residents of an area with no growth over the nine-year period tended to have 43 percent more income gain than an area growing at 3 percent a year. Undoubtedly this offers a ray of hope that stable, sustainable communities may be perfectly viable — even prosperous — within our current economic system.

While certain businesses prosper from growth, apparently the balance of the community does not. The statistics showing that fast-growing areas tend to have lower and declining incomes, indicate that any gains by the businesses that directly benefit from growth are more than offset by losses to the rest of the local population. In other words, a small segment of the local population may benefit from faster growth, but the larger population tends to see their prosperity decline.

This study was not an attempt to explain all the complex relationships that exist, but merely to test whether there is a correlation between growth and some of the benefits that are so often attributed to it. More research is clearly needed on this important topic.

Population growth tends to be directly linked to urban growth. There is a close, linear relationship between the two, as more people require more housing units and more commercial buildings for employment and shopping.

Public policies and plans regarding urban growth typically involve tradeoffs between economic, environmental and social impacts. Local residents may view a policy to encourage land development or growth as negatively affecting their quality of life through increased traffic congestion, environmental quality impacts, loss of farm and forest lands and loss of amenity values (such as tranquility, sense of community and open space). They may also be concerned about higher taxes to fund the cost of the new public infrastructure (roads, schools, sewer and water systems, etc.) required to serve growth. However, the prospect that new growth will bring jobs and economic prosperity that may benefit local residents is often viewed as compelling enough to outweigh these costs.

So if growth is actually not providing these benefits, then the decision-making balance shifts towards the fiscal, environmental and quality-of-life impacts. With greater awareness of the relationship between growth and prosperity, perhaps we will see a shift in our focus toward making our cities better places, not just bigger places.

Most U.S. cities have been actively pursuing growth with all the policy and financial tools at their disposal under the presumption that they are fostering local prosperity. As U.S. cities seek a path out of the recession, this study suggests that new economic development strategies will be needed that do not rely so heavily on growth.

A link to the full study, “Relationship between Growth and Prosperity in 100 Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas,” can be found at http://www.fodorandassociates.com/

Eben Fodor is the principal of Fodor & Associates, a consulting firm based in Eugene and specializing in studying the fiscal, economic, and environmental impacts of urban growth and land development. This independent research was funded by Fodor & Associates as a public service.

Where was this editorial board before the election?

2011-01-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

Amendment 4 would have given Florida residents that seat at the table.,

http://www.pnj.com/article/20110124/OPINION/101240301/Room-at-the-table-
Room at the table?

January 24, 2011

Gov. Rick Scott last week continued his campaign mantra about bringing jobs to Florida, and was echoed by legislative leaders. We're with them.

But not if they intend to give away the store.

Speaking to reporters and editors in Tallahassee last week, Scott said "my job is to sit down with business leaders every day and figure out how to make this the No. 1 state for jobs."

Meanwhile, House Speaker Dean Cannon said the Legislature needs to "streamline or eliminate" regulation.

That's all fine — depending on how you do it.

Today, the landscape of Escambia County is dotted with the results — many of them called Superfund sites — of a previous era when business was allowed a free hand so long as it brought jobs.

The result? Toxic chemicals in our groundwater; chemicals from "treated" industrial waste in bottom sediments of our rivers and bays, and in fish and other marine life; polluted stormwater that still kills seagrasses and make bays, bayous and creeks unfit for swimming or fishing; and pollutants like mercury and ozone-causing chemicals that filled our air from smokestack emissions.

No doubt Scott and Cannon would say they don't mean repealing environmental regulations that prohibit dumping toxic chemicals into our groundwater, letting industry pollute our bays or making our air dangerous to breathe.

And we believe they aren't talking about going back to the kind of development that led to the near-destruction of the Everglades, a mistake we are spending billions of dollars to fix today.

So what, exactly, do they mean?

Because how much "friendlier" can Florida get?

The Orlando Sentinel reported last week that according to a New Jersey analyst — BizCosts.com — Florida is already one of the most business-friendly states in the nation. Florida put five cities into the company's list of 20 cheapest places to do business; no other state had more than one.

"Florida is one of the most pro-business states in the nation," a company spokesman said, based on labor costs, taxes, utility costs and travel expense.

Meanwhile, the non-profit Tax Foundation puts Florida in its top 10 (fifth) for best business tax climates for 2011. "It is obvious that the absence of a major tax is a dominant factor in vaulting these ten states to the top of the rankings," its report states.

So when Gov. Scott and Speaker Cannon sit down to talk about how to improve Florida, we hope business interests aren't the only ones at the table. The rest of us deserve a place, too.

"They want a developer-friendly planning commission to run interference for them."

2010-11-29T09:16:00.000-05:00

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/nov/29/activists-fear-developer-bias-on-planning-commissi/news-breaking/
Activists fear developer bias on planning commission

By MIKE SALINERO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 29, 2010

TAMPA - When the Florida Legislature created the Hillsborough City-County Planning Commission in 1959, the idea was to have an independent board, free of political pressure, to make recommendations on land-use changes.

But recent appointments to the commission and a new chairman have tilted the board toward a pro-development bias, neighborhood activists and environmentalists say.

Recommendations by the planning board under its current make-up, the critics say, will encourage county commissioners to approve sprawling development in remote rural areas, burdening taxpayers with costly infrastructure and paving over more of the county's rural land.

"We need an extra-independent, objective planning commission to vet changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning changes before they come to the county commission," said Mariella Smith, growth management chair for the local Sierra Club. "But the system has been hijacked to service developers and gives cover to those commissioners who are in the developers' pockets."

The two most recent appointees to the planning commission, Brian Hollands and Ray Young, are a case in point, Smith and other activists say. Hollands is business development manager at Hillsborough Community College, but was formerly in commercial real estate. Young is a Plant City contractor.

Community activists had hoped county commissioners would pick either Vivian Bacca, a Brandon resident active in United Citizens Action Network, or Barbara Dowling, a member of the of the Keystone-Odessa Civic Association. Both U-CAN and the civic association have resisted developments outside the county's urban service area, the limit beyond which water, sewer and other urban services are unavailable.

However, commissioners didn't discuss candidates in the meeting.

Further fueling the activists' ire was the revelation last week that county commissioner Al Higginbotham used developer attorney Vin Marchetti to interview planning commission hopefuls, including Hollands and Young.

Marchetti is considered one of the most powerful and influential land-use attorneys who regularly appear before the planning commission, Smith said, and is often hired by developers when their projects face strong neighborhood opposition.

Marchetti said he saw nothing unethical about his interviewing potential planning commission members. But former planning board chair Jan Smith said Marchetti's involvement is further proof the planning commission is now gliding down a "growth at any cost" path.

Hollands, who has a marine biology degree, said he doesn't share the activists' view of a planning commission split between developers and environmentalists.

"I think the whole us-versus-them mentality is really counter-productive to begin with," Hollands said. "We all live in houses and those houses have to be built by developers. We all eat food that's grown on farms. We need farms and we need open space."

Nevertheless, Hollands and Young, the other new appointee, were part of the 6-4 majority that three weeks ago elected developer Edward Giunta II as the new planning commission chairman. Giunta replaced five-term chairman Bruce Cury, considered by neighborhood groups as a "smart growth" advocate who opposed expanding the urban service area.

Of the remaining seven commission members, three are developers or engineers.

Asked if the planning commission has grown more pro-development, Giunta sidestepped the question, saying instead the board is more fiscally conservative. The commission's budget for fiscal year 2011 is $4.25 million, down from $5.9 million in 2008.

But the new chairman said the commission spends too much paying consultants to write studies on transit, sustainability and other issues having nothing to do with the commission's core duty of overseeing the comprehensive plan. The studies can cost as much as $25,000.

The new chairman vowed to reduce the $29,000 the commission spends on the annual community design awards banquet to $5,000. The difference will be covered by ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, he said.

He also wants to end the planning commission's role in shepherding community based planning, the process by which residents develop rules for guiding growth and protecting the character of their neighborhoods. Giunta would hand the process over to the county's Planning and Growth Management Department.

The plans are popular with activists such as Mariella Smith, who won an award from the American Planning Association for her work on the Ruskin Community Plan. But to Giunta, they are a waste of money. A typical community plan takes two years of planning commission staff time, he said, while less than a dozen residents participate.

"We shouldn't call them community plans," he said. "They're activist plans."

Ken Hagan, often regarded as a development-friendly county commissioner, said his votes in favor of development projects were often based on recommendations by the planning commission.

"The planning commission recommended every one of the developments that the board is being accused of approving and creating sprawl," Hagan said. "I don't know if it's really possible for the planning commission to be more pro-growth than it already is."

In some cases, such as the proposed Mill Bayou development on the Little Manatee River, county commissioners rejected the project despite a recommendation for approval by the planning commission staff.

Hagan's point is well-taken, Mariella Smith said, but she points out that county commissioners appoint four of the 12 planning commission members. The other six voting members are appointed by the cities of Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace.

Giunta is a Tampa appointee and Frank Chillura, also a developer and property manger, was appointed by Temple Terrace.

So politicians, whose campaign war chests are brimming with developers' dollars, appoint developer-friendly planning commissioners.

"Then the politicians can say, 'We're only approving what the planning commission approved,'" Smith said. "They want a developer-friendly planning commission to run interference for them."

Mike Salinero

(813) 259-8303

All they had to do was tell the truth.

2010-11-29T07:16:00.001-05:00

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/judge-rules-against-city-in-st-pete-beach-development-dispute/1136979

Judge rules against city in St. Pete Beach development dispute
By Sheila Mullane Estrada, Times Correspondent

Monday, November 29, 2010

ST. PETE BEACH — A voter-approved comprehensive plan — the legal guide for all development and redevelopment within the city — has been declared invalid.

Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court Judge David Demers ruled against the city Wednesday in a long and bitterly fought case.

The case, along with others pending, mirrors much of the recent debate over a state constitutional amendment that would have required voter approval of local comprehensive land use plans. Called "Hometown Democracy" by its supporters, Amendment 4 was defeated by voters in November.

St. Pete Beach has spent nearly a half million dollars in legal fees so far to fight the suits against it. Now it appears the city may be forced to spend even more to reimburse resident Bill Pyle for the costs he incurred in fighting the development regulations approved by voters in 2008.

His attorney, Ken Weiss, said Sunday those fees are "well in excess of $100,000" but "a fraction" of what the city has spent.

"Yikes," said St. Pete Beach Mayor Mike Finnerty. "This is truly an unfortunate situation for St. Pete Beach. The city is in dire need of redevelopment. I don't know where this ruling puts us."

The ruling involves four ordinances approved by voters that changed the comprehensive plan, particularly as it applies to redevelopment of the aging hotel row along Gulf Boulevard.

Demers found the referendum ballot summaries did not meet requirements of state law or the City Charter.

"Obviously, I am gratified with the judge's decision, which was elegant and decisive. If I had been on the other side, I would be less pleased," Pyle said.

He asserted voters were deceived about the real impact of the 2008 comprehensive plan changes. The judge agreed.

"Plaintiff is right. The ordinance misleads voters," the judge ruled, describing one ballot summary as "wordsmithing" and another as "illusory."

The amended comprehensive plan initially was drafted by Save Our Little Village (SOLV), a pro-hotel group that subsequently joined the city in fighting Pyle's attempts to reverse the referendum's results.

There are other suits involving other aspects of the comprehensive plan pending against the city filed by residents Bruce Kadura and Richard McCormick.

Those suits are also before Demers and a ruling on them is expected by the end of the year.

Finnerty said the court ruling and its implications will be discussed at the next regular City Commission meeting Dec. 14, or possibly before if a special workshop is called.

Weiss described the judge's decision as a "vindication."

"All the city and SOLV had to do was tell the citizens the truth. But they hid the real issue — that the proposed comprehensive plan increased height and density on the beach for hotel owners," he said.

Progress Florida's cartoon of the day

2010-11-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

Hillsborough's new planning commission chairman looking for ways to ease development restrictions and doing it illegally

2010-11-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/hillsborough-planning-chairmans-ideas-worry-growth-management-advocates/1135198

Hillsborough planning chairman's ideas worry growth-management advocates

By Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, November 19, 2010

TAMPA — A goal-setting memo from the new chairman of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission has put growth management advocates on high alert.

In an e-mail to the agency's executive director last week, Edward Giunta II laid out a series of cost-cutting measures he'd like to pursue. They include removing planning commission review of everything from historic preservation matters to community plans.

Anti-sprawl activists say he's pushing to dismantle some of the key responsibilities for one of the few entities they trust to stand up to unbridled growth.

"I was shocked at the tone of it," said Terry Flott, chairwoman of the United Citizens Action Network. "It's just so inappropriate. He's got an agenda. I actually fear what is his influence is going to do?"

Giunta, a real estate broker who has served on the commission for eight years as an appointee of the city of Tampa, said in the memo to executive director Bob Hunter that he isn't pressing a personal agenda. The e-mail underscores a desire expressed when he took over as chairman Nov. 8 to solicit the goals of other commissioners.

He said his ideas are shaped by a desire to stay ahead of budget cuts that are likely to come due to declines in tax revenue.

"I'm trying to achieve eliminating or reducing staff workload to where we can absorb the budget cuts without having to reduce work force and still maintain all responsibilities of the planning commission," Giunta said Thursday.

In the memo, Giunta also appears to advocate a Sunshine Law violation by asking Hunter to share with him other commissioners' goals outside of a public meeting. Giunta said he was alerted by Hunter and the commission's attorney that would violate state open-meeting laws and withdrew the request, noting that it was an error.

Giunta listed three goals in the Nov. 10 memo. The last one, with the heading "Simplify Overall Process," has activists most alarmed.

It is followed by two specific recommendations: removing community plans from the county's growth guidebook, known as its comprehensive plan, and "elimination of DCA" — the state Department of Community Affairs.

The county has implemented a series of community plans, which specify development rules for a given area and are crafted with residents' input. Giunta said they have been a disaster, taking years of staff time to create and getting shaped mostly by a few activists rather than representing the will of the community affected.

"It has created significant costs," Giunta said. "The name itself is a farce."

They are indeed the bane of developers, who regularly fight them. A number of community plans are in place already and residents from other parts of the county are waiting in line for the opportunity to have them created.

The reason is obvious, said Barbara Aderhold, a former planning commissioner who helped pursue a community plan for the Keystone-Odessa area.

"The communities want them implemented because they want protection from some of the crappy development that has occurred in the county," Aderhold said.

By getting included in the comprehensive plan, changes are permitted only periodically and must undergo multiple public hearings. Taking them out would allow changes at any time with just one hearing.

"I think it would substantially weaken the comprehensive plans," Hunter said.

As for activists' other concern, Giunta said he isn't seeking for the planning commission to push for the elimination of the DCA, which must sign off on changes to comprehensive plans from around the state. But he said he believes that either the Legislature or incoming Gov. Rick Scott will pursue that.

He said he wants the planning commission to figure out how much staff time is devoted to interacting with the DCA so it can prepare if the state agency is eliminated. His memo seeks similar reviews of the planning commission's work in areas where other agencies play a role in the review, from historic preservation to development permits at the Port of Tampa.

Todd Pressman, a government affairs consultant who regularly represents clients seeking changes to development rules, said he believes Giunta is making a reasonable request. And he agrees with his assessment of community plans.

"You may not agree with what he's saying," Pressman said. " To me, he's taking a fresh and new look at what the planning commission should be doing. That's good government."

Bill Varian can be reached at (813) 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/nov/19/MENEWSO3-planning-boss-may-have-violated-sunshine-/news-breaking/

Planning boss may have violated Sunshine Law

By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune

The new chairman of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission recently tried to communicate his goals for the coming year to fellow commissioners in an e-mail, an apparent violation of Florida Sunshine laws.

Edward Giunta II sent the e-mail Nov. 10 to the planning commission's executive director, Bob Hunter, and asked Hunter to forward it to the other 12 commissioners. The e-mail included several things Giunta wants to accomplish in the coming year, including eliminating the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the state's growth management agency.

Hunter balked at forwarding the e-mail, saying it would violate open meeting laws. Giunta wanted a second opinion, so he called the commission's attorney, Tracy Robin, who confirmed Hunter's opinion.

"It was clearly a mistake on my part," said Giunta, a real estate broker and developer elected chairman Nov. 8 after three years on the commission. "I thought if I sent something directly to Mr. Hunter to distribute, that made things OK. But when I included my three goals, that's where the problem came in."

The e-mail came to light through a public records request by Terry Flott, chairwoman of the grass-roots group United Citizens Action Network. Flott said she was more concerned about Giunta's opinions about the Department of Community Affairs and planning in general than the possible sunshine violation.

"He's out to destroy planning," she said.

Giunta said the DCA costs counties time and money by reviewing every change to local comprehensive plans. Developers have long complained that the DCA stalls growth, but several efforts by legislators over the years to kill the agency have failed.

This year, however, Gov.-elect Rick Scott complained about the agency on the campaign trail, saying it "impacted people who want to build things" and is "killing jobs."

Giunta said in his e-mail that he also wants to take community-based plans out of the county's comprehensive plan and let the county's Planning and Growth Management Department administer them. Hillsborough has 23 such plans, developed through meetings with residents in the planning area. The plans include goals for guiding growth, as well as design and architectural guidelines.

But Giunta said only five or six activists show up at meetings with planning commission staff to develop the plans, a process that can take several years. Once the plans are adopted by the county commission, their land-use guidelines can stop certain types of developments that the majority of residents might favor, he said. The county commission recently voted to let residents or businesses opt out of the plans, but then reversed the option. "They say they are just visions and goals," Giunta said, "but once you put a community plan into the comp plan, it's no longer a vision."

msalinero@tampatrib.com

(813) 259-8303

Here's the problem, they don't want to address all of the already allocated residential units

2010-11-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

They just rationalize adding more and more density in the name of the latest catchphrase "walkable commuities"
http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2010/nov/16/must-decide-whether-to-appeal-comp-plan/

Must decide whether to appeal comp plan

By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

One of the first questions the new commissioners will decide is whether to appeal the state's rejection of Highlands County's comprehensive plan.

Among the county's options:•Schedule an administrative hearing and force the Florida Department of Community Affairs to accept Blue Head Ranch, Lake Placid North and South, and Lake Placid Groves, along with the rest of Evaluation and Appraisal Reports amendments.

•Resubmit the rest of the EARS but leave out the four subdivisions, which DCA has identified as sprawl.

•Go to mediation.

First, said Development Services Director Mark Hill, Highlands County will wait. Three new commissioners will be seated at the Nov. 16 meeting, and the newly elected Gov. Rick Scott, will take office in January. Scott has claimed the DCA kills jobs; the Republican-dominated Legislature has threatened to disband or sunset the agency.

Locally

All three new commissioners first want to educate themselves on the issue and examine the possibilities.

"I don't know yet," said Jack Richie, who will represent District 4, the Lake Placid area. "We need to find out exactly what we have to do, and then look at the cost. And then I think we have to have input from the community."

"As I understand it, and I know I don't have all the information yet, we have no choice but to address DCA's issues, so we can't do nothing," said Don Elwell, who lives in Spring Lake and will represent Lorida and eastern Highlands County. "The extent of the appeal is debatable."

Greg Harris, who will represent Sebring, isn't willing to give up yet.

"I know a lot of work went into it," he said. The EAR amendments include antiquated subdivisions, water supply issues, and how many buildable lots Highlands County needs for the future.

The county has about 200 subdivisions, said planner Don Hanna, which include 85,000 lots. "We have about 55,000 lots available."

However, he added, "we need to remember that these lots have, in most cases, no water or wastewater service. In some cases the roads are not in. They lack the amenities that would foster a mixed use, walkable, modern subdivision. As such, their desirability and marketability is lessened."
Highlands County's EAR amendments would direct new development away from what the planning department calls antiquated subdivisions by limiting building permits. New development should be directed to subdivisions with developer-paid amenities, Hanna said.

Another side

Paula House and other local environmentalists have opposed the four new subdivisions.

A fourth option, House said, would be to propose only the EAR amendments that Highlands County needs to adopt the comprehensive plan required by law. Then, the county could work on Blue Head, Lake Placid North and South, and Lake Placid Groves.

"It seems to me that certain projects are holding it up," House said.

Going to mediation, House said, "suggests these issues are solvable." She doesn't believe they are, with the four subdivisions still in the county's plan. One reason: water.

Two October 2010 water management district letters to DCA "say some pretty shocking things," House said. Planning Manager Ran Frahm wrote that withdrawals from the Floridan Aquifer in the southern part of Southwest Florida Water Management District "have resulted in salt water intrusion, cessation of spring flows, and lowered lake levels."

"How do you mediate that issue?" House asked.

"We did not see anything of this magnitude coming." We did. Now aren't you sorry you didn't vote yes on Amendment 4?

2010-11-14T18:16:00.000-05:00

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-boca-hospital-land-20101110,0,2410866.story

Future of Boca hospital land worries neighbors

By Angel Streeter, Sun Sentinel

5:20 PM EST, November 14, 2010

BOCA RATON

More than five years ago, Boca Raton Regional Hospital bought 80 acres of land as part of a grand plan to create a large teaching hospital.

That plan fell by the wayside as the hospital struggled with a huge deficit over the past two years. And the property adjacent to Florida Atlantic University just sat there, forgotten by many.

Forgotten until the end of the summer, that is, when the city began holding public hearings on its long-term growth plan. As part of the update to the comprehensive plan, the city created a new land-use designation that would allow a variety of uses on a property, giving developers flexibility as long as their projects make it easy for people to get around by transit, walking or biking.

City officials assigned that designation to the hospital's 80-acre site on Spanish River Boulevard. The hospital welcomed it. Nearby residents feared what was to come.

"We've always had concerns about it, and we always paid close attention," said Elisabeth Hoffman, whose home backs up to the land. "We did not see anything of this magnitude coming."

The reaction has focused the question of what will happen to that land — one of the city's last big vacant plots.

The new land-use category, called planned mobility, dramatically increases the amount of development that could be allowed on the property next to many homes. Previously, only about 240 homes could have been built.

Under planned mobility, the maximum is 1.3 million square feet.

Of all the properties that got the planned mobility label, Spanish River would see the most significant change. The other properties were already in commercial or industrial areas.

Charlie Helton, who lives nearby, compared it to the former IBM complex, which is 1.8 million square feet.

"Whoever has the big bucks has the influence," said Helton, who spoke at City Council meetings against the change for the hospital property.

During public debate about the comprehensive plan, the hospital was mum about plans for the parcel.

But recently, hospital CEO Jerry Fedele has revealed a desire to build an outpatient ambulatory care center there. Physician offices and affordable housing for nurses could also be built.

And as the hospital works with Florida Atlantic University and its plans for a medical school, other medical facilities could be added. The hospital already has an agreement with FAU to provide residency training.

"We clearly want medical uses on the property," Fedele said.

But those medical facilities would take up only a portion of the vacant land. A good part of it likely will be sold.

That worries residents who fear what could be put in their backyards. The city's comprehensive plan allows a range of uses — commercial, office, health care, housing, hotel, recreation, educational, financial, community and cultural..

Some suspect the hospital sought out the change to increase the value of the property in the eyes of a potential developer.

The hospital bought the property for $25 million in 2005, when it inked a deal to use land on the FAU campus to build a $650 million teaching hospital. The 80 acres would be available in case the university needed it for its ambitious expansion plans or if the hospital had to build more medical facilities.

But after the hospital faced $120 million in losses in 2008, the teaching hospital was shelved. In recent years, the value of the 80 acres has significantly declined, to about $6.4 million now.

As the city renewed its long-term growth plan this summer and proposed changing the land-use for Spanish River, residents had asked the City Council to limit the land uses to health care, residential, recreation and offices. The hospital suggested the opposite, sending a letter to the city asking for more allowable uses on the eve of a public hearing.

The council sided with the hospital.

The broadest [land-use] category to allow future development would have been most beneficial to the hospital," Fedele said.

But he denies the hospital simply wanted to turn a profit. Rumors swirled in recent weeks that the property was for sale and had been since this summer. Fedele denies that.

"If we were hoping to only maximize the value of that property, we would have a [for-sale sign] on the property now," he said.

Still, he said the hospital would like to see a healthy profit from any portion of the land it does not use.

Changing the land use of a property in a prime location from residential to commercial can increase the value by 25 to 100 percent, said Jonathan Kingsley, managing director for Grubb & Ellis Co. in South Florida. He stressed he was not speaking specifically about the hospital land.

But that's what makes some residents think this is all about the hospital making money.

Council members said they were focused on the overall growth of the city, not individual properties, when they voted on the comprehensive plan.

"We didn't go through this to help an individual property owner," said council member Anthony Majhess, who led efforts to decrease the amount of development allowable on the hospital land. "It was a comprehensive look at the entire city."

In an effort to protect nearby residents, the council cut the maximum development of the property under the planned mobility label from 2 million square feet to 1.3 million. That went against city staff's recommendations that carved out special language for the property to give it 2 million square feet of development.

This came after the state Department of Community Affairs, upon reviewing the city's growth plan, objected to the intense development of the property, especially because some of the land is environmentally sensitive.

City officials point out that the maximum development of the property will be impossible to reach. Land will have to be set aside for native vegetation, open space and infrastructure.

And the property has to go through zoning and a development approval process that could place more restrictions on building.

Residents stress they're not against developing the property, realizing that its location near an airport and Interstate 95 may not be a good spot for houses.

So a few low-rise medical buildings or a small mixed-use development may be OK.

"I would like it to get developed in a reasonable fashion that's compatible with the neighborhood," Helton said.

Angel Streeter can be reached at astreeter@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6537.

"Allowing urban expansion" AKA allowing builders to add to the congestion without having to pay for it.

2010-11-12T07:24:00.000-05:00

http://www.tbnweekly.com/pubs/pinellas_park_beacon/content_articles/111110_par-03.txt

Allowing urban expansion

By JULIANA A. TORRES

Article published on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010

PINELLAS PARK – The Pinellas Park City Council approved a measure Oct. 28 designed to allow businesses to build and grow in the city’s densely urban areas without having to pay for otherwise-required expansions or improvements to roads like Park Boulevard.

The amendment to the comprehensive plan creates what is called a transportation concurrency exception area in the southeastern portion of the city, including especially the downtown Community Redevelopment District and the Gateway Centre Development of Regional Impact. Within the exception area, developers will be able to bypass growth requirements that might otherwise hinder their ability to build.

“That will give developers more incentive to locate in that area and then redevelop that area,” said Bob Bray, Pinellas Park community planning director.

The city’s new exception area, which extends as far north as The Mainlands and as far west as 66th Street and Park Avenue, was originally requested by the owner of Pinellas Park’s portion of the Gateway Centre. Hardy Huntley, longtime owner of the Wagon Wheel Flea Market, bought the vacant lots in the Gateway Center DRI last year. Though he wanted to offer the land for the Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium earlier this year, the area has gone largely undeveloped.

The 585-acre Gateway Centre DRI, 400 acres of which lies within Pinellas Park city limits, has been slow in coming to fruition in general, Bray said.

“Anything (that) could help initiate development there, is good for the city,” he said. “It’s good for the county, it’s good for the entire economy, because if they get new business in there, that means more jobs for the area.”

The opportunity to create the exception areas comes in the wake of what is commonly referred to as Senate Bill 360, passed into state law in May 2009. The contentious new law set several new growth management standards for Florida. One is the ability for municipalities to create transportation concurrency exception areas, which could prove vital for the continual development of the downtown area, Bray said.

As it stands, if a developer wants to develop in the downtown, a study has to be done to determine if the new business would create more traffic on Park Boulevard than that of the former business. If it does, the new business would have to pay for improvements to Park

Boulevard, to allow for the expected increase in traffic.

However, Park Boulevard is considerably restrained in the improvements that could be made to it.

“When you can’t build, make Park Boulevard wider, that really does limit how they can mitigate their impact,” Bray explained. “We’re not going to ever see Park Boulevard expand into eight or 10 lanes. We’re not going to see Park Boulevard double-deckered.”

In the mid-’80s, a study was done to calculate the cost of expanding Park Boulevard, Bray said. Just the cost of property alone exceeded $88 million, not to mention the cost to the affected businesses themselves.

“The business impacts would have been much greater,” Bray said. “You really literally would devastate the entire center core of the community.”

However, Senate Bill 360 establishes Pinellas Park, and all of Pinellas County in fact, as a dense urban land area, and allows local governments to establish the exception to its concurrency requirements with less of an approval process from the state, freeing up developers to create the kind of business and vibrancy the city hopes to see in the downtown and Gateway Centre areas.

“If a developer wanted to come in and buy a block and take out all the buildings and rebuild something new, they could do that and not be impacted by concurrency management rules,” Bray said.

However, the potential for new development in Pinellas Park, prompted by these new exception areas, has not caused the excitement in the developer community that the city might have wanted, Bray said. That’s partly because Senate Bill 360 itself, though currently a law, has been a moving target. In August, the law was declared unconstitutional in a Leon County Circuit courtroom. An appeal overturned the ruling and reinstated the law Sept. 24, according to the Florida Department of Community Affairs website.

But even now, state legislators could reconsider the controversial policies the law established.

“The bigger picture of what’s happening in the courts and the legislature has kind of overshadowed what we’re doing,” Bray said. “The whole development community is wondering as to what’s going to happen with the issues of Senate Bill 360 in the next legislative session.”

The county and all its municipalities are currently working on a general mobility plan in response to Senate Bill 360 that will address mobility fees and do away with transportation concurrency fees as they currently stand, Bray said. Pinellas Park’s new transportation concurrency exception areas could encourage development in the city until that happens.

“A few developers in the area are very pleased to see this go through,” Bray said. “We’re hopefully ahead of the curve and we’re going to stay ahead of the curve … and have those benefits come in earlier. But when the legislature is in session, I can’t tell you what they’re going to do.”

The amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan still has to undergo an appeals process at the state level, which will hopefully conclude around the second week of December, Bray said.

Article published on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010

Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved

Take your blood pressure pill before you read this one.

2010-11-11T07:17:00.002-05:00

What was that they said about Amendment 4, that if it passed our taxes would go up?

Guess what? Amendment 4 failed, but the Pasco MPO is proposing a $50 a year charge per homeowner and raising the gasoline tax by 5 cents a gallon so they can lower impact fees for developers.

Imagine that.

Hypocrites.

I also question the statement in the first sentence of this story - that local governments have been collecting transportation impact fees for the last 25 years. I'd like to see the numbers of which municipalities have been collecting them and whether they actually addressed the cost of road impacts or were, as I suspect ridiculously low.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/new-approach-proposed-for-fees-on-pasco-development/1133563

New approach proposed for fees on Pasco development

By Lisa Buie, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Thursday, November 11, 2010

NEW PORT RICHEY — For 25 years, Pasco and other Florida counties have sought to pay for new roads primarily with assessments on construction — so-called impact fees.

In a new approach discussed on Wednesday at the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting, county leaders indicated every property owner might have to share that cost through a new assessment and higher gasoline taxes.

New construction would still have to pay a fee — now dubbed a "mobility fee" — that will be cheaper than the current impact fees. Builders have traditionally fought impact fees, claiming they hinder sales.

The proposed mobility fee, which would cost each property tax payer an extra $50 a year, would enable county officials to charge lower fees to new development for transportation projects. Gas taxes would go up by 5 cents a gallon.

The fee schedule would give breaks to industries and offices that locate in the county's denser west and south areas. Residential and retail development would receive no discounts, though they would pay less than they do under the county's current system of impact fees. The only exception would be the northern area, which officials want to remain rural.

Development that improves public transportation would pay no fee in the county's south and west areas.

"We're in a whole new world from where you were," said James Edwards, director of the MPO. The group, which got its first look at the proposal during a workshop, includes the county's five commissioners and mayors of the major cities. No action was taken, and the proposal will be discussed by the County Commission and most likely sent back to the MPO for changes. The county's current impact fees are set to expire in 2012.

Unlike the boom times, when revenues simply couldn't keep up with growth, slower growth will offer the opportunity "to catch up some," Edwards said. The change from impact fees to mobility fees resulted from the passage of Senate Bill 360, which relaxed development rules. The law was declared unconstitutional, but governments expect the Legislature to make fixes.

Supporters say the mobility proposal would lower transportation fees, which are the highest in the region, and help attract higher-paying jobs and put Pasco on more equal footing with larger counties.

It also would enable the county to steer development toward areas set aside for dense growth and discourage it from rural areas, where fees would be higher. Gas taxes and an annual fee also would spread the financial burden more evenly across the county. Impact fees are levied only on new construction and can't be used to pay for operations and maintenance, forcing governments to look for additional money to cover those costs.

"We've hamstrung ourselves," said Port Richey Mayor Richard Rober. "I support a move that spreads the burden as evenly as possible."

In addition to roads, the fees could also be spent on public transportation.

"It's not just a roadway fee," Edwards said.

County Commissioner Michael Cox, who soon will give up his seat to Henry Wilson Jr., urged members to support the new fee structure, saying "today we'll see who's a leader and who's a politician."

"We've danced around the problem — not paying for impact as it occurs," he said. "We collect in today's dollars and hope to build a project down the road. Sooner or later we have to wake up and say we have to find a better way of doing something. I challenge all of you to step up and do some leadership. That's the only way you're going to make this stuff happen."

County Commissioner Jack Mariano fretted that not giving discounts to retail development might hamper efforts to redevelop the U.S. 19 corridor.

"I just don't want to put any deterrent on anybody coming in business," Mariano said. "We need to get people into those buildings. I don't care if it's retail."

But Cox said retail will inevitably happen where there's growth and disposable income.

The key, he said, is increasing income through attracting industries that offer more than the minimum wage of most retail.

"If you relax the landscape buffer rule so McDonald's can come in, you're going to get more $7.25-an-hour jobs. Whoopee. I hate to be that cold about it, but reality is what reality is."

Developers in the audience praised the proposal.

"I'm very much encouraged by where we're heading on this," land use attorney Clarke Hobby said. "(Development fees) have to be reasonable at the end of the day."

Stew Gibbons, the local head of the development company that owns Connerton, agreed.

"With impact fees, the pendulum had swung too far."

Plenty of blame to go around

2010-11-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2010/11/with-scott-in-town-pelham-goes-off-on-killing-jobs.html/comment-page-1

With Scott in town, Pelham goes off on ‘killing jobs’
posted by aaron deslatte on November, 9 2010 6:18 PM

TALLAHASSEE — Venting over having his agency targeted by Gov.-elect Rick Scott during campaign season, Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham said Tuesday the state’s new chief executive’s criticism was “not based on facts.”

Pelham, who has overseen the growth management agency under Gov. Charlie Crist the past four years, clearly is moving on. But he’s doing so with a few blasts at Scott, who derided DCA for “really killing jobs,” through its regulations.

“I think it’s under siege,” Pelham said of DCA, during a break in Tuesday’s Cabinet hearing. “It’s been bullied and threatened and criticized unfairly. To have a candidate for statewide office say DCA is killing jobs all over this state, when we are doing just the opposite.”

Pelham blamed legislative leaders, as well, for blaming the agency for the state’s development woes, when the state’s poor economy and banks’ tight lending practices has had a larger effect. Scott’s criticism, “is total nonsense and not based on facts,” Pelham said.

Scott met briefly on Tuesday with outgoing Gov. Crist and incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon. Scott said he was working with the governor on staffing issues, but didn’t get too much into any specifics. “Our goal is to have a smooth transition, and I’m looking forward to getting to work,” Scott said.

Publix - the harbinger of doom

2010-11-08T07:37:00.000-05:00

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2010/11/08/samsula-project-stirs-up-county-council.html

Samsula project stirs up County Council

By WILL HOBSON, Staff writer

November 8, 2010 12:05 AM

Posted in: Southeast Volusia Tagged:Volusia County Council Accusations of backroom deals and bowing to the "good ol' boy network" have been thrown around Volusia County Council meetings this year as members have debated a possible Publix grocery store in Samsula.

The proposed commercial development on a 9.6-acre tract will be back before the council Thursday and, if previous arguments are any indication, it could get interesting.

The property in question, formerly a farm, sits on the corner of Pioneer Trail and Airport Road, just outside New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange. It's also just outside the Samsula Local Plan Area a rural spot in which development is restricted.

Boca Raton developer Sheldon Rubin has been trying to put a small shopping center on the land for four years, and got approval from the County Council, by a 4-3 vote, on July 8.

Council members Jack Hayman, Pat Northey, Joie Alexander, and Carl Persis approved the change; Chairman Frank Bruno and Council members Andy Kelly and Josh Wagner opposed.

County staff recommended denying the change because the land isn't contiguous with either the city or unincorporated community and is so close to the Samsula plan. Staff acknowledged, though, that the area will likely develop in the near future.

"I don't think there is any dispute as to what the future likely holds for this area," Deputy County Manager Mary Anne Connors told the council. "The question before you is whether or not we accelerate to that future, and acknowledge what it will be?"

Several residents spoke in favor of the development July 8, arguing that they have to drive 20 minutes or more for their grocery shopping.

Developers Mori Hosseini and Jerry Johnson both came to the following council meeting, along with Port Orange Mayor Allen Green, to ask the council to reverse its decision. They argued the development would open the floodgates to sprawl and poorly planned growth in the rural area.

Hosseini's Woodhaven development is nearby in Port Orange, and Johnson's Venetian Bay development is nearby in New Smyrna Beach. Both men say they have had talks with Publix to move into their developments, but they are restricted by city development guidelines that would keep a grocery store hundreds of feet from the street. Rubin can offer Publix a spot 70 feet away from the street, thanks to looser county restrictions.

Hosseini called the proposed development a "strip center," "the cheapest way to develop," and said Publix would likely eschew Woodhaven for Rubin's development if the county's approval stood.

"That would take away everything we have done, and millions of dollars that I have invested, for the good of the community," Hosseini said.

Hayman felt Hosseini and Johnson were being hypocritical.

"What I hear you saying today is the only good developments are big developments," Hayman said. "And that the small economic developer doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell."

"That's not what I'm saying," Hosseini replied. "You need to look at the total developability of the land. . . You have the capability of doing something better for your community than building a strip center."

Rubin said Friday he understood why Hosseini and Johnson were opposed to his project, but felt concerns of sprawl were countered by the good his development would do for residents there.

"They are trying to do everything to stop me so they can get more," Rubin said. "Am I bothered? Yes."

Johnson said he feels it's unfair that he has to live by a stricter set of rules than Rubin.

"I think they should play by the same rules. . . That piece there would be out of character for Pioneer Trail road," Johnson said.

Hosseini and Johnson are among those who have filed formal petitions against the development, and the council will hear Thursday at 1:30 p.m. about settlement proposals. If that doesn't produce a result, the next item on the agenda is a hearing to rescind the land-use change the council approved July 8.

Persis has said he has changed his mind (he voted in favor July 8) which, if the other votes stay the same, would mean a defeat for Rubin. Persis said he drove down to the area after his first vote and realized it was more rural than he thought.

The continued hearings have produced some nasty arguments in council chambers this year. Hayman accused County Manager Jim Dinneen on July 8 of reneging on an agreement with Rubin and then, realizing he had worded his accusation incorrectly (and implied a violation of Florida's Sunshine Law), Hayman apologized.

He later explained that he thought Dinneen had agreed that staff would recommend approving the land-use amendment. Dinneen denied making any kind of agreement.

Alexander, who voted for the land-use change, was upset when she discovered the council had voted to schedule a hearing to rescind the July 8 land-use change in her absence. Wagner suggested it at the Oct. 7 meeting, when Alexander and Hayman, who also voted for the change, were absent (Alexander was representing the council at an event, Hayman was out after a surgical procedure).

The motion passed 3-2, the same three council members in the minority July 8 held the majority Oct. 7.

"To me and to many others it smacks of that 'good ol' boy' a long time ago kind of stuff," Alexander said during the council's Oct. 21 meeting. "I get angry even thinking about it."

That comment spurred an emotional outburst by Wagner (Hayman's argument with Dinneen in July prompted a similar response from Wagner), and Alexander apologized. Then Andy Kelly got into the fray, arguing with Bruno because he felt the chairman didn't handle Alexander's outburst properly.

Hayman said last week he hopes the different factions can come to some kind of settlement, but Johnson said he doesn't see how there can be any kind of settlement that would allow Rubin's development to go forward.

Publix management would not confirm it has talked to any of the warring developers, saying only that it doesn't have a signed contract with anyone in that area. The solution to all of this sparring, most council members said, would be a joint land-use planning agreement between the county and the two cities.

"And Publix," Hayman said, "is just sitting back and smiling, I imagine."

Large landowners' attitude: Growth management is for everybody else.

2010-11-07T15:21:00.001-05:00

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-comp-plan-appeals-20101107,0,1854605.story

Comp plan appeals will get hearings

November 7, 2010

A magistrate has agreed to hear appeals filed by six groups of property owners who contend that Lake's rewritten comprehensive land-use plan will adversely and unfairly affect their property interests. The plan cannot take effect until all objections are resolved. Florida's Growth Management Act requires local governments to adopt a comprehensive land-use plan that establishes development standards and allowable "uses, densities and intensities of use" for land.

Brian Sheahan, director of Lake's division of planning and community design, has expressed confidence the plan, six years in the making, will survive the challenges. It earned an OK from county commissioners and the state Department of Community Affairs. Hearing dates have not yet been scheduled but are likely to be heard early next year, Sheahan said. The challenges, filed by lawyers representing owners of large tracts of land, argue that the growth blueprint unfairly restricts individual property rights and devalues property slated for future development.

Sign the petition to Save our Seas, Beaches and Shores

2010-11-07T12:40:00.001-05:00

http://www.sosbs.org/

Save our Seas, Beaches and Shores want the public to have the chance to vote on near-shore oil drilling and to ban the possibility of this destructive practice. Our state relies on clean beaches for our economic and environmental well-being. Oil drilling in our state marine waters, which extend approximately three miles into the Atlantic Ocean and 10 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, is simply too great a risk to take.

Note
Supervisor of Elections. Under Florida law, it is a first degree misdemeanor, punishable as provided in s.
775.082 or s. 775.083, Florida Statutes, to knowingly sign more than one petition for a candidate, a
minor political party, or an issue. [Section 104.185, Florida Statutes] If all requested information on this
form is not completed, the form will not be valid.
: All information on this form, including your signature, becomes a public record upon receipt by the
Your Name
Please print name as it appears on your voter information card
: ___________________________________________________
Your Residential Street Address: ________________________________________________________
City ___________________________ Zip _________________ County _________________________
Voter Registration Number _______________________
or Date of Birth _________________________
I am a registered voter of Florida and hereby petition the Secretary of State to place the following
proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution on the ballot in the general election.
BALLOT TITLE: Prohibiting oil drilling in Florida waters seaward of Florida’s mean high tide line.
BALLOT SUMMARY: Prohibiting oil drilling for exploration or extraction in and beneath Florida waters
from the mean high tide line to the outermost boundaries of Florida’s territorial seas.
ARTICLE AND SECTION BEING CREATED OR AMENDED: Article II, Section 7
FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA THAT:
Article II, Section 7, is hereby amended to add the following subsection:
To protect the people of Florida and their environment, oil drilling for exploration or extraction is
prohibited in and beneath all Florida waters between the mean high tide line and the outermost
boundaries of the Florida territorial seas. This prohibition shall not apply to transportation of oil and gas
products produced outside of these waters. This provision is self
‐executing.
DATE OF SIGNATURE:_______________ X________________________________________
SIGNATURE OF REGISTERED VOTER
PLEASE RETURN TO: Save our Seas, PO Box 6686, Tallahassee, FL 32314
Paid petition circulator’s name and address (if applicable) ______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Pd.pol.adv. Save our Seas, Beaches and Shores, Inc., SERIAL NUMBER 10
PO Box 6686, Tallahassee, FL 32314 DATE APPROVED 8/18/2010‐01
Link to petition:
http://www.sosbs.org/Documents/PetitionFormSOSBS.pdf

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PETITION FORM

Cone-Graham Inc. Land Use Change in Plant City

2010-11-06T10:35:00.006-04:00

Link to the Hillsborough County Planning Commission agenda packet information on Cone-Graham. It's going to be a long night as the Plant City items come after all of the other regular items.

http://www.theplanningcommission.org/calagenda/meetingagendas/2010-meetings/november-8-2010/public-hearing-2/Item4.pdf/view

The Hillsborough County Planning Commission will hear this proposed change at 5:30 p.m. Monday, November 8, at the County Center Building, 601 E Kennedy Blvd., 18th Floor, Tampa

I filmed the video on the other side of the fence from land that is the subject of this land use change.
Marcia Spivey, who lives on Frazier Lane, is reading from the notice send to affected property owners.
She lives in unincorporated Hillsborough County.

This property is right across the street from the land that Hillsborough County set aside for preservation just 10 months ago.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/hillsborough-county-agrees-to-preserve-cone-ranch-property/1067131

If approved, the policy constraint will be removed and the potential number of allowable dwelling units will be increased from 2,400 to 4,954 and commercial office will potentially increase from 300,000 square feet to 1,293,928 square feet.

Plant City will hold a public transmittal hearing on Monday, December 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Plant City Hall, Sadye Martin Gibbs Auditorium, 302 W. Reynolds St., Plant City.

Statement of Lesley Blackner, president, Florida Hometown Democracy:

2010-11-02T21:19:00.000-04:00

We are obviously disappointed in the apparent outcome of the referendum on Amendment 4. But we are extremely grateful for the countless thousands of volunteers and grassroots activists who stepped forward over the past seven years to fight the monumental battle just to get this issue on the ballot.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to have a rational discussion of a solution to Florida’s horrible growth management problem in 30-second television ads that cost millions of dollars to air. Voters were subjected to the full financial power of those special interests that are committed to maintaining a death grip on their ability to control the status quo of sprawl and overbuilding in our state. We nonetheless respect the voters’ judgment at the ballot box.

For seven years, we sought to focus a discussion about how Florida will grow. We hope it is a discussion that continues beyond today, which marks the end of the Florida Hometown Democracy movement. It is left to our state’s elected leaders and residents find an answer to Florida’s addiction to promiscuous construction before it is too late for our state’s natural resources and quality of life.

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL.

How the game is played

2010-11-02T21:07:00.000-04:00

I am moving this to the top because I believe that had the press in Florida done its job, Amendment 4 would have had a fighting chance.
Too late fact-checking now.

My mother was full of helpful moral suggestions: Play nicely. Share. Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.

My parents were good people and they instilled in me the belief that most people are good and deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I’ve been thinking about that last phrase a lot lately - the one about how you play the game.

Maybe I’m just naïve but working to help get Amendment 4 passed has been an eye-opening experience for me.

I didn’t think that people who are supposed to be respectable could lie with a straight face.

But I’ve seen it time and time again during Amendment 4 debates when elected officials say, as if it was written in stone, that if the amendment passes, people will have to vote on everything. The truth is, the only thing we’d vote on are changes to our comprehensive plans that those same elected officials first approve. I’ve heard them predict dire consequences for the economy when the truth is our economy is in dire straits because those same elected officials have been making bad decisions. And now they want you to believe that somehow, if nothing changes, they will suddenly have a solution.

I didn’t know that for a lot of people, the end justifies the means. I didn’t know that a group like the Florida TaxWatch would conjure up an economic report based on fallacy and present it as fact.

I’ve been making excuses for what I consider to be a shameful lack of impartiality on the part of Florida journalists. I used to be one of them.

But for the last year now, I have seen time and again newspapers printing propaganda by Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy without bothering to check the facts. I’ve seen articles that are totally one-sided and, in my opinion, shamelessly promote the agenda of a group of people who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Newspapers are supposed to be more than just one big press release for the powers that be.

I wonder now, when I read an article, if I am really getting both sides of the story, if I am really getting all of the information I need to find the element of truth.

An institution which is supposed to be impartial has, for all intents and purposes, taken sides.

Our county’s strength has always centered on freedom; freedom of speech, of the press, freedom to change our laws when the laws we have seem to benefit the powerful at the expense of average citizens.

When it becomes ok for speeches to be full of lies that go unchallenged, when a sincere attempt to change the law to give citizens more power is treated with contempt, when an institution that bases its credibility on unbiased reporting starts having an agenda, we weaken the very foundation of what has made us strong.

All we have wanted is a level playing field. I’m sorry to say, we haven’t gotten it.

More than 12 million dollars can buy a lot of votes

2010-11-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

It may be a sad day for Florida tomorrow.

Please read before you vote

2010-11-02T07:35:00.000-04:00

One last time, 1000 Friends of Florida Statement on Amendment 4

Florida is at a critical juncture in its history. For decades, the state had relied on the engines of growth to fuel its economy. With the recent economic downturn, the problems with this approach have proven increasingly apparent. Many are justifiably frustrated with “business as usual” in Florida, and want to see new solutions to the state’s longstanding problems.

One attempt to address this problem is the proposed Constitutional Amendment 4, known as Florida Hometown Democracy. This amendment, which will be on the ballot in November 2010, must receive a supermajority of 60 percent or more to pass. If successful, Amendment 4 would require that any amendment to a community’s local comprehensive plan be approved by a majority of that community’s voters. Florida Hometown Democracy is intended to address failures of local government to adopt and implement reasonable growth management decisions, failures by the Legislature to fund, improve and strengthen growth management controls, and the loss of public access and voice in the comprehensive planning process.

Since Amendment 4 was first proposed, the Board of Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida has been on record as not supporting it for a host of reasons. The Board believes that the amendment could result in local concerns overwhelming larger societal ones, dilute the accountability of local elected officials for development decisions, result in piecemeal planning, engender media campaigns in which those with greater funding would have inordinate influence on the outcome, result in planning gridlock due to the unclear language of the amendment, and result in retaliation by the Legislature.

At the same time, the Board of Directors has been very mindful that the on-the-ground results of the state’s current growth management system are not as intended. Our state still faces sprawling, inappropriately sited development, degraded natural areas, overcrowded classrooms, and congested roads. In addition, over the last two years the state’s land planning agency, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, has approved approximately 90 percent of the plan amendments it has reviewed. This has impacted hundreds of thousands of acres, and authorized an additional 600,000 dwelling units and more than 1 billion square feet of non-residential office and institutional space, all of which remains unbuilt. Current estimates are that Florida’s built vacant housing inventory continues to hover between 300,000 and 400,000 dwelling units, and Florida is now leading the nation in outright numbers of foreclosures. Additionally, DCA is now reviewing numerous plan amendments that have been submitted with the intent of being approved before possible passage of Amendment 4 in November.

Before the 2010 Session, 1000 Friends outlined four steps the Florida Legislature should take to address fundamental flaws with the state’s growth management system. The first was adoption of 1000 Friends proposed “Citizen Bill of Rights” which included requirements for a supermajority vote of the elected body for all plan amendment changes; a mandatory citizen participation plan and workshops conducted by any developer seeking a land use change; a “cooling off” period preventing last minute changes to plans before public meetings to allow the public, staff and elected officials time for informed deliberation; preservation of citizen standing status throughout any appeal process; and citizen protection from SLAPP suits associated with any participation in the comprehensive planning process.

The second step was full funding for the state’s land acquisition program, Florida Forever, and the Sadowski Affordable Housing Program. The third was adoption of a meaningful state plan(s) that guides/requires that all state capital funds be spent to make existing communities more livable, rather than promote expansion and sprawl. The fourth was adequate funding to administer all growth management programs, including reviews of comprehensive plan amendments and Developments of Regional Impact (DRIs).

The results of the 2010 session were disappointing at best. No action was taken on the proposed Citizen Bill of Rights. While Florida Forever received $15 million in funding (a far cry short of the typical $300 million authorized annually for the program even though it was endorsed by all conservation groups and the Florida Chamber, among others), the effort to remove the cap on the Sadowski Affordable Housing Program fell victim to last minute political maneuvers, and that program received minimal funding of $37.5 million. No action was taken on the adoption of a meaningful state plan. And while the Florida Department of Community Affairs received continuation funding, the legislature did not affirmatively reauthorize the agency, leaving it in a vulnerable “legislative limbo” for the coming year.

Based on the inaction of the Florida legislature in 2010 and earlier years to affirmatively address major shortcomings in the state’s growth management system, the Board of Directors of 1000 Friends of Florida felt it was necessary to reevaluate its position on Amendment 4. A number of the Board Members still believe that Amendment 4 represents a flawed approach that will not resolve problems with Florida’s growth management system and may, in fact, make things worse. However, Board Members also feel that the existing system is seriously flawed and change is needed, even if that change is less than perfect.

The Board of Directors further recognizes that both opponents and supporters of Amendment 4 have numerous valid reasons sustaining their positions. In large part, the differing positions on Amendment 4 appear to reflect individual Board Members and citizens’ experiences with their particular local governments. For some, Amendment 4 appears to be the only logical choice. For others, the many pitfalls Amendment 4 brings are reason enough not to support it. The opportunity for choice then appears to be the most reasonable alternative. 1000 Friends therefore is taking a neutral position on Amendment 4 and urges the voters of Florida to carefully evaluate this analysis, other information, and their local and state growth management experiences when voting on this important constitutional amendment.

Should Amendment 4 pass, we recognize that its language leaves many issues open to different interpretation and possible litigation. However, 1000 Friends of Florida commits to work with state and local leaders and citizens to the extent possible to establish a fair and equitable new process that adheres to the spirit of Amendment 4. We also will view this as a call to the Legislature to bring about additional positive change to Florida’s growth management process that supplements the intent of Amendment 4.

Should Amendment 4 fail, 1000 Friends will not view this as an endorsement of the status quo. We fully recognize that Florida’s growth management system is in need of serious and major reform. We will use all avenues possible to bring about this reform in a manner that increases and enhances citizen involvement in the local planning process, strengthens local government accountability for planning and development decisions, and brings meaningful improvement to state law and implementation.

Whatever the outcome in November, Florida cannot return to “business as usual.” The recent economic crisis has proven all too clearly that a growth- and development-driven economy is costly, shortsighted, and untenable over the long haul.

How much does it cost to convince people they don't want a say in how their communities grow?

2010-10-30T19:26:00.012-04:00

$1,250,478.43 is what our opposition has spent IN JUST THE LAST 2 WEEKS. Your vote, or the one one you will be denied if Amendment 4 fails, must be worth quite a lot.
Notice how much they paid Cornerstone Solutions.
The same company they paid to create the St. Pete Beach story they are now using against Amendment 4.
Campaign Expenditures

Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc.
This information is being provided as a convenience to the public, has been processed by the Division of Elections and should be cross referenced with the original report on file with the Division of Elections in case of questions.

About the Campaign Finance Data Base

Rpt Yr Rpt Type Date Amount Expense Paid To Address City State Zip Purpose Typ Reimb
------ -------- ---------- ------------ ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------

2010 G4 10/20/2010 400,000.00 NATL. MEDIA RESEARCH, PLANNING 815 SLATERS LANE ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 MEDIA PLACEMENT MON
2010 G4 10/25/2010 350,000.00 NATL. MEDIA RESEARCH, PLANNING 815 SLATERS LANE ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 MEDIA PLACEMENT MON
2010 G4 10/28/2010 200,000.00 NATL. MEDIA RESEARCH, PLANNING 815 SLATERS LANE ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 MEDIA PLACEMENT MON
2010 G4 10/20/2010 83,137.00 CHRIS MOTTOLA CONSULTING, INC. 1392 LAFAYETTE STREET CAPE MAY, NJ 08204 MEDIA PRODUCTION MON
2010 G4 10/20/2010 56,665.00 MCLAUGHLIN & ASSOCIATES, INC. 566 SOUTH ROUTE 303 BLAUVELT, NY 10913 SURVEYS MON
2010 G4 10/28/2010 28,395.00 MCLAUGHLIN & ASSOCIATES, INC. 566 SOUTH ROUTE 303 BLAUVELT, NY 10913 SURVEY MON
2010 G4 10/28/2010 23,979.00 CHRIS MOTTOLA CONSULTING, INC. 1392 LAFAYETTE STREET CAPE MAY, NJ 08204 MEDIA PRODUCTION MON
2010 G4 10/14/2010 18,000.00 PRESENTATION TESTING, INC. 330 W. 38TH STREET, #1705 NEW YORK, NY 10018 TELECONFERENCING MON
2010 G4 10/11/2010 17,000.00 CONSENSUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. P.O. BOX 2898 WINTER PARK, FL 32790 CONSULTING/OFFICE RENT MON
2010 G4 10/11/2010 11,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON
2010 G4 10/11/2010 6,834.90 RISE STRATEGIESINC. P. O. BOX 566236 MIAMI, FL 33256 MEDIA PRODUCTION MON
2010 G4 10/12/2010 5,000.00 ANTHONY GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS,I 1665 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD., # WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 CONSULTING MON
2010 G4 10/18/2010 5,000.00 COATES LAW FIRM, P.L. 115 E. PARK AVENUE, #1 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 LEGAL SERVICES MON
2010 G4 10/28/2010 5,000.00 FREDERICK POLLS, LLC 2101 WILSON BLVD., #104 ARLINGTON, VA 22201 CONSULTING MON
2010 G4 10/25/2010 4,888.20 RISE STRATEGIESINC. P. O. BOX 566236 MIAMI, FL 33256 MEDIA PRODUCTION MON
2010 G4 10/26/2010 4,888.20 RISE STRATEGIESINC. P. O. BOX 566236 MIAMI, FL 33256 MEDIA PRODUCTION MON
2010 G4 10/12/2010 4,750.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 VOTER CONTACT MON
2010 G4 10/18/2010 4,126.70 ROBERT WATKINS & COMPANY 610 SOUTH BOULEVARD TAMPA, FL 33606 ACCOUNTING SERVICES MON
2010 G4 10/19/2010 3,418.65 GRAPHICS DIRECT, INC. 552 U.S. HIGHWAY 27 MINNEOLA, FL 34715 PRINTING MON
2010 G4 10/18/2010 2,400.00 SPARXIT 413 OAK HILL DRIVE ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL 32701 WEBSITE SERVICES MON
2010 G4 10/16/2010 1,290.66 PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYER RESOURCE 500 N. MAITLAND AVENUE, #201 MAITLAND, FL 32751 PAYROLL TAXES/BENEFITS MON
2010 G4 10/22/2010 1,219.00 MESSER DREW 2635 IROQUOIS STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL 32210 MILEAGE MON
2010 G4 10/19/2010 845.00 LIVE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 1363 E. TENNESSEE STREET TALLAHASSEE, FL 32308 ADVERTISEMENT MON
2010 G4 10/12/2010 812.09 LINE 1 COMMUNICATIONS 3400 BIRCHWOOD MANOR TALLAHASSEE, FL 32312 TELEPHONE MON
2010 G4 10/16/2010 451.26 EDONATIONS 117 N. SAINT ASAPH STREET ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 ONLINE FUNDRAISING MON
2010 G4 10/16/2010 252.11 PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYER RESOURCE 500 N. MAITLAND AVENUE, #201 MAITLAND, FL 32751 PAYROLL ADMINISTRATION MON
2010 G4 10/18/2010 75.90 AT&T P.O. BOX 70529 CHARLOTTE, NC 28272 TELEPHONE MON
2010 G4 10/27/2010 36.25 SPARXIT 413 OAK HILL DRIVE ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL 32701 ONLINE FUNDRAISING MON
2010 G4 10/20/2010 20.00 BANK OF TAMPA P.O. BOX 1 TAMPA, FL 33601 SERVICE CHARGE MON
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 BANK OF TAMPA P.O. BOX 1 TAMPA, FL 33601 SERVICE CHARGE MON
2010 G4 10/28/2010 20.00 BANK OF TAMPA P.O. BOX 1 TAMPA, FL 33601 SERVICE CHARGE MON
2010 G4 10/28/2010 15.00 BANK OF TAMPA P.O. BOX 1 TAMPA, FL 33601 SERVICE CHARGE MON
------------
1,250,478.43

38 Expenditure(s) Selected

Query the Campaign Finance Data Base

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[Department of State] [Division of Elections] [Candidates and Races] [Campaign Finance Information]

Campaign Expenditures

Floridians for Smarter Growth, Inc.

This information is being provided as a convenience to the public, has been processed by the Division of Elections and should be cross referenced with the original report on file with the Division of Elections in case of questions.

About the Campaign Finance Data Base

2007 Q4 12/20/2007 28,000.00 CORNERSTONE STRATEGIES & COMMU 6901 OKEECHOBEE BLVD., #K-2 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

Campaign Expenditures

Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc.

2010 F1 04/21/2010 6,500.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

2010 F1 05/12/2010 5,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

2010 F1 05/20/2010 3,500.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 WEBSITE DESIGN MON

2010 F1 06/10/2010 3,500.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 WEBSITE DESIGN MON

2010 F1 06/10/2010 5,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

2010 F1 06/17/2010 12,852.50 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 ADVERTISING MON

2010 F1 06/24/2010 1,170.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 BLAST EMAILS MON

2010 F1 07/15/2010 5,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

2010 F2 07/22/2010 2,188.98 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 ADVERTISING/BLAST EMAILS MON

2010 F3 08/09/2010 11,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

2010 F3 08/09/2010 8,100.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 WEBSITE SVCS./VOTER DATA MON

2010 F3 08/10/2010 4,324.05 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 ADVERTISING MON

2010 G1 08/25/2010 12,852.50 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 ADVERTISING MON

2010 G2 09/21/2010 1,554.75 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 ADVERTISING/EMAIL SERVICE MON

2010 G3 09/28/2010 1,674.44 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 ADVERTISING MON

2010 G3 09/30/2010 200,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 ADVERTISING MON

2010 G3 10/04/2010 11,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

2010 G4 10/11/2010 11,000.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CONSULTING MON

2010 G4 10/12/2010 4,750.00 CORNERSTONE SOLUTIONS & COMMUN 6917 VISTA PARKWAY, N., #1 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 VOTER CONTACT MON

http://www.cornerstonesolutionsteam.com/page/save-our-little-village-solv

Save Our Little Village (SOLV)

Challenge: St. Pete Beach is well known for the warmth of its people, and the splendor of its beaches. But these wonderful things were at risk.   That's why a group of dedicated residents, businesses and community leaders came together and formed Save Our Little Village (SOLV) to improve their community through better planning. But the group needed help getting planning changes on the City of St. Pete Beach official ballot, and communicating with voters about a series of complex changes to improve the community. They turned to Cornerstone for help.

Solution: Cornerstone Solutions developed a campaign plan and messaging strategy to help SOLV develop the ballot changes---and more importantly break down the complicated issues so that voters could understand and support them during a special election.
Cornerstone's keen understanding of public opinion---combined with intricate knowledge of the ballot process---helped SOLV get their message out, and mobilize voters during a June special election. We designed a comprehensive voter outreach and mobilization campaign that distilled a series of complex ballot measures into a simple message that motivated voters on Election Day. Our services included:

•Strategic counsel
•Messaging
•Survey research
•Voter targeting
•New media and netroots
•Direct mail and phone banks
•Coalition development
•Grassroots and GOTV
•Event planning
•Media (TV/Radio)
•Web development
Result: All six ballot measures passed with impressive margins on Election Day. For the first time in 20 years, the residents of St. Pete Beach are developing a new plan that will improve the quality of life and protect the community's character.

For the Love of Money

2010-10-30T12:57:00.001-04:00

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/TreFin.exe

Campaign Contributions
Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc.

About the Campaign Finance Data Base

Rpt Yr Rpt Type Date Amount Contributor Name Address City State Zip Occupation Typ InKind Desc
------ -------- ---------- ------------ ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- --- -----------------------
2010 G4 10/20/2010 549,949.00 REALTORS POLITICAL ISSUES COMM P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. INK DIRECT MAIL SERVICES
2010 G4 10/12/2010 161,600.00 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 100,000.00 CEMEX, INC. EMPLOYEES, PAC 920 MEMORIAL CITY WAY, #100 HOUSTON, TX 77024 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 84,000.00 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/17/2010 75,000.00 PLUM CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE CORP P. O. BOX 1990 COLUMBIA FALLS, MT 59912 TIMBER CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 56,901.70 FLORIDIANS FOR SMARTER GROWTH P.O. BOX 532018 ORLANDO, FL 32853 PUBLIC POLICY CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50,000.00 WAL-MART STORES, INC. 702 S.W. 8TH STREET BENTONVILLE, AR 72716 RETAIL STORES CHE
2010 G4 10/23/2010 50,000.00 INTL. COUNCIL OF SHOPPING CENT 1221 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, 4 NEW YORK, NY 10020 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/24/2010 30,000.00 SOUTH FLORIDA STADIUM CORPORAT 347 DON SHULA DRIVE MIAMI GARDENS, FL 33056 STADIUM INK ADVERTISEMENT
2010 G4 10/12/2010 25,000.00 FORTUNE BRANDS, INC. 520 LAKE COOK ROAD DEERFIELD, IL 60015 MANUFACTURING CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 25,000.00 PROBUILD COMPANY, LLC 7595 TECHNOLOGY WAY, #500 DENVER, CO 80237 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 25,000.00 FLORIDA BUILDERS FOR A BETTER 201 E. PARK AVENUE TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 25,000.00 WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER BENTON HARBOR, MI 49022 APPLIANCES CHE
2010 G4 10/23/2010 20,000.00 MASCO CORPORATION 21001 WAN BORN ROAD TAYLOR, MI 48180 PRODUCT MANUFACTURIN CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 20,000.00 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 15,000.00 NATL. ASSN. OF INDUSTRIAL & OF 2201 COOPERATIVE WAY HERNDON, VA 20171 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 10,000.00 MINTO COMMUNITIES, LLC 4400 W. SAMPLE ROAD, #200 COCONUT CREEK, FL 33073 DEVELOPMENT CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 10,000.00 CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATES OF SOU 2929 N.W. 62ND STREET FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33309 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 8,330.76 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. INK YARD SIGNS/T-SHIRTS
2010 G4 10/21/2010 5,344.15 FLORIDA REALTORS P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION INK ADVERTISING
2010 G4 10/09/2010 5,000.00 TURNER ROBERT P. 489 CHERRY KNOB DRIVE MARS HILL, NC 28754 CONTSUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 5,000.00 WAWA, INC. 260 W. BALTINMORE PIKE WAWA, PA 19063 RETAIL STORES CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 5,000.00 GUNSTER YOAKLEY & STEWART, P.A 777 S. FLAGLER DRIVE, #500E WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 5,000.00 LEEVISTA, INC. P. O. BOX 620365 ORLANDO, FL 32862 DEVELOPMENT CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 5,000.00 FLORIDA RACCA, INC. 466 94TH AVENUE, N. ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33702 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE
2010 G4 10/16/2010 5,000.00 GULF COAST BUILDERS EXCHANGE C 8470 ENTERPRISE CIRCLE, #101 LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 5,000.00 MANASOTA ACCA, INC. 466 94TH AVENUE, N. ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33702 AIR CONDITIONING CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 5,000.00 ASSOC. GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF 2617 N AUSTRALIAN AVENUE WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33407 CONTRACTING CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 5,000.00 BALFOUR BEATTY CONSTRUCTION 3100 MCKINNON STREET, 6TH FLOO DALLAS, TX 75201 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 5,000.00 GREENBERG MICHAEL 20456 SAN RAFAEL COURT BOCA RATON, FL 33498 DEVELOPER CHE
2010 G4 10/16/2010 4,560.54 GULF COAST BUILDERS EXCHANGE, 8470 ENTERPRISE CIRCLE, #101 LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/27/2010 3,850.00 SUNRISE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT 1 PANTHER PARKWAY SUNRISE, FL 33323 SPORTS ARENA INK ADVERTISING
2010 G4 10/21/2010 3,000.00 COMMITTEE FOR SENSIBLE GROWTH 2800 N.E. 14TH STREET OCALA, FL 34470 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 3,000.00 ASSOC. BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS 2008 N. HIMES AVENUE TAMPA, FL 33607 CONTRACTING CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 2,500.00 ROSS MAC 8130 GLADES ROAD, #369 BOCA RATON, FL 33434 OUTDOOR MEDIA CONSUL INK ADVERTISING
2010 G4 10/19/2010 2,500.00 CF INDUSTRIES 4 PARKWAY NORTH, #400 DEERFIELD, IL 60015 AGRICULTURAL FERTILI CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 2,000.00 BIG BEND CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATI 7566 W. TENNESSEE STREET TALLAHASSEE, FL 32304 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 2,000.00 ASSOC. GEN. CONTRACTORS FOR BE P. O. BOX 10569 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 2,000.00 ASSOC. GEN. CONTRACTORS FOR RE P. O. BOX 10569 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 2,000.00 CARLTON FIELDS CCE P. O. DRAWER 190 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 2,000.00 CARLTON FIELDS P. O. DRAWER 190 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 1,500.00 COMMITTEE FOR SENSIBLE GROWTH 2800 N.E. 14TH STREET OCALA, FL 34470 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 1,000.00 LEONAGGEO BENEFITS, INC. 1 E. CHESTERFIELD DRIVE BOYNTON BEACH, FL 33426 INSURANCE CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 1,000.00 BAL HARBOUR SHOPS 9700 COLLINS AVENUE, 3RD LEVEL BAL HARBOUR, FL 33154 REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 1,000.00 BRYANT MILLER OLIVE 101 N. MONROE, #900 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 1,000.00 KILLEBREW SAM H. P. O. BOX 5590 LAKELAND, FL 33807 INVESTMENTS/AGRICULT CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 1,000.00 ASSOC. GEN. CONTRACTORS BUILDI P. O. BOX 10569 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 1,000.00 BECKER B14 GROVE, LTD. 3150 CARDINAL DRIVE VERO BEACH, FL 32963 AGRICULTURE CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 1,000.00 FLOIRDA AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASS 400 N. MERIDIAN STREET TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 DEALERS ASSN. CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 1,000.00 BAY AREA APARTMENT ASSOCIATION 6107B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 APARTMENT ASSOCIATIO CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 1,000.00 CBH OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA, INC. 4400 BAYOU BLVD., #4A PENSACOLA, FL 32503 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 1,000.00 BEDROCK RESOURCES 2441 E. FT. KING STREET, #2102 OCALA, FL 34471 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 1,000.00 HOPPING GREEN & SAMS P. O. BOX 6526 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32314 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1,000.00 SIMMONS & WHITE, INC. 5601 CORPORATE WAY, #200 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33407 ENGINEERING CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1,000.00 NACM-ICPC PAC, INC. P. O. 22827 TAMPA, FL 33622 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/27/2010 1,000.00 SUCA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTE 7402 N. 56TH STREET, #855 TAMPA, FL 33617 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 617.70 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. INK T-SHIRTS
2010 G4 10/15/2010 600.00 LEWIS, LONGMAN & WALKER, P.A. 515 N. FLAGLER DRIVE, #1500 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 600.00 WHITTLE PAM 100 E. CALL STREET STARKE, FL 32091 ASSOCIATION EXECUTIV INK ADVERTISEMENT
2010 G4 10/28/2010 594.00 TITAN AMERICA, LLC 455 FAIRWAY DRIVE DEERFIELD BEACH, FL 33441 BUILDING MATERIALS CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 550.00 SCHROEDER MANATEE RANCH, INC. 14400 COVENANT WAY BRADENTON, FL 34202 DEVELOPMENT CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 500.00 MASCHMEYER CONCRETE CO. OF FLO 1142 WATERTOWER ROAD LAKE PARK, FL 33403 CONCRETE COMAPNY CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 500.00 KING ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES, I 6500 BOWDEN ROAD, SUITE 290 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216 ENGINEERING CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 500.00 HOMETEAM PEST DEFENSE, INC. 3100 MCKINNON, #300 DALLAS, TX 75201 PEST CONTROL CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 500.00 CAPITAL CITY BANK P. O. BOX 900 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BANK CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 500.00 JAMES MOORE & COMPANY, P.A. 2477 TIM GABLE PLACE, #200 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32308 ACCOUNTING CHE
2010 G4 10/16/2010 500.00 FLORIDA CITRUS PACKERS CCE P. O. BOX 1113 LAKELAND, FL 33802 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 500.00 URBAN DESIGN KILDAY STUDIOS, L 477 S. ROSEMARY AVENUE, #225 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTU CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 500.00 HALL JIM 1302 OSPREY AVENUE ORLANDO, FL 32803 URBAN PLANNER CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 500.00 SPECIFIED ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEM 9942 CURRIE DAVIS DRIVE, #C TAMPA, FL 33619 CONTRACTING CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 500.00 SCHRIMSHER MICHAEL A. 3330 CARLA STREET ORLANDO, FL 32806 REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 500.00 CORRIGAN DAN 7150 20TH STREET. #E VERO BEACH, FL 32966 BUSINESS MANAGER CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 500.00 CORRIGAN PATRICIA 7150 20TH STREET. #E VERO BEACH, FL 32966 OWNER CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 500.00 PRIMERICA GROUP ONE, INC. 3629 MADACA LANE TAMPA, FL 33618 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 500.00 GRAVES BROTHERS COMPANY 2770 INDIAN RIVER BLVD., #201 VERO BEACH, FL 32960 CITRUS CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 500.00 BUCKEYE PLUMBING, INC. 310 BUSINESS PARK WAY WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 PLUMBING CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 500.00 DABNEY THOMAS G. 4600 CAMINO REAL SARASOTA, FL 34231 REAL ESTATE INVESTOR CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 500.00 SUNRISE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT 1 PANTHER PARKWAY SUNRISE, FL 33323 SPORTS ARENA INK ADVERTISING
2010 G4 10/25/2010 500.00 CARDEL HOMES, US, LP 3160 S. FALKENBURG ROAD RIVERVIEW, FL 33569 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 500.00 TURNER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY 1000 N.W. 57TH COURT, #200 MIAMI, FL 33126 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 500.00 NORTH PAC 1983 PGA BLVD., #104 PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33410 POLITICAL ORG. CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 400.00 BAY COUNTY BULLET 1714 W. 23RD STREET, #G PANAMA CITY, FL 32405 NEWSPAPER INK ADVERTISEMENT
2010 G4 10/12/2010 300.00 DRAKE STEPHEN J. 2756 CUTTERS CORNER THE VILLAGES, FL 32162 DIRECTOR OF PURCHASI CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 300.00 IMPACT LANDSCAPING & IRRIGATIO P. O. BOX 1289 OKEECHOBEE, FL 34973 LANDSCAPING CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 300.00 SEYMOUR BRIAN M. 110 ALEGRIA WAY PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33418 ATTORNEY CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 300.00 GARNER LAW, P.A. 61 N. OJIBWA ROAD MONTICELLO, FL 32344 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 300.00 GUIGNARD COMPANY 1904 BOOTHE CIRCLE, #5 LONGWOOD, FL 32750 SURETY BONDS CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 250.00 PHILIPS MARIBETH 5284 PAYLOR LANE SARASOTA, FL 34240 HUMAN RESOURCES CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 RADCLIFFE ENGINEERING 2611 S.E. LAKE WEIR AVENUE OCALA, FL 34471 ENGINEERING CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 CATALFUMO 3701 CATALFUMO WAY PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33410 CONTRACTING CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 BURKHARDT VINCENT G. 1400 ALABAMA AVENUE, #20 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 GENERAL CONTRACTOR CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 SCHRIMSHER FRANK 1541 HEMPEL AVENUE WINDERMERE, FL 34786 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPE CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 BROWN TED R. 230 ADAMS DRIVE MAITLAND, FL 32751 ATTORNEY CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 FRAZER, HUBBARD, BRANDT, TRASK 595 MAIN STREET DUNEDIN, FL 34698 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 IDSARDI ROBERT C. 1024 DOVE ROAD KEY LARGO, FL 33037 STORAGE CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 TAMPA BAY POOLS 1137 SPLIT SILK STREET VALRICO, FL 33594 POOL CONTRACTOR CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 ION ELECTRIC P. O. BOX 577 STERLING HEIGHTS, MI 48311 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTO CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 250.00 PEPPER CONTRACTING SERVICES, I 14561 58TH STREET, N. CLEARWATER, FL 33760 CONTRACTING CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 250.00 SHIELD PROPERTIES, INC. 914 ATLANTIC AVENUE, #2A FERNANDINA BEACH, FL 32034 REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 250.00 JACK WALSH CARPETS AND RUGS, I 501 ARDMORE ROAD WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 FLOORING CONTRACTOR CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 250.00 GULF CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATIO P. O. BOX 1319 LABELLE, FL 33975 AGRICULTURE CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 250.00 WHITE CHARLES D. 2731 MADRID STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL 32250 REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 250.00 WHITE CHARLES D. 2731 MADRID STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL 32250 REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 250.00 W. MARTIN BONAN, LLC 2141 S.W. RACQUET CLUB DRIVE PALM CITY, FL 34990 LAW FIRM CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 250.00 PALKA GREG A. 1806 ALAQUA LAKES BLVD. LONGWOOD, FL 32779 REAL ESTATE BROKER CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 250.00 FAMILY LANDS REMEBERED, LLC 138 SANTIAGO DRIVE JUPITER, FL 33458 REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/23/2010 250.00 TOTAL EMPLOYEE LEASING P. O. BOX 15566 PENSACOLA, FL 32514 EMPLOYEE LEASING CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 250.00 EARTHLINK MITIGATION SERVICES, 12800 UNIVERSITY DRIVE, #400 FORT MYERS, FL 33907 MITIGATION SERVICES CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 250.00 NEAL PATRICK *************** ************** REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 250.00 COOPER CONSULTING ENGINEERING, 8891 S.E. BRIDGE ROAD HOBE SOUND, FL 33455 ENGINEERING CONSULTI CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 200.00 MANCINI ALBERT 6553 N.W. 33RD AVENUE BOCA RATON, FL 33496 MANUFACTURING CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 200.00 SALTERS JR. FRANK D. 5965 CHESAPEAKE PARK ORLANDO, FL 32819 DISTRICT MANAGER CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 200.00 MARINACCIO LEWIS 9024 TOWN CENTER PARKWAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 OWNER CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 200.00 MILLER DARLA 13929 LOUISA COURT CLERMONT, FL 34711 CONSULTANT CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 200.00 JOHNSTON GROUP LAND DEVELPMENT 601 HERITAGE DRIVE, #127 JUPITER, FL 33458 LAND DEVELOPMENT CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 200.00 DUNPHY STACIE 2950 EAGLE ESTATES CIRCLE, W. CLEARWATER, FL 33761 HOMEMAKER CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 200.00 TONI LOMBARDI HAIR BY DESIGN 9070 58TH DRIVE, E., #101 LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 HAIR SALON CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 200.00 GOENAGA ARMANDO J. 7226 N.W. 127TH WAY PARKLAND, FL 33076 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPE CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 200.00 WOODS STEVEN H. 6550 N. FEDERAL HIGHWAY, #410 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33308 ACCOUNTANT CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 200.00 STEPHEN ALLAN ELIAS & ASSOCIAT 1 GROVE ISLE DRIVE, #1807 MIAMI, FL 33133 REAL ESTATE CHE
2010 G4 10/27/2010 200.00 HARDEE COUNTY BUILDERS ASSN., P. O. BOX 1025 WAUCHULA, FL 33873 BUILDER'S ASSOCIATIO CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 200.00 CASTRO JR. DIEGO F. 4895 LOMBARD PASS DRIVE LAKE WORTH, FL 33463 GENERAL MANAGER CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 190.00 GULF COAST WINDOW CLEANING OF 526 4TH AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34208 WINDOW CLEANING CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 156.00 PETERSON CLAIRE 1775 N. ANDREWS AVENUE, #W210 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33311 HOMEMAKER CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 150.00 PRIETO FRANK A. 16466 N.E. 26TH AVENUE NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FL 33160 CONSTRUCTION CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 150.00 JACKSON LAND DEVELOPMENT, LLC 1888 N.W. 21ST STREET POMPANO BEACH, FL 33069 LAND DEVELOPMENT CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 150.00 GAGLIANDI KAREN 1819 MAIN STREET, #1000 VENICE, FL 34290 SALES CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 150.00 MARINACCIO ANN MARIE 0818 PARKSTONE TERRACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 ACCOUNTANT CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 150.00 GRIFFITH PAMELA R. 15211 CAMARGO PLACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 RETIRED CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 140.00 FORRISTALL MARY 3404 17TH STREET, E. PALMETTO, FL 34221 CONSTRUCTION EXEC. CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 120.00 SMR AGGREGATES, INC. 5875 QUARRY DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34240 AGGREGATES CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 110.00 CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER FSMS P. O. BOX 1545 FRUITLAND PARK, FL 34731 ASSOCIATION CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 100.00 JON M. HALL COMPANY 480 E. TROTTERS DRIVE MAITLAND, FL 32751 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 100.00 BERGER WM. *************** ************** CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 100.00 BLUE OCEAN CAPITAL P. O. BOX 3505 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33402 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 100.00 "B"ING THE BEST, INC. 1351 S. KILLIAN DRIVE, #1 LAKE PARK, FL 33403 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 100.00 DORSEY INSURANCE, LLC 6301 WASHINGTON ROAD WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 100.00 SIMMS MARC 9040 TOWN CENTER PARKWAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 100.00 CANDENAS CARLOS 6407 PARLAND DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34243 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 100.00 HOWARD MARY 11061 GATEWOOD DRIVE, #101 BRADENTON, FL 34211 CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 100.00 COOGAN WINDOW & DOOR, INC. 10615 U.S. HIGHWAY 19 HUDSON, FL 34667 CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 100.00 COOGAN WINDOW & DOOR, INC. 10615 U.S. HIGHWAY 19 HUDSON, FL 34667 CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 100.00 BRADLEY A. DUBNER, INC. 12994 170TH ROAD, N. JUPITER, FL 33478 CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 100.00 RIDDELL JULIENNE 3400 S. TAMIAMI TRAIL SARASOTA, FL 34239 CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 100.00 KP INVESTMENTS, LLC P. O. BOX 180437 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32318 CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 100.00 THOMAS JR. THEODORE F. 1469 VIEUX CARRE DRIVE TALLAHASSEE, FL 32308 CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 100.00 JONES R. MICHAEL 11447 SHADY OAKS LANE NORTH PALM BEACH, FL 33408 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 SAN FRATELLO RAY 1945 BRANTLEY CIRCLE CLERMONT, FL 34711 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 LEWIN SHERI F. 614 E. HIGHWAY 50, #323 CLERMONT, FL 34711 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 CHISHOLM PATRICK 2460 FOREST CLUB DRIVE ORLANDO, FL 32804 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 SARDINA HECTOR 1807 GREGORY ROAD WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33406 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 WALLING KENT 127 VALENCIA CIRCLE ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33716 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 GREEN CONSULTING GROUP 4070 UNITED AVENUE MOUNT DORA, FL 32757 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 ESSENWINE BARBARA A. 2591 S.W. ESTELLA TERRACE PALM CITY, FL 34990 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 CREST CLEANERS 1242 DIXON BLVD. COCOA, FL 32922 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 SELLERS JR. LAWRENCE E. 224 ROSEHILL DRIVE, N. TALLAHASSEE, FL 32312 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 OVERDORF TOBIN R. 4020 S.W. RIVERS END WAY PALM CITY, FL 34990 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 HENKLE DEAN H. 4020 S.W. RIVER END WAY PALM CITY, FL 34990 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 GLASS DOCTOR P. O. BOX 271429 TAMPA, FL 33688 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 BISHOP MARYANN 22843 HALE ROAD LAND O' LAKES, FL 34639 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 BROTEN GARAGE DOOR SALES, INC. 6950 S.W. 87TH AVENUE PARKLAND, FL 33067 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 LANGHOUT DAVID B. 7312 WAX MYRTLE WAY SARASOTA, FL 34241 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 100.00 TWITTY PAUL M. 7720 S. FLAGLER DRIVE WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33405 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 FREEMAN PAUL H. 1776 MICHIGAN AVENUE MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 CERBONE CINDY 3012 VINCENT ROAD WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33405 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 VANDON, INC. 8131 LAKEWOOD MAIN STREET, #M1 BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 MORSE CHARLES B. 9040 TOWN CENTER PARKWAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 CANNON PHILLIPA 6710 PROFESSIONAL PARKWAY, W., SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 ACKOURY STEPHEN P. P. O. BOX 747 ONECO, FL 34264 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 MILLER CARLIN 673 EASTPOINTE PARKWAY SARASOTA, FL 34232 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 SLATER CHARLES L. 522 BAYVIEW DRIVE HOLMES BEACH, FL 34217 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 TRC STAFFING SERVICES 5321 FRUITVILLE ROAD SARASOTA, FL 34232 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 BREDT BARRY H. 7523 MIZNER RESERVE COURT LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 ICARD, MERRILL, CULLIS ET AL P. O. BOX 4195 SARASOTA, FL 34230 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 WEINTRAUB ANNE 1900 RINGLING BLVD. SARASOTA, FL 34236 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 FINK DAVID 9703 25TH STREET, E. PARRISH, FL 34219 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 100.00 20 MINUTES TO FITNESS LWR, LLC 6257 LAKE OSPREY DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 100.00 TAMPA BAY PARTNERSHIP 4107 SALTWATER BLVD. TAMPA, FL 33615 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 100.00 WALTERS SANDRA 11 SOMBRERO BLVD., #3 MARATHON, FL 33050 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 100.00 GENTILE GEORGE G. 9438 SOUTHERN OAK LANE JUPITER, FL 33478 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 100.00 CBS BUILDERS SUPPLY, INC. 1000 CARROLL STREET CLERMONT, FL 34711 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 100.00 LEWIS MARY D. 2464 DUE WELL DRIVE THE VILLAGES, FL 32162 CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 100.00 JIMENEZ ADRIANA 130 ANTIQUERA AVENUE CORAL GABLES, FL 33134 CHE
2010 G4 10/24/2010 100.00 ROE CHARLOTTE C. P. O. BOX 31687 PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33420 CHE
2010 G4 10/24/2010 100.00 ROE JR. J. W. 14255 U.S. HIGHWAY 1, #224 JUNO BEACH, FL 33408 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 CHASE EDWARD M. 3402 GARDENS EAST DRIVE, #7B PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33410 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 PAT WILLIAMS & ASSOCIATES, INC 1600 S.E. ST. LUCIE BLVD., #30 STUART, FL 34997 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 DAVIS RYAN E. 3786 LOWER UNION ROAD ORLANDO, FL 32814 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 GREEN GREGORY 1001 3RD AVENUE, W., #500 BRADENTON, FL 34205 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 DAIN WENDELL L. 6532 MOORING POINT CIRCLE, #10 LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 SUTTER ROOFING COMPANY OF FLOR 8284 VICO COURT SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 LAW OFFICE OF LORA L. BEDFORD, 1990 MAIN STREET, #750 SARASOTA, FL 34236 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 MCELYEA KEVIN L. 14904 SUNDIAL PLACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 MBJ GROUP, INC. 7604 FAIRWAY WOODS DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34238 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 KEARNEY KITE E. R. 11323 RIVERS BLUFF CIRCLE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 HYATT SURVEY SERVICES 11007 8TH AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34212 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 WICK ARTIS 11547 30TH COVE, E. PARRISH, FL 34219 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 FAZIO BRYAN S. 1537 OAK STREET SARASOTA, FL 34236 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 PRICE DEBRA C. 6603 COOPERS HAWK COURT BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 BUCK DOUGLAS 524 BEVERLY STREET TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 THE NOLAN GROUP, INC. 431 OLD MAIN STREET, #203 BRADENTON, FL 34205 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 LANE ROBERT J. 4579 TUSCANA DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34241 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 BLUE SKYE LENDING, LLC 8130 LAKEWOOD MAIN STREET, #20 LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 CORE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES OF 6320 TOWER LANE SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 VANDON, INC. 8131 LAKEWOOD MAIN STREET, #M1 BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 100.00 JARVIS CONSTANCE G. 14738 1ST AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34212 CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 100.00 BLANTON CHARLES W. 1199 PEBBLE RIDGE COURT JACKSONVILLE, FL 32220 CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 100.00 HARRISON GEORGE R. 3412 PICKWICK DRIVE, S. JACKSONVILLE, FL 32257 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 100.00 FLORIDA CRYSTALS CORPORATION 626 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 CHE
2010 G4 10/15/2010 99.00 BERRY BEVERLY 18502 TRANQUILITY BASE LANE PORT ST. LUCIE, FL 34987 CHE
2010 G4 10/16/2010 99.00 RUBEL NATHANIEL 2906 SERENITY CIRCLE, S. FORT PIERCE, FL 34981 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 90.00 MILLER MARK S. 1540 SELBY LANE SARASOTA, FL 34236 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 80.00 HICKMAN KREG F. 12238 CLUBHOUSE DRIVE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 75.00 CAPELLI JILL ANN 828 CRESTVIW CIRCLE WESTON, FL 33327 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 75.00 BORKOWSKI ROBERT W. 13415 BYTHEFIELD TERRACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 75.00 QUEIOR STEPHEN 5678 PINE HARRIOR DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34231 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 75.00 FURMAN DEBBIE A. 8304 MIRAMAR WAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 70.00 MCCABE MARK T. 1620 KEELY LANE SARASOTA, FL 34232 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 70.00 LAWSON DIANE 14811 7TH AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34212 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 70.00 BROWN THOMAS B. 32 TIDY ISLAND BLVD. BRADENTON, FL 34210 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 60.00 WESSEL TOM 4940 LAKEWOOD RANCH BLVD. SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 60.00 GRIFFITH PAMELA R. 15211 CAMARGO PLACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 NEALIS REX A. 603 S.W. 10TH STREET FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33315 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 CLARK MICHAEL B. 8542 N.W. 50TH DRIVE CORAL SPRINGS, FL 33067 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 HUNSICKER BRIAN 5860 N.E. 14TH TERRACE FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33334 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 DEBOGORY ALEX S. 6741 KINGSMOOR WAY MIAMI LAKES, FL 33014 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 AUSTIN TUPLER TRUCKING, INC. 6570 S.W. 47TH COURT DAVIE, FL 33314 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 WILLIAMSON GEORGE T. 332 PURITAN ROAD WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33405 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 SIMMONS JR. CLARK L. 1080 PARKSIDE GREEN DRIVE, #D GREENACRES, FL 33415 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 POST TRACY A. 153 ROYAL PINE CIRCLE, S. WELLINGTON, FL 33411 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 50.00 KNIGHT PAUL 6522 MABERWOODS DRIVE BOCA RATON, FL 33433 CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 50.00 GUSCETTE TIM I. 1056 RUISDAEL CIRCLE NOKOMIS, FL 34275 CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 50.00 STRICKLAND GREGORY S. 1003 KARA WAY PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33410 CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 50.00 CALLEIRO J. C. 4942 S.W. 87TH PLACE MIAMI, FL 33165 CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 50.00 MARMBY MARISA M. 809 SUCCESS AVENUE LAKELAND, FL 33801 CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 50.00 DELAGARZA JOSE 12301 EQUINE LANE WELLINGTON, FL 33414 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 VOLNER BRIAN 9121 TOWN CENTER PARKWAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 TARADASH SHIRLEY 7038 FOUR SEASONS CIRCLE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 CORLEY MICHAEL 10608 CHEVAL PLACE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 FURST BRIAN 9200 ESTERO PARK COMMONS BLVD. ESTERO, FL 33928 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 FORMELLA JOE 8219 BLAIKE COURT SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 HUNT HARRY 5707 45TH STREET, E., #208 BRADENTON, FL 34203 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 LARSON BOBBI J. 4522 WINDSOR COURT, E. BRADENTON, FL 34203 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 CERRETA CRAIG 7705 EDMONSTON CIRCLE UNIVERSITY PARK, FL 34201 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 50.00 KEKICH BRANDON 6710 PROFESSIONAL WAY, #301 SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 50.00 JOHNSON CORBIN 201 N. PHELPS AVENUE WINTER PARK, FL 32789 CHE
2010 G4 10/17/2010 50.00 BUSSELL BRIAN A. 2922 JUSTIN COURT ORANGE PARK, FL 32065 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 JORDAN WRAY D. 16671 108TH TERRACE, N. JUPITER, FL 33478 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 HAWK CAROL 1774 SKYLINE LANE SEBASTIAN, FL 32958 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 DAN DIXON ARCHITECT, LLC 2222 OSPREY AVENUE ORLANDO, FL 32814 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 WARNER ELINOR L. 871 VIRGINIA DRIVE WINTER PARK, FL 32789 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 ROSS JOHN B. 1513 TANGIER WAY SARASOTA, FL 34239 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 MACKLIN TODD 819 KAPOK WAY WESTON, FL 33327 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 FRAMIL FRANICSCO 2151 S.W. 21ST STREET MIAMI, FL 33145 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 CROGHAN BERNARD 6150 STATE ROAD 70, E. BRADENTON, FL 34203 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 BURNS CINDY A. 710 N.E. 2ND STREET DELRAY BEACH, FL 33483 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 HARTMAN JOHN E. 827 EDGEBROOK LANE WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 50.00 DONAHOE ERIC 1330 W. AVENUE, #2106 MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 POLO GRILL, LLC 10670 BROADWALK LOOP LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 GALLEGHER PATRICK 4186 ESCONDITO CIRCLE SARASOTA, FL 34238 CAS
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 NATHERSON & COMPANY, P.A. 1801 GLENGARY STREET, 2ND FLOO SARASOTA, FL 34241 CAS
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 BLAIKIE BOB 1819 MAIN STREET, #1300 SARASOTA, FL 34236 CAS
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 RICE SUEZETTE 7509 RIDGY COURT LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 BECHHOLD RICK 6552 MOORING POINT CIRCLE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 WICK DAVID C. 11547 30TH COVE, E. HOLMES BEACH, FL 34218 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 MCMILLAN PATRICIA A. 7034 KINGSMILL COURT BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 GODA JOHN M. 239 DOVE TRAIL BRADENTON, FL 34212 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 SLATER MARINA 6847 WAGON WHEEL CIRCLE SARASOTA, FL 34243 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 DE MELLO LINDA M. 7527 RIVER CLUB BLVD. LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 WOOD BRIAN S. 6528 AVENTURA DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34241 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 SMOCK WILLIAM W. 1108 64TH STREET COURT, E. BRADENTON, FL 34208 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 MCELYEA KEVIN L. 14904 SUNDIAL PLACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 QUEIOR STEPHEN 5678 PINE HARRIOR DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34231 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 KEISER UNIVERSITY 1900 W. COMMERCIAL BLVD., #180 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33309 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 HENSHAW JR. EUGENE E. 990 MYAKKA ROAD SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 BLUE SKYE LENDING, LLC 8130 LAKEWOOD MAIN STREET, #20 LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 BEDFORD LORA L. 8365 MIRAMAR WAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 CINDY A. MORTON, P.A. 8112 LONETREE GLEN LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 O'LEARY DONALD 6577 WATERS EDGE WAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 BLACKPOINT REALTY, LLC 10540 PORTAL CROSSING, #111 BRADENTON, FL 34211 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 AXIOM CPA, P.A. 1401 MANATEE AVENUE, W., #510 BRADENTON, FL 34205 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 LANE ROBERT J. 4579 TUSCANA DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34241 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 SERRANO MAUREEN B. 6831 HONEYSUCKLE TRAIL BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 BARRIE BERNARD H. 8023 COLLINGWOOD COURT UNIVERSITY PARK, FL 34201 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 KANE MATTHEW A. 6647 WINDJAMMER PLACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 BARNOTT JOHN R. 7624 TEAL TRACE BRADENTON, FL 34203 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 NORTON, HAMMERSLEY, LOPEZ ET A 1819 MAIN STREET, #610 SARASOTA, FL 34236 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 NICHOLAUS FRANK 15766 116TH TERRACE, N. JUPITER, FL 33478 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 JOHNSON ERIC 1721 CHETENNE TRAIL MAITLAND, FL 32751 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 50.00 ARNE CARLSON INSURANCE AGENCY, 1266 N. PALM AVENUE SARASOTA, FL 34236 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 50.00 DOERRFELD DANIEL 1641 CHATFIELD PLACE ORLANDO, FL 32814 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 50.00 JOYAL CONSTRUCTION 2800 AURORA ROAD, #A MELBOURNE, FL 32935 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 R. W. CRAWFORD CONSTRUCTION, L 6771 PROFESSIONAL PARKWAY, W., SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 TOM WESSEL CONSTRUCTION CORP. 4940 LAKEWOOD RANCH BLVD. SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 NIELSON DEBRA 6603 COOPERS HAWK COURT LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 WHITE RANDY 12217 CLUBHOUSE DRIVE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 BECCINGAR MIKE 5800 LAKEWOOD RANCH BLVD. SARASOTA, FL 34240 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 EVANS CHUCK 5800 LAKEWOOD RANCH BLVD. SARASOTA, FL 34240 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 THOMAIDES TOM 16007 BAYCROSS DRIVE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 SIMONE GARY 20310 77TH AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 SIMONE EILEEN 20310 77TH AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 PERKA DANIEL J. 8354 SAILING LOOP BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 BENAC ELIZABETH L. 3917 OAK GROVE DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34243 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 NEAL JOHN A. 8141 LWR MAIN STREET BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 KENNELLY BRIAN J. 3290 CHARLES MACDONALD DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 BRASE THEODORE J. 7594 TRILLIUM BLVD. SARASOTA, FL 34241 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 ROBINSON JR. WILLIAM C. 2920 PARK LAKE DRIVE BRADENTON, FL 34209 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 O'LEARY DONALD 6577 WATERS EDGE WAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 CROSS LINDA 73654 MERCHANT COURT SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 AVIV GALIT 1540 SELBY LANE SARASOTA, FL 34236 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 DRANE ROBERT 11715 SOFT RUSH TERRACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 DISABATINO ROBERT 6647 41ST STREET CIRCLE, E. SARASOTA, FL 34243 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 HART STEVEN P. 14205 NIGHTHAWK TERRACE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 CASADONTE SR. JOSEPH F. 7314 BLACK WALNUT WAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 LENTZ-BARNOTT LISA 7624 TEAL TRACE BRADENTON, FL 34203 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 BARNOTT JOHN R. 7624 TEAL TRACE BRADENTON, FL 34203 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 POKRYWA CYNTHIA 6461 BLUE GROSBEAK CIRCLE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 JACOBSON CHARLES J. 1970 PALM VIEW ROAD SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 DOUGHERTY-SLAPP MARY 779 MCDILL DRIVE PORT CHARLOTTE, FL 33953 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 LARSON BOBBI J. 4522 WINDSOR COURT, E. BRADENTON, FL 34203 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 CHIOFALO ANTHONY J. 6111 CYPRESS CIRCLE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 P. J. HAYES, INC. 5391 LAKEWOOD RANCH BLVD., #20 SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 JOELS EMMA J. 3111 DICK WILSON DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34240 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 CRAIG CERRETA, P.A. 7705 EDMONSTON DRIVE BRADENTON, FL 34201 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 MYERS CYNTHIA A. 7721 197TH STREET, E. BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 BENSON BRIAN A. 16307 BAYCROSS DRIVE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 CINDY A. MORTON, P.A. 8112 LONETREE GLEN LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 TOTAL AIR SOLUTIONS, LLC 1050 CORPORATE AVENUE, #118 NORTH PORT, FL 34289 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 GONZALEZ DEBRA 10009 LAUREL VALLEY AVENUE CIR BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 NASSAU SHARYN L. 8019 BOUNTY LANE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 ANDERSON JEANNINE C. 719 PLANTERS MANOR WAY BRADENTON, FL 34212 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 TRULIVING, LLC 7903 ROYAL BIRKDALE CIRCLE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 LEE DIANE K. 11610 WATER POPPY TERRACE LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 SHERWIN TARADASH, P.A. 7038 FOUR SEASONS CIRCLE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 SPLIT ROCK ASSOCIATES 411 LYCHEE ROAD NOKOMIS, FL 34275 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 NIELSON ROLF 6603 COOPERS HAWK COURT BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 50.00 NIELSON ROLF 6603 COOPERS HAWK COURT BRADENTON, FL 34202 CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 50.00 ROWE WILLIAM C. 246 VIA RUSSO LANE LAKE MARY, FL 32746 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 50.00 NININGER GARY L. 2862 S.W. TURTLE POINT PALM CITY, FL 34990 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 50.00 KANE MICHAEL R. 2352 BANCHORY ROAD WINTER PARK, FL 32792 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 50.00 SPIRTAS NEIL 406 20TH STREET, W. BRADENTON, FL 34205 CAS
2010 G4 10/28/2010 50.00 BARTZ ROBERT 906 87TH STREET, N.W. BRADENTON, FL 34209 CAS
2010 G4 10/28/2010 50.00 SOUTHWELL STEVEN 362 METHENY ROAD WAUCHULA, FL 33873 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 50.00 CLEMENTS CLAYTON H. 26071 LAKE LINDSEY ROAD BROOKSVILLE, FL 34601 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 40.00 SPLIT ROCK ASSOCIATES 411 LYCHEE ROAD NOKOMIS, FL 34275 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 40.00 MARINACCIO LEWIS 9024 TOWN CENTER PARKWAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 40.00 WATCON GERALD R. 3248 ABBEYFIELD DRIVE, E. JACKSONVILLE, FL 32277 CAS
2010 G4 10/28/2010 40.00 WACHTEL MARK P. O. BOX 221495 HOLLYWOOD, FL 33022 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 25.00 KIDD SANDRA J. 1219 GLENN REED DRIVE STARKE, FL 32091 CHE
2010 G4 10/09/2010 25.00 BERG RICHARD L. 6341 N.W. 63RD WAY PARKLAND, FL 33067 CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 25.00 PETRIE ALBERT J. 18520 SUNWARD LAKE PLACE LUTZ, FL 33549 CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 25.00 FAULKNER LEONARD W. 3672 MCLEAN AVENUE ROCKLEDGE, FL 32955 CHE
2010 G4 10/12/2010 25.00 CRAWFORD RICHARD 181 DROOS WAY CHARLESTON, SC 29414 CHE
2010 G4 10/13/2010 25.00 HUTCHINSON JOSHUA K. 15545 MIAMI LAKEWAY DRIVE, N., MIAMI LAKES, FL 33014 CHE
2010 G4 10/14/2010 25.00 HILES THOMAS 1025 BRAEMAR DRIVE WINTER PARK, FL 32792 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 25.00 WILLE ROBERT 603 INDIAN RIVER AVENUE TITUSVILLE, FL 32796 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 25.00 THOMAS INSPECTION 12841 66TH STREET, N. LARGO, FL 33773 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 25.00 PIGNATARO KATHLEEN 8632 S.E. NICOLETE LANE HOBE SOUND, FL 33455 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 25.00 KUSHNER ALAN M. 1801 51ST TERRACE, S.W. NAPLES, FL 34116 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 25.00 BENEAR LINDA 1296 TALBOT AVENUE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32205 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 25.00 WELLS MARK 1303 N.W. 133RD AVENUE PEMBROKE PINES, FL 33028 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 25.00 BRYAN KIMBERLY 11670 THORNAPPLE DRIVE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32223 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 25.00 LEES GAYLA B. P. O. BOX 320442 TAMPA, FL 33679 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 25.00 COLE SANDRA L. 290 AVENUE F KEY WEST, FL 33040 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 25.00 MESSER ANDREW T. 8974 MOSEY ALONG COURT JACKSONVILLE, FL 32221 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 25.00 JAMES GEOFFREY A. 315 W. CYPRESS COVE CIRCLE DAVIE, FL 33325 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 25.00 EVANS JOHN A. P. O. BOX 620460 OVIEDO, FL 32762 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 25.00 BEERS ELIZABETH A. 1918 FRUITRIDGE STREET BRANDON, FL 33510 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 25.00 BEERS WILLIAM T. 1918 FRUITRIDGE STREET BRANDON, FL 33510 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 25.00 BEERS MARIA LUZ M. 1918 FRUITRIDGE STREET BRANDON, FL 33510 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 25.00 SOUTHARD ALBERTA J. 7563 KEY DEER COURT FORT MYERS, FL 33966 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 25.00 MERRITT CLIFFORD G. P. O. BOX 273151 BOCA RATON, FL 33427 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 25.00 HARTUNG KAREN J. P. O. BOX 891 COCOA, FL 32923 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 25.00 DIANA KEVIN 14220 PASSAGE WAY SEMINOLE, FL 33776 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 25.00 CHERNIN JOEL C. 1770 ARCH COURT SEBASTIAN, FL 32958 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 25.00 JENSEN DOUGLAS J. 8680 S. VISION CIRCLE INVERNESS, FL 34452 CHE
2010 G4 10/19/2010 20.00 AUGUSTYN JULIE M. 632 N. LAKESIDE DRIVE LAKE WORTH, FL 33460 CHE
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 SUTTER ROOFING COMPANY OF FLOR 8284 VICO COURT SARASOTA, FL 34240 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 SUTTER DOUG 8284 VICO COURT SARASOTA, FL 34240 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 LAW OFFICE OF LORA L. BEDFORD, 1990 MAIN STREET, #750 SARASOTA, FL 34236 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 ROBINSON JR. WILLIAM C. 2920 PARK LAKE DRIVE BRADENTON, FL 34209 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 O'LEARY DONALD 6577 WATERS EDGE WAY LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 HYATT SURVEY SERVICES 11007 8TH AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34212 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 HYATT RUSSELL 11007 8TH AVENUE, E. BRADENTON, FL 34212 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 WICK ARTIS 11547 30TH COVE, E. PARRISH, FL 34219 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 KENNELLY BRIAN J. 3290 CHARLES MACDONALD DRIVE SARASOTA, FL 34240 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 BRASE THEODORE J. 7594 TRILLIUM BLVD. SARASOTA, FL 34241 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 DAIN WENDELL L. 6532 MOORING POINT CIRCLE, #10 LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 SHERWIN TARADASH, P.A. 7038 FOUR SEASONS CIRCLE BRADENTON, FL 34202 CAS
2010 G4 10/25/2010 20.00 ANDERSON JEANNINE C. 719 PLANTERS MANOR WAY BRADENTON, FL 34212 CHE
2010 G4 10/28/2010 20.00 PETERSON CLAIRE 1775 N. ANDREWS AVENUE, #W210 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33311 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 15.00 ECHAVARRIA JOSE A. 1487 CARMEN AVENUE HOLLY HILL, FL 32117 CHE
2010 G4 10/11/2010 10.00 WHOTE MARK R. 4002 DAKOTA CIRCLE ORMOND BEACH, FL 32174 CHE
2010 G4 10/18/2010 10.00 HILTON DONA L. 12906 RAIN FOREST STREET TEMPLE TERRACE, FL 33617 CHE
2010 G4 10/21/2010 10.00 HORTA ELIZABETH 590 S.W. 5TH STREET FLORIDA CITY, FL 33034 CHE
2010 G4 10/22/2010 10.00 BRADSHAW CHRIS 6967 LAKE EAGLEBROOKE DRIVE LAKELAND, FL 33813 CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 10.00 WELCH ALVIN K. 10526 LONE STAR JACKSONVILLE, FL 32225 CAS
2010 G4 10/28/2010 10.00 CAMPINHA CRYSTAL JOY 3002 DEER CREEK COUNTRY CLUB B DEERFIELD BEACH, FL 33442 CHE
2010 G4 10/20/2010 5.00 CARR CHRISTINE 3580 SOUTHERN ORCHARD ROAD, E. DAVIE, FL 33328 CHE
2010 G4 10/26/2010 5.00 HUNTER RICHARD 7623 BAYMEADOWS CIRCLE, W., #2 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32256 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 5.00 BLAIR RICHARD W. 193 BROOK FALL DRIVE ST AUGUSTINE, FL 32092 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 5.00 DORREL MICHAEL 2494 HIBISCUS AVENUE MIDDLEBURG, FL 32068 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 5.00 ALLACE RICHARD A. 450 TOMOKA AVENUE, #211 ORMOND BEACH, FL 32174 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 3.00 TRIPLETT DAVID T. 3480 KINGSTON STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL 32254 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 2.00 ARRINGTON FREDERICK D. 313 CARRIGANN COVE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32225 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 2.00 CYLER RONALD L. 8435 HARE AVENUE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32211 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 2.00 LEE JR. CARL 6539 KNLOCK DRIVE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32219 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 2.00 DOPSON FRANKLYN R. 920 LUCKLY DRIVE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32209 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 2.00 BATES MITCHELL M. 2909 WEST JACKSONVILLE, FL 32254 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 2.00 WILLIAMS EDWARD J. 12003 COLLINS CREEK DRIVE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32258 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 WILBERT ANTONIO M. 10048 LANCOSHIRE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32219 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 HOWARD DAVID 8382 CORALBERRY LANE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32244 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 PARKS DALE A. 900 BROWNS ROAD MIDDLEBURG, FL 32068 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 DIEHL ROBERT E. 6115 CARRANZA DRIVE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 DEDMAN BRUCE E. 5565 CONNIE JEAN ROAD, #37 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32222 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 DOMINGO HENRY W. 5260 REDRAC STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL 32205 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 BROWNING KEVIN 45388 PICKETT STREET CALLAHAN, FL 32011 CAS
2010 G4 10/26/2010 1.00 KELSO JAMES A. 2508 RABBIT COURT MIDDLEBURG, FL 32068 CAS
------------
1,481,594.85
418 Contribution(s) Selected
Query the Campaign Finance Data Base
________________________________________
[Department of State] [Division of Elections] [Candidates and Races] [Campaign Finance Information]

There are strange things happening

2010-10-29T21:38:00.000-04:00

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/amendment-4-supporter-pulls-nearly-2-million-out-1006258.html?cxtype=rss_state

Amendment 4 supporter pulls nearly $2 million out of PAC
By Allison Ross
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 7:42 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, 2010

The entrepreneur who set up a $2 million fund to support Amendment 4 has pulled out nearly all of the money.
Liberal activist Christopher Findlater infused his political action committee, Hometown Democracy Fund, with its only donation — $2 million — on Sept. 28. A week later, the PAC channeled $200,000 into Yes on 4's main PAC, Florida Hometown Democracy.

It appeared to be a major boon for the cash-strapped campaign.

But campaign finance reports released Friday show a refund to Findlater of nearly $1.8 million. The refund is dated Tuesday .

Amendment 4, which is on Tuesday's ballot, would require public votes on changes to comprehensive land use plans.

Findlater's attorney, Ron Meyer, said that Findlater decided to pull the money because "he felt the people who were doing Amendment 4 were doing what needed to be done."

But Lesley Blackner, the Palm Beach attorney leading the Yes on 4 campaign, said Findlater told her weeks ago that he would not give their campaign any more money. He didn't say why, she said.

"I asked him why he would name (his PAC) Hometown Democracy when you have no intention of funding Hometown Democracy?" she said in an interview in mid-October. Blackner could not be reached for comment Friday. "Why did he create a PAC instead of just giving us the $200,000? I don't like the way this is being done. We've run a very clean campaign. ... I think there's a lot of sneaky games going on."

Campaign finance reports were due Friday. Neither Florida Hometown Democracy nor Citizens for Lower Taxes and A Stronger Economy - the main PAC for the No on 4 campaign - had reported by late Friday.

As of last reporting period - which covered finances through Oct. 8 - Citizens for Lower Taxes had raised more than $10.4 million and spent about $9.9 million. Florida Hometown Democracy raised $2.2 million and spent almost $12,000 more than it had raised.

Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, said she doesn't often see a refund of this nature, but that there could be a number of reasons why Findlater decided to take his money back.

"That money could have done a lot of TV advertising, though," she said.

__._,_.___

The opposition to Amendment 4 is all about: Money. Theirs.

2010-10-28T09:26:00.000-04:00

I am leaving this post at the top of the blog until Tuesday. It sums up (no pun intended) why we need Amendment 4. Money talks. Here's hoping the truth speaks louder.
Turn your volume up and scroll the list of contributors. These are the people who don't want you to have the right to vote on land use decisions.

The No on 4 Campaign, brought to you by the same people responsible for our housing bubble, foreclosure crisis and record high unemployment.

Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc.

Rpt Yr Rpt Type Date Amount Contributor Name Address City State Zip Occupation Typ InKind Desc

------ -------- ---------- ------------ ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- --- -----------------------

2010 G3 09/30/2010 1,250,000.00 FLA. ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS A P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 06/07/2010 1,000,000.00 FLA. ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS A P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F3 08/19/2010 750,000.00 FLA. ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS A P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 G3 10/06/2010 750,000.00 FLA. ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS A P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 04/29/2010 567,000.00 PULTE HOMES CORP. 100 BLOOMFIELD HILLS PARKWAY, BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI 48304 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 G2 09/20/2010 500,000.00 FLA. ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS A P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 Q1 02/26/2010 487,269.09 FLORIDIANS FOR SMARTER GROWTH P.O. BOX 532018 ORLANDO, FL 32853 PUBLIC POLICY CHE

2010 F1 05/20/2010 367,000.00 LENNAR FAMILY OF BUILDERS 700 N.W. 107TH AVENUE, #210 MIAMI, FL 33172 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 325,000.00 FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, I P. O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 200,000.00 FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY 700 UNIVERSE BLVD. JUNO BEACH, FL 33408 UTILITY SERVICES CHE

2010 F1 06/07/2010 135,000.00 THE RYLAND CORPORATION 24025 PARK SORRENTO, #400 CALABASAS, CA 91302 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F1 04/24/2010 132,000.00 STANDARD PACIFIC OF TAMPA 405 REO STREET, #330 TAMPA, FL 33609 HOME BUILDERS CHE

2010 F1 04/26/2010 127,500.00 KB HOME 10990 WILSHIRE BLVD. LOS ANGELES, CA 90024 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F1 06/11/2010 127,500.00 KB HOME 10990 WILSHIRE BLVD. LOS ANGELES, CA 90024 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 Q1 03/15/2010 125,000.00 FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, I P. O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2010 F2 07/24/2010 125,000.00 RAYONIER, INC. 50 N. LAURA STREET, #1900 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 FORESTRY PRODUCTS CHE

2010 G2 09/11/2010 125,000.00 RAYONIER OPERATING COMPANY, LL 50 N. LAURA STREET, #1900 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 REAL ESATE/TIMBER CHE

2010 F1 05/20/2010 115,000.00 FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, I P. O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2010 F1 05/13/2010 100,000.00 CVS PHARMACY, INC. 1 CVS DRIVE WOONSOCKET, RI 02895 PHARMACY CHE

2010 F1 06/30/2010 100,000.00 LYKES BROS., INC. 400 N. TAMPA STREET, #2200 TAMPA, FL 33602 AGRICULTURE AND CATT CHE

2010 F2 07/23/2010 100,000.00 A. DUDA & SONS, INC. P.O. BOX 620257 OVIEDO, FL 32762 AGRICULTURE CHE

2010 G3 10/02/2010 100,000.00 WALGREENS COMPANY 104 WILMOT ROAD, #1444 DEERFIELD, IL 60015 PHARMACY/RETAIL STOR CHE

2010 F1 04/09/2010 96,000.00 K. HOVNANIAN COMPANIES, LLC P. O. BOX 500 RED BANK, NJ 07701 HOME DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F3 08/03/2010 90,000.00 FLORIDA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, 306 E. COLLEGE AVENUE TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 MEDICAL ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 Q1 02/13/2010 75,000.00 FLORIDA MAINSTREET MERCHANTS, P. O. BOX 10024 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 Q1 03/24/2010 75,000.00 FLORIDA MAINSTREET MERCHANTS, P. O. BOX 10024 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 04/03/2010 75,000.00 FLORIDA MAINSTREET MERCHANTS, P. O. BOX 10024 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 05/10/2010 75,000.00 BEAZER GENERAL SERVICES 1000 ABERNATHY ROAD, BLDG. 400 ATLANTA, GA 30328 DEVELOPEMENT CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 75,000.00 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 04/12/2010 73,000.00 M/I HOMES SERVICE, LLC 3 EASTON OVAL, #420 COLUMBUS, OH 43219 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F1 04/27/2010 72,000.00 TAYLOR MORRISON, INC. 8430 ENTERPRISE CIRCLE, #100 BRADENTON, FL 34202 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPM CHE

2010 Q1 03/29/2010 70,000.00 NAIOP NORTHEAST FLORIDA CHAPTE 701 W. ADAMS STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL 32204 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 70,000.00 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 65,000.00 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 Q1 02/26/2010 50,000.00 REGENCY REALTY GROUP, INC. ONE INDEPENDENT DRIVE, #114 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 REALTY CHE

2010 Q1 03/18/2010 50,000.00 WASTE MANAGEMENT P.O. BOX 3027 HOUSTON, TX 77253 WASTE MANAGEMENT CHE

2010 F1 04/08/2010 50,000.00 CHICO'S FAS, INC. 11215 METRO PARKWAY FORT MYERS, FL 33912 RETAIL SALES CHE

2010 F1 04/27/2010 50,000.00 MACY'S CORPORATE SERVICES, INC 2101 E. KEMPER ROAD SHARONVILLE, OH 45241 RETAIL SALES CHE

2010 F1 06/11/2010 50,000.00 VECELLIO GROUP, INC. P. O. BOX 15065 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33416 CONTRACTING CHE

2010 F1 06/11/2010 50,000.00 BUILDING OWNERS & MANAGERS ASS 1101 15TH STREET, N.W., #800 WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 F1 07/02/2010 50,000.00 GL HOMES OF FLORIDA CORPORATIO 1600 SAWGRASS CORPORATE PKWY., SUNRISE, FL 33323 HOME BUILDING CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 50,000.00 BROWARD WORKSHOP ISSUES PAC 450 E. LAS OLAS BLVD., #800 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F3 08/12/2010 50,000.00 BARRON COLLIER PARTNERSHIP, LL 2600 GOLDEN GATE PARKWAY NAPLES, FL 34105 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPM CHE

2010 F3 08/19/2010 50,000.00 BARRON COLLIER PARTNERSHIP, LL 2600 GOLDEN GATE PARKWAY NAPLES, FL 34105 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPM CHE

2010 F1 04/21/2010 43,000.00 TOLL BROTHERS, INC. 250 GILBRALTAR ROAD HORSHAM, PA 19044 HOME BUILDER CHE

2010 F1 05/12/2010 40,000.00 EVANS PROPERTIES, INC. 660 BEACHLAND BLVD., #301 VERO BEACH, FL 32963 REAL ESTATE CHE

2010 F1 04/14/2010 39,000.00 M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC. 4350 S. MONACO STREET DENVER, CO 80237 HOLDING COMPANY CHE

2010 F1 05/01/2010 35,000.00 FLORIDA MAINSTREET MERCHANTS, P. O. BOX 10024 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 05/14/2010 35,000.00 MOSAIC FERTILIZER, LLC 3033 CAMPUS DRIVE, #E-490 PLYMOUTH, MN 55441 FERTILIZER CHE

2010 G1 08/26/2010 35,000.00 NATL. ASSN. OF INDUSTRIAL & OF 2201 COOPERATIVE WAY HERNDON, VA 20171 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 G3 09/27/2010 35,000.00 MOSAIC FERTILIZER, LLC 3033 CAMPUS DRIVE, #E-490 PLYMOUTH, MN 55441 FERTILIZER CHE

2010 F1 04/12/2010 34,000.00 MERITAGE HOMES CORPORATION 17851 N. 85TH STREET, #300 SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85255 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F1 04/10/2010 32,000.00 DAVID WEEKLEY HOMES 1111 N. POST OAK ROAD HOUSTON, TX 77055 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F1 07/14/2010 30,000.00 MOSAIC FERTILIZER, LLC 3033 CAMPUS DRIVE, #E-490 PLYMOUTH, MN 55441 FERTILIZER CHE

2010 F1 06/16/2010 25,000.00 FORBES TAUBMAN ORLANDO, LLC 100 GALLERIA OFFICENTRE, #427 SOUTHFIELD, MI 48034 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2010 F1 06/18/2010 25,000.00 PROGRESS ENERGY SERVICE COMPAN P. O. BOX 1551 RALEIGH, NC 27602 UTILITIES CHE

2010 F1 07/12/2010 25,000.00 PLUM CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE CORP P. O. BOX 1990 COLUMBIA FALLS, MT 59912 TIMBER CHE

2010 G1 08/30/2010 25,000.00 PLUM CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE CORP P. O. BOX 1990 COLUMBIA FALLS, MT 59912 TIMBER CHE

2010 G1 08/30/2010 25,000.00 CHESTER C. FOSGATE COMPANY P. O. BOX 568821 ORLANDO, FL 32856 REAL ESTATE CHE

2010 G1 09/08/2010 25,000.00 SUWANNEE AMERICAN CEMENT, LLC P. O. BOX 410 BRANFORD, FL 32008 CEMENT COMPANY CHE

2010 G2 09/13/2010 25,000.00 QUALITY HOME BRANDS HOLDINGS, 125 ROSE FEISS BLVD. BRONX, NY 10454 HOLDING COMPANY CHE

2010 G2 09/17/2010 25,000.00 PLUM CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE CORP P. O. BOX 1990 COLUMBIA FALLS, MT 59912 TIMBER CHE

2010 G2 09/22/2010 25,000.00 TECO ENERGY, INC. 702 N. FRANKLIN STREET TAMPA, FL 33602 UTILITIES CHE

2010 G2 09/22/2010 25,000.00 ASSOC. BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS 2008 N. HIMES AVENUE TAMPA, FL 33607 CONTRACTING CHE

2010 G3 09/28/2010 25,000.00 HOLDING COMPANY OF THE VILLAGE 1020 LAKE SUMTER LANDING THE VILLAGES, FL 32162 HOLDING COMPANY CHE

2010 G3 09/30/2010 25,000.00 THOMAS A. JAMES FAMILY REV. TR 880 CARILLON PARKWAY ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33716 TRUST CHE

2010 G3 10/01/2010 25,000.00 FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY, LL 7411 FULLERTON STREET, #300 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32256 TRANSPORTATION CHE

2010 G3 10/01/2010 25,000.00 ABC OF FLORIDA POLITICAL ACTIO 2600 CENTENNIAL PLACE, #100 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32308 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 G3 10/04/2010 25,000.00 FECI COMPANY, LLC 10151 DEERWOOD PARK BLVD., #10 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32256 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2010 F1 05/10/2010 20,000.00 COUNCIL ISSUES PAC 1555 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD., # WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 06/26/2010 20,000.00 NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION 4300 WILSON BLVD., #400 ARLINGTON, VA 22203 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 G3 09/27/2010 20,000.00 AVATAR PROPERTIES, INC. 201 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE, 12TH FLOO CORAL GABLES, FL 33134 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CHE

2010 G2 09/20/2010 17,500.00 CONSOLIDATED CITRUS LIMITED PA 4210 METRO PARKWAY, #250 FORT MYERS, FL 33916 CITRUS CHE

2010 G3 10/01/2010 17,490.00 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION INK ADVERTISING

2010 F1 04/06/2010 15,000.00 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPP 1221 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NEW YORK, NY 10020 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 15,000.00 NORTHEAST FLORIDA BUILDERS ASS 103 CENTURY 21 DRIVE, #100 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 G3 10/01/2010 15,000.00 DEAN, MEAD, EGERTON ET AL. 800 N. MAGNOLIA AVENUE, #1500 ORLANDO, FL 32803 LAW FIRM CHE

2010 G3 10/06/2010 15,000.00 TWO RIVERS RANCH, INC. 40 RANCH ROAD THONOTOSASSA, FL 33592 RANCH CHE

2010 F1 06/16/2010 12,500.00 FORBES/COHEN FLORIDA PROP., L. 100 GALLERIA OFFICENTRE, #427 SOUTHFIELD, MI 48037 COMMERCIAL REAL ESTA CHE

2010 F1 04/02/2010 11,000.00 THE DREES COMPANY 211 GRANDVIEW FORT MITCHELL, KY 41017 BUILDER CHE

2010 F3 08/10/2010 10,950.00 FIRST FLORIDA BUILDING CORP. 1533 SUNSET DRIVE, #150 MIAMI, FL 33143 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2010 Q1 03/20/2010 10,000.00 FLORIDA APARTMENT ASSOCIATION 341 N. MAITLAND AVENUE, #130 MAITLAND, FL 32751 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 Q1 03/22/2010 10,000.00 THE HASKELL COMPANY 111 RIVERSIDE AVENUE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2010 F1 04/01/2010 10,000.00 FLORIDA FARM BUREAU ENTERPRISE P. O. BOX 147030 GAINESVILLE, FL 32614 AGRICULTURE ASSN. CHE

2010 F1 05/10/2010 10,000.00 EQUITY ONE, INC. 1600 N.E. MIAMI GARDENS DRIVE NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FL 33179 REAL ESTATE INVESTME CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 10,000.00 HIGHWOODS REALTY LTD. PARTNERS 3100 SMOKETREE COURT, #600 RALEIGH, NC 27604 REAL ESTATE CHE

2010 F1 07/16/2010 10,000.00 JAX BIZ CCE 3 INDEPENDENT DRIVE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 G1 08/27/2010 10,000.00 CONSOLIDATED TOMOKA LAND CO. P. O. BOX 10809 DAYTONA BEACH, FL 32120 REAL ESTATE CHE

2010 G1 08/27/2010 10,000.00 KIMLEY-HORN AND ASSOCIATES, IN 4431 EMBARCADERO DRIVE WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33407 ENGINEERING CHE

2010 G1 08/28/2010 10,000.00 HEDRICK BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION 2200 CENTRPARK WEST DRIVE, #10 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33409 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2010 G1 09/07/2010 10,000.00 KELLY TRACTOR CO. 8255 N.W. 58TH STREET MIAMI, FL 33166 HEAVY EQUIPMENT CHE

2010 G2 09/21/2010 10,000.00 T & D CONCRETE, INC. 1969 COUNTRY ROAD 228 WILDWOOD, FL 34785 CONCRETE CHE

2010 G3 09/28/2010 10,000.00 READY MIX USA, LLC P. O. BOX 101868 BIRMINGHAM, AL 35210 CEMENT CHE

2010 G3 09/30/2010 10,000.00 AKERMAN SENTERFITT 255 S. ORANGE AVENUE, 13TH FLO ORLANDO, FL 32802 LAW FIRM CHE

2010 F1 06/11/2010 9,510.00 BOMA OF FLORIDA, INC. 7040 W. PALMETTO PARK ROAD, #4 BOCA RATON, FL 33433 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 G2 09/21/2010 9,276.36 FLORIDA BUILDERS FOR A BETTER 201 E. PARK AVENUE TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 POLITICAL ORG. INK SIGNS

2010 G1 09/04/2010 9,000.00 MCALPINE PARK LANE, INC. 1100 5TH AVENUE, S., #201 NAPLES, FL 34102 REAL ESTATE INVESTME CHE

2010 F3 08/10/2010 7,900.00 FLORIDA CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, 1660 SPARKLING COURT DUNEDIN, FL 34698 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2010 F1 04/28/2010 6,054.00 REAGEN MIKE 2390 TAMIAMI TRAIL, N., #210 NAPLES, FL 34103 ASSOCIATION EXECUTIV INK ADVERTISING

2010 G1 08/28/2010 6,000.00 NAIOP OF FLORIDA, INC. 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 F3 08/04/2010 5,750.00 FLORIDA FARM BUREAU ENTERPRISE P. O. BOX 147030 GAINESVILLE, FL 32614 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2010 F3 08/10/2010 5,700.00 BLUELINE MECHANICAL, LLC 4611 107TH CIRCLE, N. CLEARWATER, FL 33762 MECHANICAL SERVICES CHE

2010 F1 07/12/2010 5,352.00 FLORIDA BUILDERS FOR A BETTER 201 E. PARK AVENUE TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 POLITICAL ORG. INK STICKERS/CARDS/BUTTONS

2010 F3 08/10/2010 5,200.00 ADKINS ELECTRIC, INC. 10477 NEW KINGS ROAD JACKSONVILLE, FL 32219 ELECTRIC COMPANY CHE

2010 F3 08/10/2010 5,200.00 CENTRAL SITE DEVELOPMENT, LLC 3029 REYNOLDS ROAD, #A LAKELAND, FL 33803 SITE DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F3 08/10/2010 5,200.00 GULF COAST PLUMBING OF CENTRAL 1923 TAMPA EAST BLVD. TAMPA, FL 33619 PLUMBING CHE

2010 Q1 03/12/2010 5,011.20 ASSOC. BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS P. O. BOX 10038 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION INK BUMPER STICKERS/YARD SI

2010 Q1 03/15/2010 5,000.00 ORLANDO REGIONAL CHAMBER OF CO P. O. BOX 1234 ORLANDO, FL 32802 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2010 Q1 03/20/2010 5,000.00 NAIOP OF FLORIDA, INC. 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 Q1 03/22/2010 5,000.00 RAM REALTY SERVICES 4801 PGA BOULEVARD PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33418 REAL ESTATE CHE

2010 Q1 03/29/2010 5,000.00 COALITION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSIN 3353 BEARD STREET TALLAHASSEE, FL 32303 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 F1 04/17/2010 5,000.00 WCI COMMUNITIES, LLC 24301 WALDEN CENTER DRIVE BONITA SPRINGS, FL 34134 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 F3 08/16/2010 5,000.00 ATKINSON, DINER, STONE, MANKUT 100 S.E. 3RD AVENUE, #1400 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33394 LAW FIRM CHE

2010 G1 08/21/2010 5,000.00 BERCOW, RADELL & FERNANDEZ, P. 200 S. BISCAYNE BLVD., #850 MIAMI, FL 33131 LAW FIRM CHE

2010 G1 08/30/2010 5,000.00 MYERS GROVES, INC. P. O. BOX 1410 LAKE WALES, FL 33859 AGRICULTURE CHE

2010 G2 09/20/2010 5,000.00 84 LUMBER COMPANY 1019 ROUTE 519 EIGHTY FOUR, PA 15330 LUMBER CHE

2010 G2 09/21/2010 5,000.00 FL. INDEP. CONCRETE & ASSOC. P 116 W. GREENTREE LANE LAKE MARY, FL 32746 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 G3 09/27/2010 5,000.00 ALICO, INC. P. O. BOX 338 LABELLE, FL 33975 LAND MANAGEMENT CHE

2010 G3 09/27/2010 5,000.00 SCENIC HIGHLAND ENTERPRISES, L 749 N. SCENIC HIGHWAY FROSTPROOF, FL 33843 LAND MANAGEMENT CHE

2010 G3 09/30/2010 5,000.00 UNDERGROUND UTILITY CONTRACTOR 231 W. BAY AVENUE LONGWOOD, FL 32750 CONTRACTING CHE

2010 G3 09/30/2010 5,000.00 UNDERGROUND UTILITY CONTRACTOR 231 W. BAY AVENUE LONGWOOD, FL 32750 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2010 G3 10/02/2010 5,000.00 RENDINA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY OF 661 UNIVERSITY BLVD., #200 JUPITER, FL 33458 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 G3 10/08/2010 5,000.00 HIGHWOODS REALTY LTD. PARTNERS 3100 SMOKETREE COURT, #600 RALEIGH, NC 27604 REAL ESTATE CHE

2010 F3 08/10/2010 4,950.00 HORIZON TILE & CARPET, INC. 480 MAPLEWOOD DRIVE, #1 JUPITER, FL 33458 TILE AND CARPET CHE

2010 F3 08/10/2010 4,500.00 FIRST FLORIDA, LLC 1533 SUNSET DRIVE, #150 MIAMI, FL 33143 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2010 G2 09/24/2010 4,223.50 NORTHEAST FLORIDA BUILDERS ASS 103 CENTURY 21 DRIVE, #100 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 F1 07/01/2010 4,210.00 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION INK ADVERTISING

2010 G2 09/13/2010 4,210.00 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION INK ADVERTISING

2010 F1 06/16/2010 4,167.00 TAMPA WESTSHORE ASSOCIATES, L. 2223 N. WESTSHORE BLVD., #200 TAMPA, FL 33607 SHOPPING CENTER CHE

2010 F1 06/16/2010 4,167.00 DOLPHIN MALL ASSOCIATES, L.P. 11401 N.W. 12TH STREET MIAMI, FL 33172 SHOPPING CENTER CHE

2010 F1 06/16/2010 4,167.00 TJ PALM BEACH ASSOCIATES, L.P. 10300 W. FOREST HILL BLVD. WELLINGTON, FL 33414 SHOPPING CENTER CHE

2010 F1 07/15/2010 4,000.00 NAIOP OF FLORIDA, INC. 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 G2 09/20/2010 4,000.00 RICHARD & RICE CONSTRUCTION CO 828 S. MILITARY TRAIL, #6 DEERFIELD BEACH, FL 33442 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2010 G1 08/30/2010 3,875.96 STILES TERRY W. 300 S.E. 2ND STREET FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 INVESTMENTS

Save Our Constitution, Inc.

Rpt Yr Rpt Type Date Amount Contributor Name Address City State Zip Occupation Typ InKind Desc

------ -------- ---------- ------------ ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- --- -----------------------

2008 Q1 01/08/2008 100,000.00 HOLDING COMPANY OF THE VILLAGE 1020 LAKE SUMTER LANDING THE VILLAGES, FL 32162 HOLDING COMPANY CHE

2007 Q3 08/22/2007 50,000.00 FLA. TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS' P.O. BOX 1208 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q3 09/11/2007 50,000.00 FLORIDA ASSN. OF REALTORS ADVO P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/29/2007 25,000.00 FLORIDIANS FOR CONSERVATIVE VA 400 CAPITOL CIRCLE, S.E., #18- TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q4 12/18/2007 25,000.00 WAL-MART STORES, INC. 702 S.W. 8TH STREET BENTONVILLE, AR 72716 RETAIL SALES CHE

2008 Q1 01/08/2008 25,000.00 ALTRIA CORPORATE SERVICES, INC 120 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10017 TOBACCO CHE

2008 Q1 01/28/2008 25,000.00 FLORIDA CRYSTALS CORPORATION 626 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 AGRI-BUSINESS CHE

2008 G4 10/16/2008 25,000.00 ASSOC. INDUSTRIES OF FLORIDA S P.O. BOX 784 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2008 Q1 01/03/2008 12,000.00 ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRY ASSOCIA 4301 CONNECTICUT AVE., N.W., # WASHINGTON, DC 20008 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVIC CHE

2007 Q3 09/07/2007 10,000.00 COUNCIL ISSUES PAC 1555 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD., # WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q3 09/26/2007 10,000.00 FLORIDA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATIO 307 W. PARK AVENUE TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 10/29/2007 10,000.00 A. DUDA & SONS, INC. P.O. BOX 620257 OVIEDO, FL 32762 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q4 11/02/2007 10,000.00 ASSOC. INDUSTRIES OF FLORIDA S P.O. BOX 784 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2007 Q4 12/13/2007 10,000.00 ASSOCIATED BUILDERS & CONTRACT 2008 N. HIMES AVENUE TAMPA, FL 33607 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 12/28/2007 10,000.00 AT&T FLORIDA 150 S. MONROE STREET, #400 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 TELECOMMUNICATIONS CHE

2007 Q3 09/21/2007 5,000.00 FLORIDA FRUIT & VEGETABLE ASSN P. O. BOX 948153 MAITLAND, FL 32794 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q3 09/21/2007 5,000.00 APAC-SOUTHEAST, INC. P. O. BOX 2579 SARASOTA, FL 34230 PAVING CHE

2007 Q4 12/07/2007 5,000.00 FLORIDA BANKERS ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 11117 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2008 Q1 02/04/2008 3,000.00 FLORIDA ENGINEERING SOCIETY P.O. BOX 750 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 ENGINEERING CHE

2007 Q3 09/25/2007 2,500.00 NEAL COMMUNITIES LAND DEVELOPM 8210 LAKEWOOD RANCH BLVD. BRADENTON, FL 34202 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/08/2007 2,000.00 FLA ASSN. OF THE AMER. INST. O 104 E. JEFFERSON STREET TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 BUSINESS LEAQUE CHE

2007 Q4 11/09/2007 1,000.00 BUSINESS PAC OF PALM BEACH COU 224 DATURA STREET, #311 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q3 09/06/2007 600.00 GET UNIFIED NOW PAC 777 S. FLAGLER DRIVE, #500-E WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

Campaign Contributions

Floridians for Smarter Growth, Inc.

About the Campaign Finance Data Base

Rpt Yr Rpt Type Date Amount Contributor Name Address City State Zip Occupation Typ InKind Desc

------ -------- ---------- ------------ ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- --- -----------------------

2007 Q2 06/25/2007 400,000.00 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME B 1201 15TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 Q1 01/07/2010 250,000.00 FLA. ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS A P. O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q3 08/08/2007 200,000.00 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/02/2007 200,000.00 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME B 1201 15TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 12/14/2007 200,000.00 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME B 1201 15TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q2 04/23/2007 150,000.00 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME B 1201 15TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2008 Q4 12/10/2008 150,000.00 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2009 Q4 12/12/2009 125,000.00 PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC. P. O. BOX 407 LAKELAND, FL 33802 RETAIL GROCERIES CHE

2007 Q4 12/13/2007 100,000.00 NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATIO 1200 17TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20036 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2008 Q1 01/18/2008 100,000.00 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME B 1201 15TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2010 Q1 01/21/2010 100,000.00 WAL-MART STORES, INC. 702 S.W. 8TH STREET BENTONVILLE, AR 72716 RETAIL STORES CHE

2008 F1 07/18/2008 85,000.00 FLORIDA LAND COUNCIL, INC. 106 S.W. COUNTY ROAD 721 OKEECHOBEE, FL 34972 LAND CHE

2009 Q3 09/08/2009 70,000.00 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2009 Q3 07/08/2009 65,000.00 FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE P.O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2008 F1 06/28/2008 63,000.00 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME B 1201 15TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2008 Q1 03/24/2008 61,000.00 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME B 1201 15TH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q3 09/13/2007 50,000.00 RAYONIER TRS HOLDINGS, INC. 50 N. LAURA STREET, #1900 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 HOLDING COMPANY CHE

2007 Q4 10/15/2007 50,000.00 FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIAT P.O. BOX 1259 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q4 10/15/2007 50,000.00 FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIAT P.O. BOX 1259 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/14/2007 50,000.00 FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIAT P.O. BOX 1259 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/14/2007 50,000.00 FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIAT P.O. BOX 1259 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q4 11/30/2007 50,000.00 WASTE MANAGEMENT P.O. BOX 3027 HOUSTON, TX 77253 WASTE MANAGEMENT CHE

2009 Q4 10/20/2009 50,000.00 WASTE MANAGEMENT P.O. BOX 3027 HOUSTON, TX 77253 WASTE MANAGEMENT CHE

2009 Q4 12/29/2009 50,000.00 ASSOC. BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS 2008 N. HIMES AVENUE TAMPA, FL 33607 CONTRACTING CHE

2010 Q1 03/15/2010 50,000.00 ASSOCIATED BUILDERS & CONTRACT 4250 N. FAIRFAX DRIVE, 9TH FLO ARLINGTON, VA 22203 CONTRACTING CHE

2008 F1 07/18/2008 48,500.00 FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIAT P.O. BOX 1259 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2008 F1 04/21/2008 45,000.00 FLORIDA LAND COUNCIL, INC. 106 S.W. COUNTY ROAD 721 OKEECHOBEE, FL 34972 LAND CHE

2007 Q2 06/26/2007 40,000.00 THE LATT MAXCY CORPORATION P.O. BOX 158 FROSTPROOF, FL 33843 CITRUS/REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q2 06/29/2007 40,000.00 EVANS PROPERTIES, INC. 660 BEACHLAND BLVD., #301 VERO BEACH, FL 32963 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q2 06/29/2007 40,000.00 LYKES BROS., INC. 400 N. TAMPA STREET, #2200 TAMPA, FL 33602 AGRICULTURE AND CATT CHE

2007 Q2 06/30/2007 40,000.00 MIAMI CORPORATION 410 N. MICHIGAN AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60611 FINANCIAL SERVICES CHE

2007 Q3 07/05/2007 40,000.00 BONITA BAY PROPERTIES, INC. 9990 COCONUT ROAD, #200 BONITA SPRINGS, FL 34135 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q3 07/13/2007 40,000.00 A. DUDA & SONS, INC. P.O. BOX 620257 OVIEDO, FL 32762 AGRICULTURE CHE

2007 Q3 07/13/2007 40,000.00 PLUM CREEK MARKETING, INC. P.O. BOX 1990 COLUMBIA FALLS, MT 59912 MARKETING CHE

2007 Q3 07/31/2007 40,000.00 TWO RIVERS RANCH, INC. 40 RANCH ROAD THONOTOSASSA, FL 33592 RANCH CHE

2007 Q3 08/06/2007 40,000.00 COLLIER ENTERPRISES MANAGEMENT 3003 TAMIAMI TRAIL, N., #400 NAPLES, FL 34103 MANAGEMENT CHE

2007 Q3 08/08/2007 40,000.00 NAIOP OF FLORIDA, INC. 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 GOVT. RELATIONS CHE

2007 Q3 08/09/2007 40,000.00 BEN HILL GRIFFIN, INC. P.O. BOX 127 FROSTPROOF, FL 33843 CITRUS CHE

2007 Q3 08/13/2007 40,000.00 MCARTHUR FARMS, INC. 1550 N.E. 208TH STREET, #11-80 OKEECHOBEE, FL 34972 FARMING CHE

2008 F1 04/10/2008 35,000.00 FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIAT P.O. BOX 1259 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2009 Q4 12/18/2009 35,000.00 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPP 1221 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NEW YORK, NY 10020 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q3 07/30/2007 30,000.00 SOUTHERN GARDENS CITRUS PROCES 111 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE CLEWISTON, FL 33440 CITRUS CHE

2007 Q4 11/19/2007 30,000.00 FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE P.O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2007 Q4 11/27/2007 30,000.00 FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE P.O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2007 Q2 04/09/2007 25,000.00 UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATIO 111 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE CLEWISTON, FL 33440 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q2 05/24/2007 25,000.00 ALICO, INC. P.O. BOX 338 LA BELLE, FL 33975 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q2 05/25/2007 25,000.00 BARRON COLLIER PARTNERSHIP, LL 2600 GOLDEN GATE PARKWAY NAPLES, FL 34105 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPM CHE

2007 Q2 05/29/2007 25,000.00 UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATIO 111 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE CLEWISTON, FL 33440 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q4 11/09/2007 25,000.00 NORTHEAST FLORIDA BUILDERS ASS 103 CENTURY 21 DRIVE, #100 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/09/2007 25,000.00 REALTORS POLITICAL ISSUES COMM P.O. BOX 725025 ORLANDO, FL 32872 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q4 11/14/2007 25,000.00 FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIAT P.O. BOX 1259 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/19/2007 25,000.00 UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATIO 111 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE CLEWISTON, FL 33440 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q4 11/21/2007 25,000.00 ALLETE PROPERTIES, LLC 4315 METRO PARKWAY, #500 FORT MYERS, FL 33916 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q4 11/23/2007 25,000.00 HOME BUILDERS ASSN. OF METRO O 544 MAYO AVENUE MAITLAND, FL 32751 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/29/2007 25,000.00 THE SEMBLER COMPANY P.O. BOX 41847 ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33743 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/12/2007 25,000.00 MINTO COMMUNITIES, LLC 4400 W. SAMPLE ROAD, #200 COCONUT CREEK, FL 33073 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/12/2007 25,000.00 ANSCA HOMES, LLC 7593 BOYNTON BEACH BLVD., #220 BOYNTON BEACH, FL 33437 HOME BUILDER CHE

2007 Q4 12/19/2007 25,000.00 STILES CORPORATION 300 S.E. 2ND STREET FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/22/2007 25,000.00 CORE COMMUNITIES, LLC 10521 S.W. VILLAGE CENTER DRIV PORT ST. LUCIE, FL 34987 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/31/2007 25,000.00 GMRI, INC. P.O. BOX 593330 ORLANDO, FL 32859 RESTAURANTS CHE

2008 Q1 03/20/2008 25,000.00 BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF P.O. BOX 2210 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32232 INSURANCE CHE

2008 F1 06/03/2008 25,000.00 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPP 1221 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NEW YORK, NY 10020 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q3 07/30/2007 20,000.00 CONSOLIDATED CITRUS LIMITED PA 4210 METRO PARKWAY, #250 FORT MYERS, FL 33916 CITRUS CHE

2007 Q3 07/30/2007 20,000.00 RUNNING W, LTD. P.O. BOX 1210 BELLE GLADE, FL 33430 AGRICULTURE CHE

2007 Q4 11/02/2007 20,000.00 PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION P.O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q4 12/06/2007 20,000.00 GL HOMES OF FLORIDA CORPORATIO 1600 SAWGRASS CORPORATE PKWY., SUNRISE, FL 33323 HOME BUILDING CHE

2007 Q4 12/07/2007 20,000.00 CNL P.O. BOX 4920 ORLANDO, FL 32802 FINANCIAL SERVICES CHE

2010 Q1 02/18/2010 20,000.00 MINTO COMMUNITIES, LLC 4400 W. SAMPLE ROAD, #200 COCONUT CREEK, FL 33073 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2009 Q1 03/12/2009 17,500.00 NAIOP OF FLORIDA, INC. 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q2 06/27/2007 15,000.00 ALICO, INC. P.O. BOX 338 LA BELLE, FL 33975 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q2 06/30/2007 15,000.00 BARRON COLLIER PARTNERSHIP, LL 2600 GOLDEN GATE PARKWAY NAPLES, FL 34105 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPM CHE

2007 Q4 11/21/2007 15,000.00 ASSOC. OF FLORIDA COMMUNITY DE 307 W. PARK AVENUE, #214 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/03/2007 15,000.00 GOLD COAST BUILDERS ASSOC. 2101 CORPORATE DRIVE BOYNTON BEACH, FL 33426 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2007 Q4 12/04/2007 15,000.00 TAMPA BAY BUILDERS ASSOCIATION 2918 W. KENNEDY BLVD., #201 TAMPA, FL 33609 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2009 Q4 10/30/2009 15,000.00 FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE P.O. BOX 11309 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUSINESS LEAGUE CHE

2007 Q3 07/21/2007 10,000.00 THE SCOTTSDALE COMPANY 4200 GULF SHORE BLVD., N. NAPLES, FL 34103 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q3 08/09/2007 10,000.00 NAIOP N.W. FLORIDA CHAPTER 220 S. PALAFOX STREET PENSACOLA, FL 32503 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q3 08/09/2007 10,000.00 NAIOP NORTHEAST FLORIDA CHAPTE 701 W. ADAMS STREET JACKSONVILLE, FL 32204 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q3 08/14/2007 10,000.00 NAIOP TAMPA BAY CHAPTER 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q3 08/21/2007 10,000.00 NAIOP SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER 1500 N.W. 62ND STREET, #106 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33309 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q3 08/21/2007 10,000.00 NATL. ASSN. OF INDUSTRIAL & OF 2201 COOPERATIVE WAY HERNDON, VA 20171 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q4 11/15/2007 10,000.00 THE HASKELL COMPANY 111 RIVERSIDE AVENUE JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2007 Q4 11/16/2007 10,000.00 WILSONMILLER, INC. 3200 BAILEY LANE AT AIRPORT RO NAPLES, FL 34105 ENGINEERING CHE

2007 Q4 11/16/2007 10,000.00 CORE CONSTRUCTION 4227 EXCHANGE AVENUE NAPLES, FL 34104 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2007 Q4 11/16/2007 10,000.00 KRAFT CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. 3520 KRAFT ROAD NAPLES, FL 34105 CONSTRUCTION CHE

2007 Q4 11/19/2007 10,000.00 HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF B 1500 W. EAU GALLIE BLVD., #A MELBOURNE, FL 32935 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q4 11/21/2007 10,000.00 HOME BUILDERS ASSOC. OF WEST F 4400 BAYOU BLVD., #45 PENSACOLA, FL 32503 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 12/07/2007 10,000.00 NEWLAND COMMUNITIES, LLC 9820 TOWNE CENTRE DRIVE, #100 SAN DIEGO, CA 92121 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/11/2007 10,000.00 HOME BUILDERS ASSOC. OF MANATE 239 301 BLVD., E., #D BRADENTON, FL 34208 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 12/14/2007 10,000.00 FLORIDA ROCK INDUSTRIES, INC. P.O. BOX 4667 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32201 ROCK INDUSTRY CHE

2007 Q4 12/27/2007 10,000.00 LYKES BROS., INC. 400 N. TAMPA STREET, #2200 TAMPA, FL 33602 AGRICULTURE AND CATT CHE

2008 Q1 01/04/2008 10,000.00 NAIOP CENTRAL FLORIDA 3956 TOWN CENTER BLVD., #116 ORLANDO, FL 32837 REAL ESTATE CHE

2008 Q1 01/07/2008 10,000.00 RAYONIER TRS HOLDINGS, INC. 50 N. LAURA STREET, #1900 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 HOLDING COMPANY CHE

2008 Q1 01/09/2008 10,000.00 CSX CORPORATION 6735 SOUTHPOINT DRIVE, S. JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216 TRANSPORTATION CHE

2008 Q1 01/17/2008 10,000.00 EVANS PROPERTIES, INC. 660 BEACHLAND BLVD., #301 VERO BEACH, FL 32963 REAL ESTATE CHE

2008 Q1 02/01/2008 10,000.00 ALICO, INC. P.O. BOX 338 LA BELLE, FL 33975 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2008 F1 06/13/2008 10,000.00 NAIOP OF FLORIDA, INC. 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2009 Q1 01/10/2009 10,000.00 FLORIDA APARTMENT ASSOCIATION 341 N. MAITLAND AVENUE, #130 MAITLAND, FL 32751 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2009 Q3 08/08/2009 10,000.00 PROGRESS ENERGY SERVICE COMPAN P. O. BOX 1551 RALEIGH, NC 27602 UTILITIES CHE

2009 Q3 08/10/2009 10,000.00 CNL BANK P. O. BOX 4920 ORLANDO, FL 32802 BANK CHE

2008 F1 05/14/2008 8,333.51 NATIONAL VOTER OUTREACH 3134 JOHNSON ROAD LUDINGTON, MI 49431 REFUND REF

2007 Q4 12/17/2007 8,000.00 TAMPA BAY REGIONAL COALITION 6107-B MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TAMPA, FL 33615 REGIONAL GROWTH CHE

2007 Q3 09/24/2007 5,000.00 FLORIDA FRUIT & VEGETABLE ASSO P.O. BOX 948153 MAITLAND, FL 32794 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/15/2007 5,000.00 LEWIS, LONGMAN & WALKER, P.A. 1700 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD., # WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401 LAW FIRM CHE

2007 Q4 11/28/2007 5,000.00 FLORIDA CONCRETE & PRODUCTS AS 3030 DADE AVENUE ORLANDO, FL 32804 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2007 Q4 11/28/2007 5,000.00 CONSOLIDATED TOMOKA LAND CO. P.O. BOX 10809 DAYTONA BEACH, FL 32120 REAL ESTATE CHE

2007 Q4 11/29/2007 5,000.00 CITIZENS FOR HOUSING & URBAN G P.O. BOX 16098 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32317 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

2007 Q4 11/30/2007 5,000.00 GL HOMES OF FLORIDA CORPORATIO 1600 SAWGRASS CORPORATE PKWY., SUNRISE, FL 33323 HOME BUILDING CHE

2007 Q4 12/10/2007 5,000.00 ON TOP OF THE WORLD COMMUNITIE 8700 S.W. 99TH STREET ROAD OCALA, FL 34481 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/19/2007 5,000.00 ASSOC. OF FLORIDA COMMUNITY DE 307 W. PARK AVENUE, #214 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 DEVELOPMENT CHE

2007 Q4 12/27/2007 5,000.00 MIAMI CORPORATION 410 N. MICHIGAN AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60611 FINANCIAL SERVICES CHE

2008 Q1 01/14/2008 5,000.00 POLK COUNTY BUILDERS ASSOCIATI 2232 HERITAGE DRIVE LAKELAND, FL 33801 TRADE ASSOCIATION CHE

2008 Q1 01/22/2008 5,000.00 A. DUDA & SONS, INC. P.O. BOX 620257 OVIEDO, FL 32762 AGRICULTURE CHE

2008 Q1 01/22/2008 5,000.00 WACHOVIA FLORIDA EMP. GOOD GOV 301 S. COLLEGE STREET CHARLOTTE, NC 28288 POLITICAL ORG. CHE

*CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PETITION FORM

Section 104.185, Florida Statutes – A person who knowingly signs a petition or petitions for a candidate, a minor political party, or an issue more

than one time commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.775.082, Florida Statutes or s.775.083, Florida Statutes.

I am a registered voter of Florida and hereby petition the Secretary of State to place the following amendment to the Florida Constitution on the ballot in the general election.

Name_____________________________________________________

(Please print name as it appears on voter I.D. card)

Street Address______________________________________________

City_______________________ Zip_____________________________

County_____________________________________ _______________

Date of Birth ____/_____/______

􀂵___________________________ Date___________

Signature of Registered Voter Date Signed

Name of paid circulator

Address of paid circulator

FULL TEXT OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT: BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA THAT:

TITLE: Florida Growth Management Initiative Giving Citizens the Right to Decide Local Growth Management Plan Changes

SUMMARY: Allows Floridians to call for voter approval of changes to local growth management plans through a citizen petition. Voter approval of growth management plan changes will be required if 10% of the voters in the city or county sign a petition calling for such a referendum. Defines terms and establishes petition requirements.

a) Statement and Purpose:

The Legislature has enacted growth management and land use planning legislation; these laws do not provide for voters’ direct approval of the resulting plans or amendments. The purpose of this amendment is to provide a limited opportunity for voters to approve or disapprove these plans or amendments. Because thousands of growth management plans and amendments are adopted statewide each year, this amendment would limit such referenda to situations where a sufficient number of persons file a petition seeking such a referendum during a set period of time. The criteria for signing and filing a petition are intended to demonstrate that there is substantial interest in a referendum, and are based, in part, on existing Section 550.175, Fla. Stat. This amendment is intended to modify existing law, permit flexibility in future growth management-related legislation (except rules which would affect voters’ ability to petition for referenda), and pre-empt or supersede recent proposals to subject all comprehensive land use plans and amendments to votes, thus balancing competing interests without over-burdening voters.

b) Amendment of Florida Constitution:

Art. II, Section 7, Fla. Const., is amended by inserting the following new subsection at the end thereof, to read:

“Florida Growth Management Initiative Petitions.”

“a) In addition to any power or ability of voters to participate in growth management planning processes provided by this Section or by general law, the registered voters of a local government may offer a Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition regarding any growth management plan or amendment to such a plan.

“b) If a valid and sufficient Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition is filed and verified by the appropriate election authorities for a local government, the local government shall conduct a referendum approving or disapproving the specific growth management plan or amendment. The referendum shall be conducted as provided by applicable general law of the State or the local government. If a plan or amendment is disapproved in such a referendum, it is not effective and may not be adopted or implemented by the local government or relied on by others. The fact that a plan or amendment has been the subject of a referendum under this Section does not preclude future changes to that plan or amendment, or exempt such changes from these or other procedures and requirements. If a valid and sufficient Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition is not filed for a particular plan or amendment, notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or of general law, no referendum on that particular plan or amendment shall be held pursuant to this Section.

“c) Definitions: For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“1) ‘Local government’ means a county or municipality.

“2) ‘Growth management plan’ means a plan to guide and control future land development in an area under the jurisdiction of a local government, including a comprehensive land use plan or similar document, and includes amendments to such plans, however described.

“3) ‘Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition’ means a written petition, on a form designated for that purpose, containing and describing all elements of the applicable growth management plan or amendment, and otherwise conforming in all respects to any requirements imposed by general law. Not more than one applicable growth management plan or amendment may be included in any one petition.

“4) ‘Offer a Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition’ means, in addition to any other requirement imposed by general law, that one or more individuals registered to vote for elections of a local government may complete a Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition form and deposit the form with the County Supervisor of Elections or City Clerk (or similar election authority for the local government). The individuals completing the form must provide identification information, including name, address, telephone numbers, any Internet address or website owned, operated or used by the individuals which contains or will contain information on the particular plan or amendment which is the subject of the Petition, and any information indicating whether they have a financial interest in the particular plan or amendment which is the subject of the Petition (including interests involving personal, commercial or other land uses affected by the plan or amendment), and if so, describing the financial interest. The identification information shall be made available to the public, along with notice of the availability of the Petition; posting of this information on the Internet, in a manner reasonably calculated by the election authority to inform the public, shall be considered sufficient public availability of this information. Individuals who are registered voters of the local government and who are in favor of holding a referendum on the particular growth management plan or amendment shall be permitted to sign the Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition; a signature shall be affixed in a manner which clearly indicates that the signer is in favor of holding the referendum. Every signature upon every Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition must be signed at the office of the appropriate County Supervisor of Elections or City Clerk (or similar election authority for the local government), and the signer must present at the time of such signing evidence showing the person's qualification as a voter of the local government at the time of the signing of the petition. Once the appropriate County Supervisor of Elections or City Clerk (or similar election authority for the local government) determines that, prior to verification, the Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition contains the facially-valid original signatures of at least ten percent of persons registered to vote in elections of the local government, the election authority shall notify the persons who completed and deposited the petition form. The election authority shall inquire if the persons wish to offer the Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition for verification of the signatures; if the persons wish to offer the Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition, the election authority shall verify the signatures, with any costs paid by the offering persons, and consider the Petition offered and submitted.

“5) ‘Valid and sufficient Florida Growth Management Initiative Petition’ means a written petition containing the valid original signatures of at least 10 percent of persons registered to vote in elections of the local government, and which is offered and submitted to the appropriate County Supervisor of Elections or City Clerk (or similar election authority for the local government) within sixty days from the date of the first signature on the petition.”

c) Effective Date and Severability:

This amendment shall be self-executing and effective on the date it is approved by the electorate. If any portion of this measure is held invalid for any reason, the remaining portion of this measure, to the fullest extent possible, shall be severed from the void portion and given the fullest possible force and application.

RETURN TO: Floridians for Smarter Growth

P.O. Box 532018

Orlando, Florida 32853-2018

Pd. pol. adv. paid for and sponsored by Floridians for Smarter Growth, Inc., PO Box 532018, Orlando, FL 32853-2018.

For Office Use Only: Serial Number: _______________

Date Approved: _______________

Land use granted and, surprise! Applicant made $3,500 in campaign contributions to three Seminole County commissioners this year.

2010-10-27T15:52:00.002-04:00

This is a classic example of why we need Amendment 4!

http://www.wftv.com/news/25527387/detail.html

Bar Along Wekiva River Granted Land Use Change

Posted: 5:35 pm EDT October 26, 2010Updated: 6:23 pm EDT October 26, 2010

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Seminole County commissioners voted to grant a land use change Tuesday to the owner of a controversial bar right on the Wekiva River. Neighbors say the bar is already rowdy and this change will give the owner more freedom.

Tuesday's vote was just on land use, not zoning. Zoning is where it will be spelled out what the bar owner can and can not do. Tuesday's 'yes' vote just prevents the land from being developed; it establishes the 5.5-acre piece of property will be used only for recreational purposes.

The Wekiva Island bar and canoe rental has become more popular than owner Bill Weinaug imagined. On the weekends, it draws crowds of 300 to 400. Alcohol is sold to patrons like Jason Fusco.

"It can get pretty crazy. Sometimes there's music, DJs," he said.

The owner fought to get the land use changed from residential to recreational. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the commission voted in the change that only establishes its purpose. A later zoning change will detail exactly what recreation will be allowed.

Weinaug says his vision is to transform the riverside hot spot into an environmental learning center, but after busy, hot weekends the river has been left polluted with beer cans and plastic cups.

"Some people would say that's not being environmentally-friendly," WFTV reporter Liz Artz told Weinaug.

"I don't know how to answer that," he responded.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office has responded to 465 calls for service over the last two years. It estimates 163 of those calls were legitimate disturbances at the bar.

"Regardless of whether you're calling or neighbors are calling, you've still got a problem with someone," Artz told Weinaug.

"Yeah, we're cleaning it up," he said.

Weinaug says his vision will be visible in the next five years.

WFTV checked and found Weinaug, his wife and business made $3,500 in campaign contributions to three Seminole County commissioners this year.

The zoning change will come up for vote in January. That's when the rules and regulations will be laid out and voted on.

Previous Stories:

August 23, 2010: Neighbors Want Bar In Middle Of Woods Gone

New Sierra Club ad supports Amendment 4

2010-10-27T13:46:00.000-04:00

So much for our three minutes in front of a microphone. Now, we don't even have the right to speak.

2010-10-27T07:45:00.000-04:00

http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/open-meeting-can-deny-comment-florida-supreme-court-agrees/1130537

'Open meeting' can deny comment, Florida Supreme Court agrees

Associated Press

In Print: Wednesday, October 27, 2010

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court has refused to take an appeal from a lower court ruling that says the public has no right to speak at meetings of government bodies.

The decision is a setback for open government because city councils, county boards and other governmental bodies don't have to give the public "the time of day," First Amendment Foundation director Jim Rhea said Tuesday.

The media-supported, nonprofit foundation advocates for open meetings and records.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a brief order declining jurisdiction in the case.

The 1st District Court of Appeal in March rejected claims by two people that Pensacola's Community Maritime Park Associates had violated Florida's open meetings law by refusing to let them speak.

Florida's open government, or "sunshine," law covers the private organization because it's overseeing a public park project. The law says meetings of such bodies must be "open to the public."

A threhttp://www.tampabay.com/incoming/open-meeting-can-deny-comment-florida-supreme-court-agrees/1130537e-judge panel of the appeal court ruled that phrase means the public has a right only to attend such meetings.

The Supreme Court on Oct. 13 also declined to take up a similar appeal from a 1st District ruling in a case involving the Alachua City Commission.

An important letter to Florida's teachers about Amendment 4

2010-10-26T13:47:00.000-04:00

More important information, from school teachers to the rest of Florida's school teachers. If you know a school teacher in Florida, forward this letter/e-mail to them:

From FEA Teachers in Marion County to Fellow Teachers of Florida:

Why Florida Educators Must Support Amendment 4…

Our own union, the FEA, is in Concert with Our Anti-Union Opponents!

Teachers! Remember how Senator John Thrasher, state lawmakers and the Florida Chamber of Commerce ganged up to snatch our pensions, strip away our credentials, fire thousands of our colleagues, and privatize schools?

And remember why they did this? It was, in part, because they wanted an easy way to finance the shortfall in funding for schools and other social services caused by the recession.

What caused Florida’s Big Recession? It was Florida’s Sprawl Machine which flooded the state with massive and unneeded subdivisions and retail centers. And its financially-backed friends, posing as elected officials helped by approving these unpopular land-use changes.

Because of this reckless over-building, 350,000 vacant Florida homes are now rotting and driving down property values. This means property taxes are also sinking—money that’s not being used to support schools and libraries andother government services.

Governor Crist stopped them with a veto. But they’ll be back —soon.

Sadly, there’s more troubling news for educators.

Our own union, the FEA, is now aligned with Thrasher and Company on the issue of Amendment 4—a citizen initiative designed to clean up the mess that Big Sprawl caused. Union officials in Tallahassee, without input from teachers/members, decided to line up with our anti-union opponents to kill Amendment 4. (see list of anti-union forces funding the “NoOn4” campaign below!)

Why would they do this? Because, as FEA officials will tell you, the AFLCIO wanted them to. Sure, as a labor union, the AFLCIO is understandably concerned about construction jobs, but they obviously didn’t think A4 all the way out. If they had, they’d understand that Floridians are out of work because something like A4 wasn’t in place.

Amendment 4 appears on the upcoming November ballot, because many FEA educators and other hundreds of other Floridians worked hard to put it there. If passed, it will let voters support or veto the decisions of local officials, if these politicians decide to make land-use changes to our comprehensive growth plans.

This amendment gives citizens a say in how their local communities develop. It will also help prevent the old boom-bust cycle that has cost millions of Floridians, including many teachers, their jobs.

Despite what critics say, A4 doesn’t take away property rights and has no impact on zoning. It affects only land-use changes — major designations such industrial, agricultural, rural, residential--that communities hammer out in public meetings to plan how their communities can grow in an orderly, affordable way. And voters will decide on changes at the next scheduled election -- no special elections needed.

The Sprawl Machine—using federal bailout money--is frantic to kill our right to vote. Right now their huge war chests of money enable them to control local and state governments, allowing them to build wherever they please, and ignoring environmental, traffic, tax, and quality-of-life concerns. They don’t want to give us this power.

It’s crazy to continue to base funding for Florida’s public schools on irresponsible, runaway growth, which is what we’ll continue to do, unless Amendment 4 passes. Until then, those responsible for the Big Recession will blame everyone except themselves, and make you and me pay for their disaster. Check the facts at http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.

What you can do. Approach you local FEA membership. Ask to speak to the building reps or the executive committee and ask them to do the following:

1) Endorse Amendment 4

2) Send this letter or one of your own to the entire union membership.

Locals are free to make their own decision like this. We, the undersigned FEA teachers in Marion County, hope you will join us today.

John Dunn - Forest High School

Tom Lakin - Forest High School

Ron Woodard - Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School

Gene Hotaling - West Port High School

Guy Marwick (retired) - former social studies teacher and Director of the Silver River Museum

ANTI-UNION FORCES WHO ARE

FUNDING THE “NO ON 4” CAMPAIGN:

ABC OF FLORIDA

BANK OF TAMPA

FL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY, LLC

FLORIDA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, INC.

FLORIDIANS FOR SMARTER GROWTH (THATCHER’S GROUP)

LYKES BROS., INC.

MACY'S

NORTH AMERICAN MINING

PROGRESS ENERGY

PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC.

UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATION

WACHOVIA

WALGREENS

WAL-MART STORES, INC.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

[Please note the union label on the Amendment 4 signs and bumper stickers, you won’t find that on the No on 4 materials!]

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL

Give the citizens control

2010-10-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101024/COLUMNIST/10241046/2127?Title=Give-the-citizens-control’s

Published: Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 22, 2010 at 5:36 p.m.

Amendment 4 gives voters a veto over amendments to local comprehensive land-use plans that are approved by city and county commissioners.

Such amendments may turn a pasture into a shopping center or quadruple the densities near your home.

Opponents say "technical" amendments may also go to ballot under Amendment 4. Yet 72 percent of all comprehensive-plan amendments in Sarasota County over the last 10 years increased allowable land development. This year, five of the eight amendments are controversial changes.

Noted Florida author Carl Hiaasen calls Amendment 4 "a wonderful idea." He says the developers and politicians who now have total control over plan amendments are "squirming like worms on a frying pan" over citizens having the final say.

No wonder. Developers make millions on comprehensive-plan amendments and most politicians depend on development interests for a majority of their campaign funds. Do you think developers donate all that money because they just want good government?

Replacing politicians isn't always the answer. One was elected to the Sarasota County Commission in 2006 on a growth- control platform and promptly became the surest vote for developers, who are now bankrolling his re-election.

So how well is the status quo working for you?

The current system has crashed our economy. Over 25 percent of all dwellings in Sarasota County are vacant. Homes can't be sold for a decent price, with supply exceeding demand. Here and throughout Florida there's increased urban sprawl, congested roads and harm to neighborhoods and the environment.

Think Sarasota 2050, which turns rural land into the equivalent of cities. Think Murdock Village, which costs Charlotte County taxpayers $6 million a year to urbanize 80 acres. Think Robinson Farms, where the developer recently got higher density by switching the vote of a Manatee County commissioner during a break, against strong public opposition.

Despite overdevelopment, commissioners are running rampant in the wrong direction. Later this week, the Sarasota County Commission will consider comprehensive-plan amendments, to which they have given first approval, to massively increase allowable development east of I-75 at Fruitville Road and across State Road 681 from Oscar Scherer State Park, as well as to eliminate limits on building coverage in shopping centers and allow millions of square feet of retail buildings in areas now planned for office parks. And now the Sarasota County planning staff proposes gutting the limits in Sarasota 2050, eliminating density controls that protect neighborhoods and allowing developers to overcrowd our roads more than allowed today.

Wouldn't it be nice if we had the final say? We will with Amendment 4.

The developers have raised millions to defeat Amendment 4, much of it from federal bailout money. They are flooding the airwaves with untruths in what a business journal called "scare tactics" to keep people from having more control.

The truth is that Amendment 4 will work well. No special elections are required. Ballot length will be modest -- Sarasota County adopts on average six amendments per year and Manatee has 10. Seventy-five words are plenty to summarize a plan amendment -- candidates usually get only two. Development will not be stunted, as the Sarasota and Manatee county plans already allow enough development to last for 50 years; Charlotte's for 162 years. Experts have said the forecasts of economic ruin by developer-funded groups are "not worth the paper that they're printed on" (to which Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton has stated he agrees).

Amendment 4 will in fact give people the power to restrain taxes, because today growth does not pay its own way for the roads and other facilities to support it. St. Petersburg Beach is not a precedent, as all of its comprehensive-plan amendments were approved by voters and their litigation has nothing to do with Amendment 4.

Commissioner Thaxton has acknowledged that the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan has never been amended to accommodate a relocating industry. Yet he argues without reason that businesses will avoid a state where voters have a veto over comprehensive-plan amendments that the businesses do not require.

What we need for our economy is a more conservative approach to planning that better protects our pocketbooks, neighborhoods, mobility, environment and quality of life.

Then more people will come to spend tourist dollars, move here to buy our homes and relocate businesses to provide better jobs.

We need a change for the better.

We need to control our destiny.

We need Amendment 4.

Dan Lobeck is a Sarasota attorney who represents condominium and homeowner associations and is president of the citizens group Control Growth Now.

Let's go out to lobby, let's go out to the lobby, let's go out to the lobby and make ourselves a deal.

2010-10-25T15:47:00.001-04:00

Play both videos at the same time... one has no sound.

The date was 10-12-10 ( date of the Robinson Farm Land Use Change meeting )

Item #28 Robinson Farm presentation was heard from approximately 2:00PM to 5:00PM .

The BOCC vote was 4-3 to deny Robinson Farm PA 10-02.

During a break, Approx. 15 minutes later.............................

_____________________________________________________________________

Video begins at: 17:16:45 ( 5:16PM ) 10-12-10

The only persons visible in the North Lobby are:

John Neal

Edward Vogler

Betsy Menac ( MillerWilson Stantec)

at 17:17:02

Gwen Brown walks out of the BOCC Chambers directly to the center of the lobby

and is surrounded by all three - it is obvious a conversation is taking place.

at 17:20:46

Gwen Brown leaves the other three and walks back into the BOCC Chambers !

____________________________________________________________________

At approx. 6:10 PM Gwen Brown rescinds her vote ! Robinson Farm is approved 4-3 !
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

LETS MAKE A DEAL

The naked power of developers over the Manatee County commission was again exposed a few days ago when a commissioner reversed her vote, minutes after speaking to developers seeking a tripling of density of Hawthorne Park.

Amendment 4 was given another gift when commissioner Gwen Brown changed her vote from supporting the residents in the Northwest Bradenton neighborhood, to denying the homeowners’ request in favor of developer Pat Neal. This brazen disregard towards residents is just another example why we need Amendment 4, giving voters the final say on all changes to their comprehensive plan.

Opponents to Hometown Democracy are using fear, the oldest trick in the books. From outlandish predictions that passage of Amendment 4 will be the end of Western Civilization, as we know it, to ominous prophesies of further economic implosion and voters being overwhelmed with voting on hundred of proposed changes.

Not so. In Manatee County there is a yearly average of nine changes to the comprehensive plans.

Even a college government professor, who is also a state representative seeking reelection is playing fast and loose with the facts, claiming there would have to be expensive special elections to determine comprehensive plan changes. Sorry professor, that aint true, for proposed comprehensive plan changes would be voted on at the next scheduled election.

When you’re desperate though, you don’t let facts get in your way, and developers are sweating bullets, knowing their control over Florida government may be upturned by voters, demanding their final say on all changes to their comprehensive plan. Vote yes on Amendment 4, November 2.

Joe Kane

Cortez
http://www.bradenton.com/2010/10/13/v-print/2650004/manatee-commission-change-of-heart.html#ixzz13Or41YGW

Manatee Commission change of heart benefits builder Neal

By TIMOTHY R. WOLFRUM

twolfrum@bradenton.com

MANATEE — Northwest Bradenton residents who oppose a developer’s plan to build homes on Robinson Farms property left Tuesday’s Manatee County Commission meeting convinced they had helped stop the project.

But two hours and one commissioner’s reconsideration later, Neal Communities got what it wanted: a change in the county’s comprehensive plan to allow for up to three homes per acre on 28 acres of an area between Ninth Avenue Northwest and 17th Avenue Northwest.

About six hours into an eight-hour land-use meeting, commissioners voted 4-3 to deny the plan change.

The majority of commissioners said the county should not encourage development in a Coastal High Hazard Area as defined by a new hurricane evacuation map drawn up this past spring by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Commission. Doing so, they said, would put prospective residents in harm’s way if a hurricane hit the area.

City staff agreed as did 294 residents who signed a petition opposing the project, planned for an area southeast of Robinson Preserve. Neal Communities hopes to build 105 residential units on the property, with up to three units per acre on 28 acres and a single unit per acre on the remaining 21 acres.

But long after opponents left the chambers, Commissioner Gwen Brown rescinded her vote. The commission then revoted, and the plan change passed 4-3.

“What happened today was politics as usual,” said resident Katie Pierola, who watched the end of the meeting on television. “I never knew they could do things like that.”

At issue was the regional planning commission’s map, which has been approved by the state but not yet adopted into the county’s comprehensive plan.

Twenty-one of the 49 acres included in the Robinson Farms property is considered a high hazard area under the current county comp plan map. The entire area is high hazard in the new map.

Brown said Betsy Benac, of Neal Communities consultant WilsonMiller, approached her during a recess after the vote and showed her a hurricane evacuation map that featured the phrase “not to be used for land-use decisions” at the bottom.

Brown then asked county Planning Director John Osborne if the statement at the bottom of the map was accurate. Osborne said it was but that planners use the same type of map for land-use deliberations.

“If it’s the same map, it should be in the comp plan,” Brown said she told Osborne. “You really should have followed the one you already have.”

Brown’s move angered Commissioner Joe McClash, who along with Carol Whitmore and John Chappie voted for the original denial.

“If you’re relying on that map to change your vote — I hate to use the word misled — you’re being misled by the developer,” McClash said.

Commissioners denied the Neal Communities proposal on June 17 after a vote ended in a 3-3 deadlock. The issue went to mediation in August and returned to the commission Tuesday.

Edward Vogler, an attorney for Neal Communities, said the developer followed the current comprehensive plan map in all applications for the project. He rejected the planning department’s use of the regional planning commission’s evacuation map.

“Timing is important,” Vogler said. “Regrettably, the information provided to you by your staff June 17 was incorrect.”

Osborne responded that the use of the regional planning commission map followed a state directive to use the “best available data analysis” when making recommendations.

Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Strogner Economy - Liar, Liar Pants on Fire.

2010-10-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

http://politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/oct/25/citizens-lower-taxes-and-stronger-economy/anti-amendment-4-group-cites-politifact-newspaper-/

Anti-Amendment 4 group cites PolitiFact in newspaper ad

Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy cites PolitiFact in a new ad.

The group opposing Amendment 4, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, placed a full page ad in the Oct. 17, 2010, Orlando Sentinel urging voters to vote no on the amendment based on information from, well, us.

The full page ad ran with the headline "What does Amendment 4 really mean for Florida?"

Included in the ad was an allegation that listed PolitiFact as the source. The ad says Amendment 4 "will force counties and cities across Florida to raise taxes and fees." The footnote attached to the claim points back to a PolitiFact Florida article from March 16, 2010.

We love the publicity and notoriety that comes with being quoted in a full page advertisement running in one of the state's largest newspapers.

But we love being quoted accurately more.

In this case, we weren't.

First, in case you don't know, here's some background on Amendment 4.

Amendment 4 was placed on the November ballot after Hometown Democracy was able to collect 676,811 petition signatures statewide, more than the state requirement to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The proposal is summarized as follows on the election ballot: "Establishes that before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan, or amend a comprehensive land use plan, the proposed plan or amendment shall be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency, consideration by the governing body and notice."

Essentially the proposal would allow voters to decide on changes to local land use plans, rather than having the decision rest in the hands of city councils, county commissions or appointed local planning agencies.

Supporters argue that the measure will give more power to local residents by allowing them to make decisions regarding development plans in their communities. Opponents argue Amendment 4 will stall existing projects and drive away prospective developers from investing money in Florida.

We've rated several claims on both sides of Amendment 4, which you can see here.

The claim we're analyzing in this case stems from a statement we examined in the spring. Back in March, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy claimed that the tiny Pinellas community of St. Pete Beach had terrible experiences with its own version of Amendment 4, resulting in "seemingly endless lawsuits (that) decimated the city's legal budget and forced the city to raise the property tax rate."

We found two half truths in the statement back then.

1). We didn't agree that Amendment 4 and St. Pete Beach's version of hometown democracy were the same thing. Here's what we wrote about the comparison then:

"A group of St. Pete Beach residents, unhappy with the direction of their city government, successfully wrestled certain land use decisions out of the hands of elected leaders. The movement produced a backlash from both the government and pro-development forces, who then mounted their own political campaign to wrestle power back. The power struggle has continued for close to four years.

"That's a different storyline than what is envisioned under Amendment 4, where voters would act as a check on the decisions of local government. The amendment itself isn't designed to go around government the way the situation in St. Pete Beach played out. And it has nothing to do with citizens proposing amendments to the local comprehensive plan, like what has happened in St. Pete Beach. Now, are the same lawsuits and political maneuvering possible? Absolutely. And maybe that's enough to make the analogy valid.

"But voters should be wary in blindly believing that St. Pete Beach's experiences would be duplicated statewide should Amendment 4 pass."

2). We didn't think St. Pete Beach's hometown democracy rule generated lawsuits that forced the city to raise its property tax rate. Declining property values, more than anything else, forced the tax rate increase in 2009. Here's what we wrote then:

"Yes, there were lawsuits, but they weren't the only costs mentioned for the city legal department (during budget talks). Yes, the city slightly raised its rate in 2009 -- although the net result still was a decrease on most homeowners because of sharply falling property values. But the discussion at a town meeting indicates that the decision was motivated by several factors, most notably the decline in property values, as well as legal fees."

Our ruling

Let's look at what Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy said again in its ad. Citing PolitiFact, it said Amendment 4 "will force counties and cities across Florida to raise taxes and fees."

Well, we can speak unequivocally about this one. PolitiFact Florida never said that what happened in St. Pete Beach's case will happen in cities and counties across Florida if Amendment 4 is approved. We never said it in any other Truth-O-Meter items either. And even ignoring that, PolitiFact Florida never said St. Pete Beach's local hometown democracy rules forced the city to raise its tax rate.

No doubt about it: Pants on Fire! (And no footnote required).

Morning in Florida: What will it be like Nov. 3rd?

2010-10-25T10:08:00.000-04:00

By John Hedrick

On November 3rd, Floridians will celebrate bright prospects for the Sunshine State. Or -- if Amendment 4 fails – big national homebuilders will celebrate permanent victory over the protests and rights of Florida’s citizens, and the bulldozers will be unstoppable.

At the polls, YOU will choose what kind of a morning it’ll be.

You may have heard lots of false information from the developers about the consequences of passing Amendment 4. The developers' “Say-Anything Gang” wants to confuse you and to protect their power and profits, and all of what they’re saying has been shown not to be accurate. Let’s look now at the very real consequences if Amendment 4 does not pass.

If the developer forces win and Amendment 4 fails, we’ll see more of the corruption -- via campaign contributions and bribes -- that make Florida the #1 most politically corrupt state. Our future will be one of continued sprawl-homebuilding, increasing the number of job-seekers in a labor force already suffering one of the country’s highest unemployment rates. The economy, crashed by the developers, will continue to be dismal and worse.

Florida’s main industries – agriculture and tourism – will be the first to suffer, as they find themselves with tract housing in place of products. No new businesses will want to come to this abused and ever-poorer state. Meanwhile, profits from endless homebuilding will head out of state to Pulte, KB Homes, Lennar, Toll Brothers and the others funding the “Vote No” Campaign. The national homebuilders Anti-4 campaign funds ironically come from your own "bailout" tax dollars.

Without doubt we’ll see an end to Florida’s commendable Growth Management efforts, begun in 1985 and weakened steadily since. Whoever gets into office will merely determine how rapidly this happens. Senate Bill 360 (shifting developers’ costs to taxpayers) will pass again, despite the court's ruling overturning it. The state’s growth watchdog, the Department of Community Affairs, will be dismantled or rendered ineffectual. These events aren’t guesses; they would have happened already except that Amendment 4 was on the horizon.

Politicians and developers have been sitting on their hands for at least a couple of years, holding back on doing their worst because they’d ignite still more anger among citizens and support for Amendment 4. After November 2nd, if Amendment 4 fails, their pent-up greed will be unleashed, unstoppably.

Floridians’ voices will truly be silenced by the newly reinvigorated politician-developer conspiracy. Floridians’ quality of life will sink, with further soaring taxes, reductions in services, inability to sell our homes, and the bulldozing of the State’s remaining natural beauty, fertile agricultural lands, and life-sustaining wetlands.

If you’ve been told that there are “better” solutions than Amendment 4, don’t believe it! Developer-influenced politicians have already killed off those other proposals every time they’ve come up, and they’ll continue to do so. Amendment 4 came to be because the other side concedes there's a problem, but has never wanted a solution that will really work. It's their way or the highway.

And don’t think that if Amendment 4 fails this time, there will be another chance to support it later. No, Amendment 4 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s the result of 7 years of strenuous effort by dedicated citizen-volunteers who collected more than a million signatures, and fought off 7 court challenges from developers. Lacking the opposition’s developer money and paid workforce, Amendment 4 supporters have given this citizens’ initiative their all.

Amendment 4 either makes it or doesn't on November 2nd. This is truly the moment of truth. Floridians urgently need to protect their rights and their neighborhoods by voting “YES.”

Otherwise, it’s back to wringing your hands and protesting developers’ rampages and politicians’ secret deals. Back to soaring taxes, plummeting home values, a boom-bust economy, and stagnant prospects for bringing jobs to a State in a downward spiral.

One simple thing you can still do to make sure Amendment 4 passes is this: Engage others – pass this message to neighbors, relatives, and friends. Get this message out to all voters: the hometown that you save will indeed be your own.

Your future . . . awaits your “YES on 4” vote on or before November 2nd. Before it's too late, take your rightful seat at the table. Give yourself the right to vote on your community's future. Your friends, family, children, and grandchildren will thank you.

Sincerely,

John Hedrick,

Member, Amendment 4 statewide coordinating committee and

Chair, Panhandle Citizens Coalition

Econcat88 more roads to nowhere in the Florida panhandle

2010-10-25T10:04:00.000-04:00

Polls are not always right. A song for those of us in the trenches fighting for Amendment 4.

2010-10-25T09:24:00.000-04:00

Ghosts of elections past: A must read Eye on Miami post

2010-10-25T08:36:00.000-04:00

http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2010/10/independent-voters-if-you-dont-like-job.html

Independent voters: if you don't like the job Brownie did, vote yes! for Amendments 4, 5, and 6... by gimleteye

Jeb Bush opposes Fair Districts. Shocking. Jeb, who helped deliver the White House for W. in 2000, is against something that is fair? Jeb also opposes Amendment 4, Florida Hometown Democracy. This ballot measure to change the Florida Constitition is the only chance Florida voters will have in their lifetime to change the corrupt relationship between builders and developers and local elected officials who rubber stamp changes to community development plans. If Jeb is against, your vote should be 'yes'.

Unless independent voters put their thinking caps on straight, the bad old days are poised to return with a vengeance on November 2nd. Here's the latest example: Florida's bad news Secretary of State Kurt Browning resigned public office to lead the GOP bankrolled anti-Fair Districts group. "Browning was well known as an advocate of electronic touch-screen voting machines, and Pasco was one of 15 Florida counties using the machines. Those machines became steeped in controversy in 2006 because of 18,000 undervotes in a Sarasota congressional election."

But Florida Hometown Democracy has a sharper recollection of Bad Penny Browning who once ran state elections and now opposes fair districts. In 2006, the Chamber and related industry groups watched the arguments for Florida Hometown Democracy build momentum. The 60 percent supermajority was added to the Florida Constitution by these interests, who only needed fifty percent to pass it, just to keep fairness at bay.

Throughout 2007, Florida Hometown Democracy plowed ahead. Its organizers had gathered enough petitions and expected the proposed amendment to the Florida constitution-- taking rubber stamp authority from local county and city commissioners for changes to master development plans required by the state-- would be on the 2008 ballot. The challenge in state court by the Chamber of Commerze had been set aside. All that had to happen, was for the signatures to be certified by local supervisors of elections.

The Florida Chamber and real estate industry lobbyists-- who oppose federal bailouts unless they are on the receiving end -- had already mounted a poison pill ballot initiative called "Floridians for Smart Growth" and were paying signature collectors big bucks to harvest petitions from anyone who could hold a pen.

Up to that time, the qualifying date for the state-wide ballot was July 2008. But in 2007, to thwart Hometown Democracy, the Florida legislature changed the date. They pushed up the qualifying to early in the calendar early: February and not July. This, of course, put added pressure on Hometown Democracy (the only controversial amendment aiming for the 2008 election). It was the same year where the legislature also pushed the primary election to late January.

This is where Bad Penny Kurt Browning came in. On New Year's Eve 2007, late in the afternoon, Browning's office faxed a memo to the state's beleagured supervisor of elections. Browning said, in effect, to supervisors struggling to organize the January primary: you have to process petitions for ballot referenda on a first come, first serve basis. Immediately, the Florida Chamber initiative wheeled in more than 750,000 petitions they had collected for their "Smart Growth" amendment, despite the fact that a legal challenge against it was in process (thrown out subsequently by the Florida Supreme Court). By obstructing supervisor of elections from processing the earlier petitions submitted by Florida Hometown Democracy, Bad Penny Browning assured that Florida Hometown Democracy would not appear on the 2008 ballot in a presidential year.

Today Browning is getting paid big bucks to roll out the steam-rollers against Fair Districts. I'm sure Jeb has joked with him, "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie." If you don't like the job Brownie did, vote "yes!" for 4, 5, and 6.

Sometimes you just have to listen to your heart.

2010-10-24T14:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.ocala.com/article/20101023/COLUMNISTS/101029829/-1/news?Title=Head-and-heart

Head and heart

By Brad Rogers

Columnist

Published: Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 11:52 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 11:53 p.m.

On Amendment 4, the so-called Hometown Democracy amendment that would put the biggest growth decisions in the hands of the voters, my head tells me one thing, my heart another.

Proponents say if 4 passes it will scare off companies and jobs, spawn tons of lawsuits and all in all bring growth in Florida to a halt. Forever. Devastation.

So my head tells me Amendment 4 isn’t a great idea. And besides, getting people out to vote for things like governor and president is hard enough. Will they care enough or be informed enough about a new mall or housing development to actually show up? Rest assured, the growth machine will spend whatever it takes to win the big votes.

That’s in my head, but then there’s my heart. The way things are has not worked so well. No matter how many times citizens try to set the bar high for growth and development, the development crowd always manages to get it lowered, sometimes removed altogether.

People come to Florida to live on the water, to live in retirement communities, to live amid the peace and quiet of places like Marion County.

That’s all they want. To enjoy the beauty, the weather, the prosperity of Florida. And they’re OK with more growth — just don’t let it destroy whatever lifestyle we came here seeking.

Proponents say the best way to do that is just elect city councils and county commissions that will do the people’s will. Seriously. Don’t laugh. They really say that.

We have tried. But the proof is in the planning — growth is overwhelmingly dictated by large landholders, large developers and large construction outfits, no matter who gets elected, no matter where. It’s the Florida way.

Here’s a homegrown argument for 4.

The owners of CB3 want to put a mine in the middle of hundreds of homes and farms in pastoral Martin in northwest Marion. Hundreds oppose the idea, saying it would ruin their quality of life, and it probably would. The County Commission can’t ignore the outrage and votes 5-0 against the mine.

A year goes by and CB3 comes back. Again, hundreds turn out in opposition, tiring of having to fight to just live in peace and quite. Again, a County Commission “no” vote.
The people won, right? Uh, well, not yet.

The County Commission put an amendment in their new comp plan that would create a “Mineral Extraction Overlay Zone” — big-time mining — in the area all around Martin. The commission put it in there ... at the suggestion of CB3’s lawyer.

The state noticed that little addition and asked, “What about standards or regulations?” There aren’t any.

But the mining zone is in the comp plan, and that gives it legal legitimacy.

Hundreds can turn out in opposition. So? The commission will righteously cite the comp plan — which they wrote — as indisputable law, and send the people away. Let the mining begin.

All the people of northwest Marion County want is peaceful rural living. Living in mine zone isn’t compatible with that — not until the comp plan says it is.

Sometimes you just have to listen to your heart.

Brad Rogers is editorial page editor for the Star-Banner.

Part one of a series of short stories on Amendment 4: Watch my hands.

2010-10-23T09:28:00.003-04:00

OK, I admit it. I’ve never been fond of magicians. Even when I was a little kid I was uneasy with the thought someone could actually pull something from out of an empty hat. They had to be up to no good.

That’s why I can’t understand how Floridians can buy into the dire predictions of economic disaster, should Amendment 4 pass.

Florida is an empty hat. Amendment 4 did not make Florida an economic disaster. The people behind the campaign to defeat Amendment 4 are the ones who have sucked us dry.

If they succeed and Amendment 4 is defeated, the only thing they will have to show the audience is the same old lint.

(Florida TaxWatch for example; whose taxes do YOU think they are looking out for, yours? Think again – unless you are Publix, US Sugar, or one of Florida’s other major industries, they don’t give a diddly squat.)

This is their trick. They come up with bogus studies predicting disaster to keep you from looking at the economic disaster the state is in right now and figuring out who got us here. They did.

And the reason they want Amendment 4 to fail? Because they like the way the system is working for them now and don’t want hecklers from the audience interfering in their show.

It’s all smoke and mirrors to keep you from focusing clearly on the fact that if amendment 4 passes, you will have a say in how your own communities grow and some of the power will be taken out of their hands and put into yours.

It’s time to focus on the reality that if Amendment 4 does not pass, nothing will change and the status quo is what has gotten us into the mess we are in right now.

Part 2: A Tale of two cities.

2010-10-23T09:08:00.000-04:00

Yankeetown and St. Pete Beach

Two towns, two motivations, two outcomes.

In St Pete beach, a group of hoteliers and developers decided they didn’t like the law that required them to limit their building height to just 5 stories – they wanted 15 so they could put up massive condo hotels. Unfortunately for them, their city council at the time agreed with most of the citizens and believed that increasing the building height would ruin the character of the city. The developers came up with a ballot initiative that would allow them to circumvent their city council. This of course does not follow our current growth management rules and so it caused a lot of trouble.

In Yankeetown, the town council was secretly meeting with a developer to turn a fish camp in the quiet little hamlet into, you guessed it, condos.

Now, most of the residents of Yankeetown like the place the way it is, thank you very much, and thought it was wrong that a few people would benefit greatly and the majority would lose the very quality of life that made them love their town.

So, the citizens got together and changed their city charter so that they could vote on changes to their comprehensive plans approved by their town council. That way, citizens would have veto power in case their elected officials tried to pull a fast one again. Yankeetown’s charter change has been a big success. It didn’t violate our growth management laws.

Yankeetown is Amendment 4 on a local level.

Part three: Pull my finger.

2010-10-23T08:14:00.001-04:00

Until I got married I was blissfully unaware of the joke “pull my finger.”

Seems when my husband was a little boy the uncles thought it was funny to get their nieces and nephews to pull their fingers at which point, the uncles would make a fart sound.

Why anyone would fall for this gimmick more than once is beyond me.

But the Florida Realtors Association and all of the major home builders who want Amendment 4 to fail are essentially telling the population of Florida to pull their fingers.

The only thing we are going to get from them is the same build and bust philosophy which has led to congested roads, crowded schools , higher property taxes, lower property values, a housing bubble, foreclosure crisis and record unemployment.

I, for one, am not falling for it.

Statement From Florida Hometown Democracy:

2010-10-21T11:47:00.000-04:00

This latest so-called economic study is just another attempt on the part of the No on 4 growth machine to make up "facts" to scare voters. With the earlier No on 4 study discredited recently by university economists and PolitiFact, they have ginned up another "estimate" that is as flawed as the earlier so-called study.

What has cost Florida untold jobs and higher taxes is the current system of growth, as Nathaniel Reed, a prominent conservationist and growth management advocate, said in his recent endorsement of Amendment 4. Amendment 4 would end the boom and bust cycle of Florida real estate speculation and provide a more stable economic platform, resulting in more investment in our state, not less. As a 1999 study showed, Florida's comp plans have room for growth for another 100 million Floridians to move here; to say that growth with stop if local governments can no longer willy-nilly change their land use plans is ludicrous given the amount of room for new growth in existing comp plans.

Additionally, Florida TaxWatch is far from an independent broker in this campaign. Several of its board members have given money directly to the No on 4 campaign and others are openly fighting against Amendment 4. TaxWatch is an arm of Florida's retail industry and, as such, is practically part of the No on 4 effort.

Just to give an idea of how intertwined the opponents of Amendment 4 are with TaxWatch, one of the founding members of TaxWatch is Publix, and it has given $200,000 split among the two PACs fighting A4: Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy and Floridians for Smarter Growth.

Here is listing of dates and data obtained from the Florida Division of Elections campaign finance database:

Via Florida Mainstreet Merchants PAC to Citizens for Lower Taxes...

2010 Q1 03/11/2010 75,000.00 PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS PO BOX 407 LAKELAND, FL 33810 GROCERY RETAILER CHE

And $125,000 to Floridians for Smarter Growth

2009 Q4 12/12/09 125000 PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC. P. O. BOX 407 LAKELAND, FL 33802 RETAIL GROCERIES CHE

Publix has two members on the current TaxWatch board, as well as is a founding member.

Also on the Executive Committee of TaxWatch is Rober Coker of US Sugar, which has given $75,000 to our opponents PAC

•Rober E. Coker, Senior Vice President, United States Sugar Corporation

$75,000 to Floridians for Smarter Growth Inc.

2007 Q2 4/9/07 25000 UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATION 111 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE CLEWISTON, FL 33440 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q2 5/29/07 25000 UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATION 111 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE CLEWISTON, FL 33440 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

2007 Q4 11/19/07 25000 UNITED STATES SUGAR CORPORATION 111 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE CLEWISTON, FL 33440 AGRIBUSINESS CHE

The upshot is that TaxWatch is not an independent watchdog group, it is the creation of Big Business in Florida and it has been doing its master's bidding in opposition to Amendment 4.

Nathaniel Reed endorses Amendment 4

2010-10-20T17:36:00.001-04:00

Nathaniel P. Reed -- long one of Florida's most respected conservationists and a former Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Nixon and Ford administrations -- has endorsed Amendment 4, the Hometown Democracy land-use voting rights ballot initiative.

Reed is well known for his work in 1000 Friends of Florida and as vice chairman of the Everglades Foundation and deeply respected for his thoughtful and reasoned approach to conservation in Florida. He has served seven governors, most recently as chairman of the Commission on Florida's Environmental Future.

Here is Reed's statement:

I have pondered the pros and cons of Amendment #4 for months. I have listened to expert land use planners and attorneys who warn that the amendment is not perfect and might have “unanticipated consequences”. I have listened to the proponents who are dissatisfied with the obvious consequences of the existing system. They have been repeatedly ignored by their elected officials who promised careful consideration of development plans and then allowed projects that are unsound and will cost the existing taxpayers a fortune.
As I have traveled the state I have seen the cost of bad development decisions by local government who have made Florida the foreclosure capital of the nation. I am struck by the continued efforts by the development community to convince county and city officials that they can restore Florida’s economy by doing more of what made it crash.
The suggestion that Amendment 4 will cost the taxpayer’s money is laughable when you look at the untold millions the current system has cost us. Overbuilding has left Florida’s economy in shambles. It is the major reason that property taxes have skyrocketed. It is the single biggest factor in uncounted environmental damage to Florida’s natural systems. Every study ever done shows that bad growth management costs citizens in money and quality of life.

I have been involved in the state’s once meaningful comprehensive planning program for 30 years, beginning with then Governor Bob Graham’s efforts to produce a new vision on how Florida could grow and prosper with due regard to livability and protection of unique areas that make our state uniquely beautiful.

During the intervening years the mad, insatiable desire of the development community has overwhelmed local concerns and produced a Florida that is uglier than it ever should have become. We have lost the promise of thoughtful development that create livable communities and substituted “pay for play” as the standard for development approval.

There are faults with Amendment #4, but with the evisceration of the Department of Community Affairs that once was the hallmark of sound decision making, I am at the stage where I believe that we need to take a chance. We need to send a message to our elected officials that communities have a right to control their destiny.

My vote for Amendment 4 represents my discontent if not disgust with the return to an era of uncaring, anything goes development without caring for local input or the impact on our remaining undeveloped land.

Nathaniel Reed

Yes on 4's website address is http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com/

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, F

Florida Association of Realtors fiddles (with money) while their members burn

2010-10-20T09:28:00.000-04:00

We turn now to one of the more obscene gestures made by the Florida business community during its desperate and all-encompassing fight against Hometown Democracy and the people's right to vote on development issues that could cost them higher property taxes.

Consider this: At a time when many individual Realtors are suffering in a horribly overbuilt Florida housing market and downturned economy, their parent organization, the Florida Association of Realtors, has used its "Advocacy Fund" (fueled in part by a $10 per member advocacy surcharge on their annual dues) to contribute $4.25 million to oppose Amendment 4.

This makes the Realtors association's Advocacy Fund the largest single contributor to the anti-Amendment 4 campaign at a time when things are so bad for Florida Realtors that they even got a $16 million settlement from the BP Gulf oil spill. (And Realtors looking to be fully compensated from that settlement shouldn't hold their breath. Realtors association lobbyist John Sebree said in reports published Aug. 24, 2010, that the BP money "might not go terribly far.")

At a time when the Realtors association should be financially helping its members, it is wasting more than $4 million to attempt to preserve the very system of growth that put its members out of work in the first place! The very system that depressed housing values (and therefore commissions when/if homes are sold in this market).

And the $4.25 million from the Realtors' Advocacy Fund isn't all the Realtor money that has found its way to oppose Florida Hometown Democracy. State Division of Elections records show that the Florida Realtors Association gave another $25,910; the Realtors Political Issues Committee-FLA gave $5,500; and the Florida Gulfcoast Comm. Association of Realtors PAC gave $250.

Just how over the top is the Florida Association of Realtors in its largesse to the No on 4 crowd? Consider that the next biggest contribution given to the No on 4 political action committee is $567,000 from Pulte Homes Corp. (Pulte got is own bail-out, by the way, an $800 million tax break from the federal government, according to Builder magazine in Feb. 2010, tucked neatly in a 2009 unemployment compensation bill.)

Yes on 4's website address is www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL.

You can't have it both ways. Are Politicians against Amendment 4, or are are they hiding the costs?

2010-10-19T20:47:00.001-04:00

The politicians are in bed with Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy.

This is just another one of their lies.

How can you believe a thing they say?

No on 4 supporters, according to their website:

•City of Altamonte Springs

•City of Bonita Springs

•City of Casselberry

•City of Cooper City

•City of Coral Springs

•City of Delray Beach

•City of Fort Myers

•City of Hallandale Beach

•City of Hialeah

•City of High Springs

•City of Homestead

•City of Indian River Shores

•City of Jacksonville

•City of Kissimmee

•City of Lake City

•City of Lauderhill

•City of Lauderdale Lakes

•City of Longwood

•City of Miami Gardens

•City of Miami Springs

•City of North Lauderdale

•City of North Miami

•City of North Miami Beach

•City of Oldsmar

•City of Orlando

•City of Palm Beach Gardens

•City of Palm Coast

•City of Palm Shores

•City of Palmetto

•City of Pembroke Pines

•City of Pensacola

•City of Pompano Beach

•City of Port St. Lucie

•City of Seminole

•City of South Daytona

•City of South Pasadena

•City of St. Pete Beach

•City of Sunny Isles Beach

•City of Tamarac

•City of Weston

•City of West Park

•City of Wilton Manors

•City of Winter Garden

•City of Winter Springs

•City of Zephyrhills

•Collier County Commission

•Columbia County Board of County Commissioners

•Escambia County Board of County Commissioners

•Manatee County Board of County Commissioners

•Seminole County Board of County Commissioners

•Town of Callahan

•Town of Hilliard

•Town of Indian River Shores

•Town of Juno Beach

•Town of Lake Park

•Town of Southwest Ranches

A message from Lesley Blackner

2010-10-19T10:14:00.003-04:00

Greetings Supporters!

Seven years ago, we began a journey to turn Florida around. To stop the endless sprawl that threaten our natural resources, tax dollars and quality of life. To force our lawmakers to put us on a better economic course than boom-and-bust. To pass Amendment 4, our Florida Hometown Democracy.

Now, we find ourselves just two weeks from the culmination of this dream that some have called the last, best chance to save Florida from itself. Voters will decide on Nov. 2 whether our solution to give them the right to cast ballots on important land-use decisions is the right one.

I want to thank everybody who has supported Amendment 4, all our volunteers who have spoken in favor of it, handed out palm cards, put up yard signs and contributed in any way they could to spread our simple message: Voters deserve a seat at the table.

This is truly a citizen-driven effort, gathering more than 1 million signatures to put Amendment 4 on the ballot and fending off a vicious opposition that stopped at nothing -- including constant lies on television ads and changing the Florida Constitution to make it harder for our amendment to pass -- to maintain the status quo and their stranglehold on the state's political system.

I cannot thank you enough for standing with us.

Now I have two last things to ask of you. First, please help us over the final two weekends of the campaign by getting out to events in your community and handing out our campaign literature. You can download and print our palm cards from the Yes on 4 website.

Second, you may have read about our campaign receiving a last-minute, multimillion dollar infusion of cash. I wish it were true, but it is not. We find ourselves in the last two weeks of the campaign badly outspent by our opposition, who believes that we did receive the money and is gearing up to throw even more cash into the race as a result.

We need your financial help to keep our message in front of voters for this last two weeks!

Any donation you can make by Oct. 25 to our Click and Pledge site at http://floridahometowndemocracy.com/donate will help us counter the opposition's lies and tell Florida voters the truth, that Amendment 4 will level the playing field and give us a fighting chance to save this state. After that Oct. 25 financial deadline, it will be all over except for the voting.

I implore you to consider one final donation to us. This has been a historic David vs. Goliath effort, most likely the last of its kind Florida will see in our lifetime. I fear that if we are not successful, by the time another group is able to launch another effort it will be too late for the Sunshine State.

Thank you for your support and hard work,

Lesley Blackner

President, Florida Hometown Democracy

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL

Mac Wright - Amendment 4 and the great uphill battle to save Florida

2010-10-19T10:00:00.001-04:00

Join the revolution to fight overdevelopment in Florida. Vote yes on Amendment 4.

2010-10-18T11:03:00.000-04:00

This is dedicated to the Florida Home Builders Association, The Florida Chamber of Commerce, The Florida Association of Realtors; all the fat cat developers and homebuilders, like Pulte, Lennar and KB Homes and the empty strip center anchors, like Publix, Walgreens and CVS who have contributed to the 10 million dollar war chest to defeat Amendment 4. Land use decisions impact our property taxes, property values and quality of life and Floridians should have the right to vote on growth in their communities.

Amendment 4 might not save the world, but it could save Florida. Vote Yes on Amendment 4. Change your world.

2010-10-17T18:05:00.002-04:00

Amendment 4 gives local residents a seat at the table when developers want to make changes to our long-term growth plans.
If we have to subsidize the effects of land use changes, we should have the right to vote on them.
Don't wait. Vote yes on Amendment 4.

Don't be fooled by campaign lies - vote 'yes' on Amendment 4

2010-10-16T11:18:00.000-04:00

http://www.news-press.com/article/20101016/OPINION/10160330/1015/opinion/Ellen-Peterson--Don-t-be-fooled-by-campaign-lies---vote--yes--on-Amendment-4

Ellen Peterson • Special to news-press.com • October 16, 2010

Years ago, the concern that uncontrolled development was destroying the Florida quality of life caused the Legislature to pass the Growth Management Act in 1985. The plan required all counties and cities to create a plan for its future development, a vision for what the people wanted the community to be.

Many of us worked for months to create the Lee Plan, which includes everything from land use, traffic and schools to water and air pollution even to beach access and recreation. Amendments to the plan were supposed to happen every seven years when the plans were evaluated.

But it didn't work out that way.

Developers, land speculators and their fellow travelers began bankrolling candidates for county commissions and City Councils so they would have favorable governments to deal with. Those elected filled the planning boards with those who got them elected. Very quickly, the purpose of the Growth Management Act was subverted. Some commissions became rubber stamps for developers and land speculators.

The big loser was the public - homeowners and taxpayers - who no longer had a voice in how their communities were being developed or how their taxes were being spent.

Commission chambers overflowed with protesters, but the commissioners wouldn't listen to them. When developers and land speculators lined up against the public, they almost always won. Citizens would carry the fight all the way through public hearings and even would protest before the Department of Community Affairs to no avail.

As columnist Carl Hiassen said recently, nobody with half a brain believes that development pays for itself.

Study after study shows that residents are the ones who pay big-time for sprawl, which is why taxes are so brutal in Florida's most densely populated counties.

So is the cost of living. Clogged highways, overcrowded schools and jails, water shortages - we pay for all of it.

All the problems of congestion and overdevelopment that the Growth Management Act was supposed to fix have continued.

Clearly, the representative system of government is broken.

Out of this inefficiency came the Hometown Democracy Movement. More than a million Floridians signed a petition to get Amendment 4 on the ballot.

Opponents claim that Amendment 4 will actually raise taxes, one of many straight-faced lies that will saturate the airwaves between now and election day. This is well-financed desperation.

Here's the killer: Many of the companies bankrolling the ad campaign against Amendment 4 are recipients of a congressional bailout in the form of humongous tax refunds earlier this year.

Pulte Homes accepted $800 million in federal bailout refunds while kicking in $567,000 to a political action committee opposed to Amendment 4.

So, when you see all those dire-sounding, fright-filled TV commercials, remember who's paying for them. You are.

Do the thing they dread the most: Read Amendment 4 and decide for yourself.

- Ellen Peterson lives in Estero.

Florida is paradise and we are paving it over.

2010-10-16T10:52:00.000-04:00

Amendment 4 will give us veto power over bad development decisions. We have way too many empty parking lots. Please Vote yes on Amendment 4.

Florida has enough density to increase our population to more than 100 million people. We have enough ticky-tacky subdivisions.

2010-10-15T22:44:00.001-04:00

Please vote yes on Amendment 4 and give yourself a seat at the table.

Our homes and our communities are too important to leave in the hands of elected officials. Amendment 4 will give us veto power over bad growth management decisions

From Wikipedia: "Little Boxes" was inspired visually by the houses of Daly City, California. Nancy Reynolds Schimmel, daughter of Malvina Reynolds, explained:"My mother and father were driving South from San Francisco through Daly City when my mom got the idea for the song. She asked my dad to take the wheel, and she wrote it on the way to the gathering in La Honda where she was going to sing for the Friends Committee on Legislation. When Time Magazine (I think, maybe Newsweek) wanted a photo of her pointing to the very place, she couldn't find those houses because so many more had been built around them that the hillsides were totally covered."

PolitiFact, economists repudiate flawed anti-Amendment 4 'economic study'

2010-10-15T11:11:00.000-04:00

We've been saying it for months, and now a PolitiFact examination supports our conclusion that the anti-Amendment 4 so-called "economic study" predicting dire job losses is not valid and ruled it "Barely True."

In enlisting several independent economists, the PolitiFact story should put rest to the Big Lie that opponents have been trying to peddle for months: that Amendment 4 is a jobs-killer. Already, prominent columnists such as Howard Troxler of the St. Petersburg Times, Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald and Lauren Ritchie of the Orlando Sentinel had already dismissed the study and dire warnings from opponents of Amendment 4.

Check out what these economists told PolitiFact:

Dr. Christopher Cotton is a professor with UM’s School of Business, who specializes in political economics and experimental economics. Prior to becoming a professor, he worked as a consultant conducting economic impact studies. He has not written or advocated on Amendment 4 in this election.

Cotton was critical of the WEG study, saying: "I see absolutely no reason to believe the findings of the Washington Economics Group report."

And this from well-known University of Florida economist David Denslow:

"We don't know for sure how voters will react, how the legislature will react, how developers will react. Nor do we know for sure what Florida's growth path would be without Amendment 4, as a base. Adding to the uncertainty is the current truly unusual state of the housing market. Would Amendment 4 increase the demand for vacant houses because it'll be harder to build new ones? Or would it reduce the demand because people will think Florida will stop growing and not want to start new businesses?"

PolitiFact's conclusion?:

We steer clear of ruling on predictions, and that's the issue we have with the blanket statement made by "No on 4." The opponents use a scary number of $34 billion in lost economic output based on assumptions that other economists -- even two economists who also are opposed to Amendment 4 -- say aren't knowable.

You can read the entire PolitiFact finding at http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/oct/15/citizens-lower-taxes-and-stronger-economy/study-claims-amendment-4-will-cause-34-billion-imp

How can you vote against right to vote?

2010-10-14T20:03:00.000-04:00

http://www.ocala.com/article/20101010/OPINION/101019993/1183/OPINION?p=all&tc=pgall
By Gary Borse

Special to the Star-Banner

Published: Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 7:13 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 7:15 a.m.

Why anyone in their right mind would vote against an amendment that would give them the right to vote on local land-use issues is beyond unbelievable.

People are literally dying to get the right to vote in other countries. Who could be so controlling and influential in this country that they could talk someone out of their right to vote?

If you don't want a vote, then you don't care and are willing to let the County Commission decide what is best for you. Right now our commissioners say another Interstate 75 interchange is good for you because their friends own land on both sides of the interstate, and they can build an interchange, high-density residential units and more shopping for you. The roads, fire stations, sewer, water and schools for their projects are your expense. This includes the management and maintenance of these infrastructures, into perpetuity, at taxpayers' expense, with annual increases that you cannot dispute. The developers pay nothing; they just use you to make money. The great Ponzi scheme is revealed.

The county commissioners want you to give up your right to vote. The Chamber of Commerce wants you to give up your right to vote. The Realtors' associations want you to give up your right to vote. And, of course, the developers do not want you to have the right to vote.

They are all against your right to vote because they want to have total control over your quality of life, without you having a say in what happens to your neighborhood. This is ludicrous and scandalous. We, the people, deserve a vote. We are the ones who are paying high real estate taxes for all this questionable infrastructure they create.

Many changes to the old comprehensive land-use plan were made quickly and in near secrecy just short of this election because the county commissioners are scared you might have a vote.

From new I-75 interchanges, neighborhood overpasses, major shopping centers, high-density residential development, mining preservation rezoning, and even two new municipal wells to pump water (I thought we were almost out of water) across the county to other areas they are developing, they have gone against the will of the people they are supposed to serve. Over and over again.

Hundreds of residents of the areas affected voiced their objections in writing and in person at several of these County Commission meetings. They were ignored and all of their environmental and fiscal concerns and objections were "lost" by the county commissioners on their way to the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee. This appears to be standard operating procedure deeply entrenched in Marion County where some of our local officials, past and present, work for the developers like Del Webb and Pulte, as well as others, or have partnerships and real estate investments that are tied tightly to the development machine. Our local government transparency is only in the corruption that exists. And there's plenty to go around.

I urge you to read about Amendment 4 at floridahometowndemocracy.com,, and watch the videos, and then I ask you, "Do you want a vote?"

Gary Borse is a cattle rancher who lives in Fairfield in northwest Marion County.

Bradenton Times Editor Dennis Maley explains Amendment 4

2010-10-14T18:48:00.000-04:00

2010 Florida Ballot Amendments Discussion from The Bradenton Times on Vimeo.

Regaining control of our communities

2010-10-13T20:16:00.000-04:00

I'm not much of a gambler. I get nervous after forking over a dollar for a Lotto ticket. Investing your time, energy and effort into a political campaign has to be the biggest roll of the dice there is.

One of the news channels out of Orlando ran a piece on Amendment 4 today with the introduction: Twenty days until Election Day.

I have to admit, pressure is building.

Never having been involved in anything more political than casting my votes, being involved with Florida Hometown Democracy is teaching me things I never thought I'd learn.

Like, how your opposition can resort to outrageous predications of disaster when the system they are fighting to stay in control of is what has created the economic disaster we are experiencing today. Like confusing people who are unfamiliar with the issues about who the special interests are. Maybe this is just part of the political game.

I know for those of us rooting for Amendment 4 this is not a game. Most of us are regular people who learned a little something about land use and growth management and the way the system works when a developer came into our city or county and proposed a project that was so intolerable; we just couldn't sit back and let it happen without a fight.

When people speak out against a project or development at a city council or county commission meeting, developers are quick to fling the label NIMBY, "not on my backyard," at us.

Well, supporters of Amendment 4 come from all over the state. We are people living in cities such as Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg and Tampa, in rural areas like Gilchrist and Citrus counties and in counties like Pasco and Hernando, St. Lucy and Manatee that fall somewhere in between. In a sense, we have taken on this effort because Florida is our backyard and we care. Not because it's how we make our living, like the developers, home builders and the Realtors who like the way the system works now because it's stacked in their favor, but because we care about the places we live and want more control over how they grow and the quality of our lives.

Amendment 4's opposition admits that Florida has not done a very good job of growth management; they admit that things should change but say that Amendment 4 isn't the answer. They say that because if Amendment 4 passes, it is they who will have to change. They will have to follow the rules and build where we have agreed in our comprehensive plans that growth should occur, not where it is most convenient for them. They want the rest of us to be the ones who have to compromise our quality of life to fit their greedy plans. And make no mistake about it, greed is a factor in this or the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Builders Association, the Florida Association of Realtors and the homebuilders who created the housing bubble wouldn't be forking over millions of dollars to see it fail.

In 20 days we will see the result of a seven-year effort by average people who want to level the playing field for all of us who just want a vote when their elected officials make radical changes to places where they live.

A lot of us are getting a little tired. It's tough being David in a David and Goliath fight. We are also a little scared that for all of our hard work, our truth may be outshone by the glare that a multi-million dollar media blitz can create.

For those of out here working to make this happen, I want to thank Lesley Blackner for having the courage to stand up for the rights of all Floridians who just want to have more than three minutes in front of a microphone at a commission meeting to protect the way they live. For giving us this chance to have the right to vote on issues that impact our property taxes, property values and quality of life.

Keep your chin up, Lesley; it ain't over 'til it’s over.

The numbers don't lie... the people who speak for Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy do

2010-10-13T17:00:00.001-04:00

http://watchdog.flatoday.net/

Would Amendment 4 curb growth? Here are the real numbers

posted by Jeff Schweers at 5:02 AM

The premise behind Amendment Four to the Florida Constitution is that state and local planners and government boards have allowed too much growth to occur, which led to the housing bubble that burst all over the state's economy.

If Amendment Four passes in November, all proposed changes to the local comprehensive land use plan, the blueprints for growth, would be put to a vote by the public for final approval.

Brevard Watchdog wanted to know exactly how many such changes have already been approved and what their impact would be. Here's what we found out after contacting James Miller, spokesman for the state Department of Community Affairs:

15,000 requests for comp plan changes in 2009, 2,100 through May 2010;

29,000 adopted in 2009;

500,000 residential units added since June 1, 2007;

1.4 million square feet of commercial and industrial space created.

If Amendment Four gets the 60 percent it needs to pass, any new proposed changes like the thousands approved by the DCA would go to a public vote. Miller said each community averages about 4.2 requests to change the comp plan each year.

Florida ghost towns - we need amendment 4 to stop this cycle - our elected officials just don't get it.

2010-10-13T16:37:00.001-04:00

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2010/10/13/einhorn-on-st-joe-development-a-ghost-town/

October 13, 2010, 1:47 PM ET

Einhorn on St. Joe Development: ‘A Ghost Town’By Tom Lauricella

Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn took stock pickers through a tour of Florida’s panhandle as he outlined the reasons he’s shorting the stock of real estate developer St. Joe Company.

The basic thesis: the company’s holdings of Florida real estate are worth nowhere near the $746 million the company says they are worth. Rather than the $20 to $28 range St. Joe shares have been trading at, Einhorn thinks that at best the company is worth $7 to $10 per share. And if the company’s management doesn’t change course, he argues it could eventually fall to zero.

Within minutes of Einhorn speaking St. Joe shares tanked. At last glance they’re down 10.4% to $21.98.

Einhorn’s bet that shares of St. Joe have been overvalued sets up a stock-pickers steel cage match against Bruce Berkowitz, the widely-admired value investor whose Fairholme Capital Management held nearly 27 million shares as of June 30.

It’s reminiscent of Pershing Capital founder Bill Ackman’s wager against MBIA, where the famed manager Marty Whitman of Third Avenue wrongly took the other side of the trade. Einhorn, of course, is famed for shorting Lehman Brothers at $70 per share and showing no reluctance to duke it out with companies he’s betting against.

His talk to the Value Investing Congress Wednesday — which was received with rousing applause — was accompanied by a 139-slide presentation that combined not just the usual balance sheets and quotes from annual reports, but photos and videos Einhorn’s team took of St. Joe’s properties. They showed empty lots, abandoned houses and vacant retail storefronts.

Einhorn’s talk focused on St. Joe’s main development properties, but began drilling into the company’s recent assertions that it will get a big boost from development around the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, an airport surrounded by timberland north of Panama City Beach, Fla. St. Joe had given land to help build the airport, Einhorn said.

In a December 2009 press release, the company’s president said: “‘The Southwest Effect,’ the connectivity Southwest brings is expected to stimulate economic development, job growth and real estate absorption in the company’s projects across Northwest Florida. Southwest, with their renowned customer service, is a game changer for the entire region.”

But Einhorn said that of the seven gates at the airport, only one can accommodate the 737 planes flown by Southwest. In addition, he questioned the attractiveness of property owned by St. Joe immediately around the airport and said that St. Joe is now trying to re-lease land it had given to help get the airport built.

The center of his argument that St. Joe has been overvalued is its residential developments. One big issue, Einhorn said, is that St. Joe has already sold many of its best properties – especially those that are beach-front real estate. Many of the properties the firm is carrying on its books are in some cases miles from the beach. Worse, Einhorn said, many of the properties that St. Joe sold are undeveloped lots that are in the hands of land speculators or owned by banks through foreclosure. Thus St. Joe is having to compete against those owners who are selling properties at sharply lower prices than on St. Joe’s books.

For this, Einhorn’s team visited St. Joe’s developments, scoured the property records in Florida and publicly information on the relatively few sales that have been made in recent years. One community is Rivertown, where Einhorn presented a video shot from a car driving down empty streets. At another, Watersound, they visited a golf course, which he said was “deserted.” For Summercamp Beach he showed displayed a picture of an unfinished house.

He described the St. Joe community of Windmark as his “favorite” example. “This is a ghost town,” he said. Not only was the St. Joe property empty, “it seems like everything surrounding Windmark is for sale.”

One his final slides compared the values assigned to properties in three communities by St. Joe - $280.8 million - against Greenlight’s assessment - $38.7 million. “I think that St. Joe and it’s accountants might want to update their calculations,” he said. “They need to take a substantial impairment” against the value of their real estate, he said. Einhorn closed by noting that St. Joe has filed suit for damages caused by the BP oil spill this summer. But St. Joe’s website notes that press releases from downplayed the impact of the oil spill. Pictures on the company’s website show swimmers frolicking in the surf.

Asked where he could go wrong with his call against St. Joe, Einhorn replied “they could discover real oil.”

Einhorn says he’s been looking at the stock since 2006 and this summer he contacted Berkowitz to see if he would discuss the company. “I’m waiting for his call,” Einhorn said. Einhorn also said he attempted to contact officials from St. Joe but they would not talk to him.

Note: We’ve put in a request for comment to company representatives and will update this post when/if we get one

“There’s little evidence of how Joe spent so much money on these developments. Many developments are ghost towns and little value remains.”

2010-10-13T16:18:00.000-04:00

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-13/st-joe-falls-after-einhorn-says-property-developer-needs-to-impair-assets.html

St. Joe Falls After Einhorn Says Property Developer Needs to Impair Assets

By Nikolaj Gammeltoft and John Gittelsohn - Oct 13, 2010 3:43 PM ET Tweet (3)LinkedIn Share

St. Joe Co.’s shares plunged after David Einhorn, who profited from bets against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008, said the Florida real-estate firm must take “substantial” asset-impairment charges and that further building will drive the stock price to zero.

“The best properties have been sold, many lots were sold to speculators during the boom, and when the boom ended, business essentially stopped,” Einhorn, who runs hedge-fund operator Greenlight Capital Inc., said today at the Value Investing Congress in New York. “There’s little evidence of how Joe spent so much money on these developments. Many developments are ghost towns and little value remains.”

St. Joe, based in WaterSound, Florida, retreated 9.7 percent to $22.17 at 3:41 p.m. in New York after falling as much as 11 percent, the most intraday since December 2008. The shares declined 15 percent this year through yesterday.

David Childers, St. Joe’s vice president for finance, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company is accounting for untouched land as developed, Einhorn said. Also, St. Joe’s RiverTown community is a “moonscape,” and WaterSound is empty, he said.

“Joe’s highest and best use is to return to a rural land company,” he said. “Management should sell the company, but it can’t because the stock price is too high.”

Timber, Paper

While Einhorn didn’t say how much he’s betting against St. Joe, he said he will lose a lot of money should his thesis prove wrong.

Originally a timber and paper producing company, St. Joe moved its headquarters from Jacksonville to be closer to its developments on Florida’s Gulf Coast near Panama City. St. Joe sponsored the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, which opened May 23, the first new international airport in the U.S. in 15 years. It owns 300,000 acres within 40 miles of the airport, where it plans commercial and residential developments.

The company was hit by Florida’s real estate collapse and the threats posed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. St. Joe’s shares fell from a high of $37.13 on April 29, when oil spewing from the BP Plc well threatened its waterfront properties, including WaterSound and WaterColor.

“Management is trying to distract investors by blaming the oil spill and hoping for a legal lottery windfall,” Einhorn said today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft in New York at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net; John Gittelsohn in New York at johngitt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net; Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net.

After Amendment 4 rally in Bradenton, the developer-politician hijinks begin

2010-10-13T15:31:00.000-04:00

A protest and rally in Bradenton on Tuesday originally had a happy ending for opponents of a controversial project. But the day turned out to be a textbook example of why Florida needs Amendment 4, as a developer won a land-use change just hours after a vote that denied him the request.

More than 40 opponents of the Robinson Farm project rallied with Amendment 4 officials before the Tuesday vote, garnering coverage across the news media.

Here are three videos from the TV coverage:

Channel 13 - FOX NEWS -
http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=93737167&msgid=654147&act=UH3K&c=540968&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myfoxtampabay.com%2Fdpp%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fsun_coast%2Frally-for-amendment-4-10122010%3FCMP%3D201010_emailshare

Channel 8 - NBC News
http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=93737167&msgid=654147&act=UH3K&c=540968&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.tbo.com%2Fvideo%2F2010%2Foct%2F12%2Famendment-four-sparks-protest--74326%2Fvideo-news%2F

Channel 7 - ABC News
http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=93737167&msgid=654147&act=UH3K&c=540968&destination=..%2F..%2F..%2Frelativeurlwarning%2F%2520http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mysuncoast.com%2Fglobal%2Fvideo%2Fflash%2Fpopupplayer.asp%3FclipId1%3D5191536%26flvUri%3D%26partnerclipid%3D%26at1%3DStation%25201%26vt1%3Dv%26h1%3DElected%2520official%2520supports%2520Amendment%25204%26d1%3D161500%26redirUrl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fmysuncoast.com%26activePane%3Dinfo%26LaunchPageAdTag%3Dhomepage%26clipFormat%3Dflv%26rnd%3D6369222

After the Amendment 4 rally, county commissioners voted 4-3 to deny the controversial Robinson Farm land-use plan change.

End of story, right?

Wrong.

The TV cameras left and opponents went home, and then Florida's growth politics took over, as the Bradenton Herald reported today:

But long after opponents left the chambers, Commissioner Gwen Brown rescinded her vote. The commission then revoted, and the plan change passed 4-3.

“What happened today was politics as usual,” said resident Katie Pierola, who watched the end of the meeting on television. “I never knew they could do things like that.”

The commissioner who changed her vote admitted she did so after being approached by a representative of the developer during a break in the meeting:

Twenty-one of the 49 acres included in the Robinson Farms property is considered a high hazard area under the current county comp plan map. The entire area is high hazard in the new map.

Brown said Betsy Benac, of Neal Communities consultant WilsonMiller, approached her during a recess after the vote and showed her a hurricane evacuation map that featured the phrase “not to be used for land-use decisions” at the bottom.

Brown then asked county Planning Director John Osborne if the statement at the bottom of the map was accurate. Osborne said it was but that planners use the same type of map for land-use deliberations.

"This kind of re-vote shows the power of developers to get their way, even after the public has spoken and votes have been taken," said Yes on 4 campaign manager Mitch Kates. "It is disgusting, but it happens all over Florida every week. And Amendment 4 is the only solution, to give voters veto power over such bad developments that are approved only because of undue special interest influence."

Ironically, Tuesday was among Brown's last meetings as a county commissioner; she was defeated in the Democratic primary by an opponent who supports Amendment 4.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Oct. 13, 2010

CONTACT: Mitch Kates at 727-710-2804

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL.

Growth management under atack - all the more reason to vote yes on Amenndment 4

2010-10-13T14:25:00.000-04:00

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20101013/NEWS/101019793/-1/entertainment?p=all&tc=pgall

Charles Pattison: State growth management agency unfairly attacked

Published: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.

According to recent news reports, gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott would support eliminating the state’s land planning agency, the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA). He claims, “It’s really impacted people that want to build things….it’s really killing jobs.” Incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, concurs, noting that DCA’s functions could be distributed to other agencies.

In this time of tremendous economic uncertainty, everyone should be sensitive to the need to create and maintain jobs in our state. But blaming DCA for this state’s economic woes is tragically misguided.

Let’s take a look at the facts.

Since January of 2007, DCA has approved comprehensive plan amendments that allow for 558,400 additional residential units and 1,434,782,600 square feet of nonresidential space, all of which remain unbuilt. On top of this, Florida is among the top three states in the nation in the number of foreclosures, and has an existing built vacant housing inventory of between 300,000 and 400,000 units.

What is really killing jobs in Florida is the fact that there are so many vacant dwellings on the market that lenders are understandably unwilling to finance new construction. Once the economy rebounds and the existing inventory of overbuilt housing is sold, then there is plenty of opportunity for builders to construct the dwelling units and offices that have already been approved by local governments and DCA, but remain unbuilt because of the existing glut of overdevelopment and lack of financing.

While some candidates are channeling the rage felt by builders and developers, they fail to recognize the level of anger of average citizens who are fed up with the overcrowded roads and schools, sprawling development and degraded natural areas that still plague so much of our state. Widespread public support for Amendment 4, which would require voter approval of each local comprehensive plan amendment, is but one manifestation.

Many developers want more development, while many citizens decry the quantity and quality of that development. Is the solution then to dismantle the Department of Community Affairs and weaken or eliminate state law? I think not.

Florida’s growth management laws help to protect sensitive natural areas from inappropriate development, defend urban service boundaries that protect rural areas from sprawling overdevelopment, provide for greater coordination between local governments, balance local issues with state legislative priorities, require that infrastructure be in place to support new development, and require citizen participation in the development review process. If Florida loses DCA or key portions of its growth management laws, all of this could be in jeopardy.

Charles Pattison, FAICP, is President of 1000 Friends of Florida. Founded in 1986, 1000 Friends serves as this state’s bipartisan growth management “watchdog.”

Still looking for a reason to vote yes on Amendment 4? Here it is.

2010-10-13T13:39:00.000-04:00

http://www.bradenton.com/2010/10/13/v-print/2650004/manatee-commission-change-of-heart.html#ixzz12GGyalBQ

Manatee Commission change of heart benefits builder Neal

By TIMOTHY R. WOLFRUM

twolfrum@bradenton.com

MANATEE — Northwest Bradenton residents who oppose a developer’s plan to build homes on Robinson Farms property left Tuesday’s Manatee County Commission meeting convinced they had helped stop the project.

But two hours and one commissioner’s reconsideration later, Neal Communities got what it wanted: a change in the county’s comprehensive plan to allow for up to three homes per acre on 28 acres of an area between Ninth Avenue Northwest and 17th Avenue Northwest.

About six hours into an eight-hour land-use meeting, commissioners voted 4-3 to deny the plan change.

The majority of commissioners said the county should not encourage development in a Coastal High Hazard Area as defined by a new hurricane evacuation map drawn up this past spring by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Commission. Doing so, they said, would put prospective residents in harm’s way if a hurricane hit the area.

City staff agreed as did 294 residents who signed a petition opposing the project, planned for an area southeast of Robinson Preserve. Neal Communities hopes to build 105 residential units on the property, with up to three units per acre on 28 acres and a single unit per acre on the remaining 21 acres.

But long after opponents left the chambers, Commissioner Gwen Brown rescinded her vote. The commission then revoted, and the plan change passed 4-3.

“What happened today was politics as usual,” said resident Katie Pierola, who watched the end of the meeting on television. “I never knew they could do things like that.”

At issue was the regional planning commission’s map, which has been approved by the state but not yet adopted into the county’s comprehensive plan.

Twenty-one of the 49 acres included in the Robinson Farms property is considered a high hazard area under the current county comp plan map. The entire area is high hazard in the new map.

Brown said Betsy Benac, of Neal Communities consultant WilsonMiller, approached her during a recess after the vote and showed her a hurricane evacuation map that featured the phrase “not to be used for land-use decisions” at the bottom.

Brown then asked county Planning Director John Osborne if the statement at the bottom of the map was accurate. Osborne said it was but that planners use the same type of map for land-use deliberations.

“If it’s the same map, it should be in the comp plan,” Brown said she told Osborne. “You really should have followed the one you already have.”

Brown’s move angered Commissioner Joe McClash, who along with Carol Whitmore and John Chappie voted for the original denial.

“If you’re relying on that map to change your vote — I hate to use the word misled — you’re being misled by the developer,” McClash said.

Commissioners denied the Neal Communities proposal on June 17 after a vote ended in a 3-3 deadlock. The issue went to mediation in August and returned to the commission Tuesday.

Edward Vogler, an attorney for Neal Communities, said the developer followed the current comprehensive plan map in all applications for the project. He rejected the planning department’s use of the regional planning commission’s evacuation map.

“Timing is important,” Vogler said. “Regrettably, the information provided to you by your staff June 17 was incorrect.”

Osborne responded that the use of the regional planning commission map followed a state directive to use the “best available data analysis” when making recommendation.

Don't get snookered by fears spread by Amendment 4 foes

2010-10-13T10:07:00.000-04:00

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-lauren-ritchie-amendment-4-flor20101013,0,255181.column

Don't get snookered by fears spread by Amendment 4 foes

Lauren Ritchie

COMMENTARY

October 13, 2010

The lies are starting to work.

A multimillion-dollar campaign financed by developers, builders, land speculators and others who stand to make fortunes from over-development is starting to convince Floridians that Amendment 4 will bring on Armageddon.

What a shame if development interests are able to obscure the truth with their wild and monstrously inaccurate claims that the proposed amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot will collapse the economy and cost taxpayers their last pennies.

I bet it'll be the cause of world hunger, too. Not to mention the collapse of morality in the Western world.

Dear reader, it is easy to strip aside the nonsense being brought to you by the greedy people who helped create this lingering economic meltdown and who care about one thing and one only: their pocketbooks.

This is so, so simple — but voters have to engage themselves long enough to realize that they're being snookered.

That's hard when a sea of amendments will be floating before them on the ballot next month. But make no mistake — this is the single most important change to come before voters in decades.

If passed, Amendment 4 it would change the way business is done in Florida and maybe even "save" the state from utter ruin.

Lake already could double

The amendment is dramatically simple — voters would get to say yea or nay on big developments whose backers want to build them where they should not be.

Despite howling from developers, Amendment 4 would not have control over all development. Quite the reverse. Communities being built where development is supposed to go — typically near cities where utilities and services are offered — could merrily build without interference from Amendment 4.

In Lake County, for example, there are already enough parcels of land approved for development that the population here would double if they were all built at once.

The proposed new law would step in only when developers stray into places where they should not build, such as rural areas. But that's where builders want desperately to put up subdivisions because it is how they make unfathomable profits. Greedy developers buy the cheaper land for bigger rewards, and do not care a whit about creating sprawl, destroying the rural lifestyle and costing taxpayers a bundle to serve the community with police, fire, schools and new roads.

Consider this: Under Amendment 4, a builder who wants to dump a new city the size of Mount Dora on the fringes of Leesburg could do so tomorrow. If that same developer wants to create a city in rural, ecologically critical south Lake, for example, the developer would have to ask you, the voter.

Ignore the noise

This terrifies builders. Why? Do the math. It's so much easier to sway the votes of five county commissioners than trying to win an approval from nearly 200,000 voters across the county.

No longer would developers be able to contribute the $500 limit to the campaign of a county commissioner — and get each of their family members and employees to "contribute," too, — in exchange for the unspoken agreement that their poorly-planned projects will be approved.

Inexplicably, one of the most vocal arguments from opponents of Amendment 4 is that it would (horror of horrors) change the way representative democracy works. The power would shift from elected hands to voters. How awful! And our elected officials have done such a splendid job of controlling runaway growth! Florida's development is top drawer and built with the interests of the resident in mind!

Or not.

Ignore the noise. There is one question and one only at stake: Do you like the way Florida has developed?

If so, vote no on Amendment 4. If you think local elected officials are doing a great job of guiding growth, vote no on Amendment 4. If you think that elected officials are listening to residents and voting in your best interest, then vote no Amendment 4.

But please don't vote against it because you're confused by the ton of mud that developers have dropped onto this issue to trick you.

Don't do it because you think that you're somehow a traitor to democracy. It is democracy, after all, that allows voters to take this sliver of power back into their own hands.

Don't do it because you're afraid of dozens of expensive, confusing elections. That won't happen. Developers don't want to face you, the voter. They will be satisfied with building communities where they ought to be and making a little less money.

Don't do it because you're being told the economy will get even worse. That's a lie. Developers can build thousands of homes today. Right this minute. They just want the extra gravy on their mashed potatoes, and they want you to ladle it on.

Follow the money trail

Instead, give this a little thought.

Amendment 4 is no panacea. It won't fix all the ills of growth. Rather, it will give voters a small measure of control over the very worst of the abuses.

As always, follow the money trail. The Miami Herald reported last week that Lennar Homes, which has taken $251 million in taxpayer-funded relief, managed to sink $367,000 into the fund to fight Amendment 4. Pulte Homes got $800 million in bailout bucks — and sent $567,000 to the opponents of Amendment 4.

Do your interests align with those of big developers?

Mine don't.

I'm voting YES on Amendment 4.

Lauren Ritchie can be reached at Lritchie@orlandosentinel.com You may leave her a message at 352-742-5918. Her blog is online at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/laurenonlake.

Copyright © 2010, Orlando Sentinel

What is Florida's destiny?

2010-10-12T08:16:00.001-04:00

I read a press release a few weeks ago on a blog that calls itself “Sustainable Living” touting Destiny, a 41,300-acre development project in Osceola County, as “America’s first eco-sustainable city.”

This just strikes me as wrong in so many ways. First of all, there’s nothing there yet. It’s rural – farmland - you can’t get much more sustainable than that.

“Reaching across 41,300 acres of land, Destiny is 25 percent larger than the city of Miami. This self-contained Green Planned Environmental Development is designed to ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability for its residents. Destiny is located in Southeast Osceola County in Central Florida—less than two hours from several major cities including Orlando, Tampa, Vero Beach and West Palm Beach and Miami.”

PS they tried this in Pasco County, they called it “Connerton New Town” and it’s a mess.

Until I was 12, I lived in Bergen County, New Jersey in Hackensack, a city that was settled by the Dutch in 1693. This is a brief timeline of how that county grew:

• 1896: First police department formed

• 1871: First fire department formed

• 1769: Establishment of school system

• 1764: First inter-county transportation system formed

• 1850: Northern Valley Railroad established

• 1900’s: Numerous manufacturing companies established

• 1931: George Washington Bridge opened

• 1990’s: Flood and redevelopment plans begin area’s overhaul

You can’t invent a city from scratch, cities evolve.

I moved to Clearwater Florida when my father retired and spent my teen years hanging out on Clearwater Beach.

When I got married I moved to Tarpon Springs and to Blanton in Pasco County 12 years later.

I hadn’t been to Clearwater Beach for a long time but had to drive through there after a meeting on Sand Key, it was like a totally alien landscape. It really disoriented me because almost nothing was the same.

There is something about how Florida has grown that bothers me, we have such little value for landmarks – just tear them down and replace them with something bigger and taller and newer. Or, worse if there is open space, just let the old stuff rot and dig up a few cow pastures or orange groves to build some more.

Orange County is a glaring example of this – drive down some of the main streets and it’s like a third world of decaying older hotels and motels with tired facades and big signs hawking Florida T-shirts and .99 cent souvenirs.

Instead of renovating or rebuilding, bigger, newer, shinier hotels have sprung up like mushrooms on Orlando’s outskirts and chewing up ever more green space.

I hadn’t been back to Hackensack in more than 30 years but had a chance to revisit the past when I went to see my daughter who is living in a nearby town.

I was struck by how familiar it still was, how permanent the town feels. Traditions there still seem to mean something. Children still press their noses against the glass display case oogling jelly donuts and crumb cake at the B&W Bakery.

This PR mumbo jumbo gives me the creepy feeling that the people who are dreaming these things up saw the Truman Show one too many times.

Destiny’s official motto is “land is our past, present and future.”

I truly believe those words, but when I think about what Destiny really represents, ”corporate brand marketing” your new hometown conjured up in slick brochures, they just make me want to cry.

My guess is that it will be just another typical Florida subdivision with the houses all relentlessly the same.

On a happy note.. I read this story yesterday saying that the project was on hold.

We should have the right to vote on these kinds of changes. We need Amendment 4.

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2010/10/11/daily1.html

Monday, October 11, 2010, 10:52am EDT

Pugliese shocked by foreclosure

South Florida Business Journal - by Brian Bandell

Anthony Pugliese III, who has proposed building the 41,300-acre Destiny in Central Florida, said he’s shocked that a bank filed to foreclose on a storage facility he built in Coconut Creek.

Branch Banking & Trust Co. filed a lawsuit Oct. 4 against Coconut Creek Johnson Road. Pugliese is not named in the complaint, but he signed the $14.2 million mortgage in 2008 as managing member of the developer, which shares a Delray Beach address with the Pugliese Co.

Orlando attorney W. Glenn Jensen, who represents BB&T in the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment. The mortgage was originally made by Colonial Bank, which failed in 2009. BB&T acquired its assets.

The developer completed the 71,880-square-foot Automated Self Storage Systems building, at 5431 Johnson Road, last year. It uses computers and robotics to help people store their belongings.

Pugliese said BB&T called the loan into default because Coconut Creek Johnson Road owes $44,000 in 2009 property taxes. He said he does not understand why the bank doesn’t let him use the $1.8 million interest reserve or the $600,000 in tenant improvement reserves to fund those taxes.

Pugliese said he told the bank he wanted to negotiate, but he was hit with foreclosure before hearing back.

“The bank jumped on this so quickly that we wonder what is going on,” Pugliese said.

He said BB&T doesn’t care about working out a deal because the loan is covered by the bank’s loss-sharing deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which would absorb most of the losses on the project.

“The big banks are allowed to wreak havoc on real estate developers like myself,” Pugliese said. “They take over banks for pennies on the dollar and, at the first opportunity they have to put a property in default, they do it. They can sell loans at a loss to get it off their books and, on top of that, they get the FDIC, which is the people, to pay for that loss.”

Many developers have complained about the banks’ loss-sharing agreements, and some banking experts have said the deals could harm the economy.

Destiny is a joint venture between Pugliese and Fred DeLuca, who founded Subway. State growth management regulators have been holding up their plans for a new city in Osceola County.

Pugliese said Destiny is on hold for now.

It was only a matter of time

2010-10-11T17:27:00.000-04:00

before developers started turning on their partners in housing bubble crime, the banks. Or maybe it's the banks turning on the developers.

Either way, that's what you get when you ignore the concept of supply and demand and all the more reason why people should be rushing to the polls to vote yes on Amendment 4.

Read more: Pugliese shocked by foreclosure - South Florida Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2010/10/11/daily1.html?t=printable

Pugliese shocked by foreclosureSouth Florida Business Journal

- by Brian Bandell

Anthony Pugliese III, who has proposed building the 41,300-acre Destiny in Central Florida, said he’s shocked that a bank filed to foreclose on a storage facility he built in Coconut Creek.

Branch Banking & Trust Co. filed a lawsuit Oct. 4 against Coconut Creek Johnson Road. Pugliese is not named in the complaint, but he signed the $14.2 million mortgage in 2008 as managing member of the developer, which shares a Delray Beach address with the Pugliese Co.

Orlando attorney W. Glenn Jensen, who represents BB&T in the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment. The mortgage was originally made by Colonial Bank, which failed in 2009. BB&T acquired its assets.

The developer completed the 71,880-square-foot Automated Self Storage Systems building, at 5431 Johnson Road, last year. It uses computers and robotics to help people store their belongings.

Pugliese said BB&T called the loan into default because Coconut Creek Johnson Road owes $44,000 in 2009 property taxes. He said he does not understand why the bank doesn’t let him use the $1.8 million interest reserve or the $600,000 in tenant improvement reserves to fund those taxes.

Pugliese said he told the bank he wanted to negotiate, but he was hit with foreclosure before hearing back.

“The bank jumped on this so quickly that we wonder what is going on,” Pugliese said.

He said BB&T doesn’t care about working out a deal because the loan is covered by the bank’s loss-sharing deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which would absorb most of the losses on the project.

“The big banks are allowed to wreak havoc on real estate developers like myself,” Pugliese said. “They take over banks for pennies on the dollar and, at the first opportunity they have to put a property in default, they do it. They can sell loans at a loss to get it off their books and, on top of that, they get the FDIC, which is the people, to pay for that loss.”

Many developers have complained about the banks’ loss-sharing agreements, and some banking experts have said the deals could harm the economy.

Destiny is a joint venture between Pugliese and Fred DeLuca, who founded Subway. State growth management regulators have been holding up their plans for a new city in Osceola County.

Pugliese said Destiny is on hold for now.

Reality Check: The few, the brave, the public officials who support Amendment 4

2010-10-11T13:54:00.000-04:00

It should come as no surprise that most politicians in Florida don't understand and don't support Amendment 4. After all, it would force them to actually listen to their constituents on land-use decisions and give voters a veto power over the elected bodies' land-use votes. Not to mention that it might interrupt the flow of untold millions of dollars in campaign contributions the growth industry makes in local and state races.

But a few brave politicians stand out in Florida as understanding the need for Amendment 4's control over runaway growth. Like Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash. Or Broward County Property Appraiser and former county commissioner Lori Parrish. Or Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard. And former Metro Dade Mayor Maurice Ferre. (Go to our Supporters page for a full list.)

Even the current mayor of St. Pete Beach, Mike Finnerty, recently told the Florida Channel, that he likes Amendment 4 because "we had a commission that was going to overdevelop, [that] didn't really have an idea of how much the development was going to impact the quality of life in St. Pete Beach."

"I think it's a safeguard and I like the idea of being able to participate and give people the opportunity to participate in their government," Finnerty said, according to the Associated Press.

Add to the list the mayor of Ponce Inlet, Tony Goudie, who wrote Sunday in the Daytona Beach News-Journal:

It is no wonder that the development lobby is terrified of Amendment 4 passing. For years they have bulldozed, bamboozled, schemed, and tried mightily to convince voters that only elected officials and lobbyists were smart enough to understand land-use decisions. As an elected official, I say nothing could be farther from the truth.

Special interest groups are frantically lining up to endorse pro-development candidates in Ponce Inlet. In my eight years in politics, I have never seen pro-development interests so desperate; they seem to think their endorsement of a candidate who passes their litmus test will fool the voters.

Few can dispute the fact that over-development in Florida is arguably the biggest contributor to the economic challenges facing us now and conceivably for the next two to three years. As responsible land-use planning and managed growth make good sense for any community, so does Amendment 4.

Political courage is a rare thing in Florida. It is a lot easier for public officials to tout the status quo and even adopt the misleading or untruthful positions taken by the powerful industries aligned against Amendment 4. Those who speak out against unbridled power and avarice are the real news story.

Yes on 4's website address is www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL

Carl Hiaasen: Running scared over Amendment 4

2010-10-10T09:52:00.001-04:00

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/09/v-fullstory/1865470/running-scared-over-amendment.html

Running scared over Amendment 4

By Carl Hiaasen

chiaasen@MiamiHerald.com

Major home builders are uncorking a bombastic media blitz to scare Floridians away from voting yes to Amendment 4.

The same people who helped ignite the housing crash and mortgage meltdown are absolutely terrified of giving citizens actual control over growth in their own communities.

The so-called Hometown Democracy Amendment would require local voters to approve any significant changes to a county or city ``comprehensive land-use plan,'' the map by which municipalities evolve.
If the measure passes -- and it needs the support of 60 percent of voters -- no massive housing subdivision or commercial development could be built without the project first appearing on a ballot.

It's not exactly a radical concept, but the opposing special interests will do just about anything to kill it.

They're scared because they know Floridians are fed up with lousy planning and overbuilding, and the high taxes that always result.

They're scared because they know Floridians are sick of watching elected officials cave in again and again to developers, making a farce of land-use regulations.

But mostly they're scared because, if passed, Amendment 4 has the potential to disrupt the influence-peddling and outright corruption that's made it so easy to subvert the will of the public.

As things stand now, development interests can thwart opposition to projects by simply buying off the politicians whose votes are needed to make it happen.

Typically that's achieved by hiring connected lobbyists, who then approach a receptive county commissioner or city council member. In many cases, the lobbyist has raised money for the officeholder's election campaign, so a favor is perceived to be owed.

And a threat implied, too: If you don't line up behind the project, don't expect any donations for your next campaign.

Occasionally, if the elected official is exceptionally greedy and dim-witted, a cash bribe or some other illicit benefit is arranged.

Public hearings are often a formality, a minor road bump. Plenty of earnest folks show up to question the impact of a proposed subdivision or shopping mall upon their neighborhoods and lives, and the politicians pretend to listen.

By that point, though, the deal is already sealed, the necessary majority of votes secured.

This cynical charade has been going on since the beginning of statehood. It's the reason so many Florida cities look like they were planned by chimpanzees on LSD.

It's also the reason we now have an estimated 300,000 homes and condos sitting vacant statewide, while leading the nation in foreclosures as well as mortgage fraud. The term ``growth management'' is a joke.

Amendment 4 isn't a perfect solution. Much will depend on how the language is interpreted -- for instance, determining how large a project must be before it goes to a vote.

Many thoughtful people, including some professional planners, fear the amendment would generate an endless spate of elections in fast-growing counties. They're also worried that deep-pocketed developers will be able to sway the outcomes with slick advertising campaigns.

Another issue is the wisdom of holding a countywide or citywide referendum on a building project that might affect only one neighborhood. At the very least, the amendment is bound to spawn lawsuits until the courts clarify its reach.

Despite such concerns, it's hard to imagine a system for managing growth that could possibly be more dishonest, or deaf to the public interest, than what we have now.

Nobody with half a brain believes that development pays for itself. Study after study shows that residents are the ones who pay big-time for sprawl, which is why taxes are so brutal in Florida's most densely populated counties.

So is the cost of living. Clogged highways, overcrowded schools and jails, water shortages -- we pay for all of it.

Opponents claim that Amendment 4 will actually raise taxes, one of many straight-faced lies that will saturate the airwaves between now and election day. This is well-financed desperation.

While the amendment's supporters have raised only about $2.4 million, the opposition had a war chest of $12 million by mid-summer.

The biggest donor is the Florida Association of Realtors -- what a shocker -- followed by some of the biggest home builders on Wall Street.

Here's the killer: Many of the companies bankrolling the ad campaign against Amendment 4 are recipients of a congressional bailout, in the form of humongous tax refunds earlier this year.

According to an industry magazine (Headline: ``Builders Cash in on Tax Refunds''), Lennar Homes has already taken $251 million in taxpayer-funded relief.

Yet somehow the firm scrounged up $367,000 to fight the Florida Hometown Democracy movement.

Pulte Homes accepted $800 million in federal bailout refunds while kicking in $567,000 to a political action committee opposed to Amendment 4.

So, when you see all those dire-sounding, fright-filled TV commercials, remember whose paying for them. You are.

These guys are using your money to keep your voice, and your vote, out of the neighborhood planning process. Think about that when you're standing in the voting booth on Nov 2.

Do the thing they dread the most: Read Amendment 4 and decide for yourself

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/09/v-fullstory/1865470/running-scared-over-amendment.html#ixzz11x51lKl0

Dennis Maley's very good question: Why is there such an effort to undermine the truth? And his very good answer.

2010-10-10T09:20:00.000-04:00

http://www.thebradentontimes.com/news/2010/10/10/opinion/editorial_amendment_4_gives_taxpayers_the_final_say/

Editorial: Amendment 4 Gives Taxpayers the Final Say

Published Sunday, October 10, 2010 3:00 am

by Dennis Maley

2010 is a banner year for referendum voting. Depending on who you ask, that is either a very good or a very bad thing. Public officials on the whole seem to utterly despise the idea of direct democracy and I guess I understand their contempt. It undermines the process that they oversee, limiting their control and influence. However, the democratic process is undermined much more dramatically by the persistent and detrimental influence of heavily-moneyed special interests that continue to trump citizen participation.

Of all of the proposed amendments, none have been more heavily targeted by its opponents as Amendment 4, because it seeks to install a permanent backstop of direct democracy in the process of making the largest changes to our communities. It is a shame that the issue has been denied an honest debate and instead been relegated to a campaign of deliberate misinformation intended to convince voters that the measure itself is something quite different than what it actually is. It's a shame, not only because citizens deserve better, but also because it is a fundamentally interesting debate.

First, let's clarify what Amendment 4 would and wouldn't do. Amendment 4 simply requires that anytime a county's comprehensive land-use plan is amended, it needs to be ratified by county-wide voter referendum at the next regularly scheduled election. It has nothing to do with zoning or permitting issues and deals only with comp-plan changes that are approved by the county commission. This is historically around six or seven per year. The argument that it would cause voters to spend an hour in the voting booth is not an exaggeration – it is an outright lie! I've also heard it said that Amendment 4 would mean that if someone in Lakewood Ranch wanted to put an addition on their home, it would be voted on by the entire county, which is again utterly preposterous.

Why is there such an effort to undermine the truth? I can only speculate, but my guess is that the developers who are funding the opposition don't believe an honest debate would yield the desired result. That being said, I'm the first to admit that when looked at honestly, it is still a complicated measure. In fact, had you asked me what I thought as a fresh out of college Government major, I believe I would have been fundamentally opposed to such a measure on the grounds that most voters would lack the requisite knowledge or posses adequate interest to cast an informed vote. Best leave it up to college-educated planning department staff and a qualified board. After all, concerned citizens can always petition those bodies and enter public comment at meetings.

Then a funny thing happened. I moved to Manatee County and began covering those very bodies. I soon learned that our sacred process had little to do with matters of urban planning and smart growth and that citizen input was little more than block to check en route to appeasing the developers who funded the candidates and their cushy jobs that paid more than twice the average income in the county. Once you see 70 or 80 people show up en masse, carrying a petition of hundreds more, all protesting a change that even the pro-development planning commission opposed, only to see it passed with all the consideration of buttering toast – well let's just say extreme measures seem more rationale.

We are living with the results of unchecked development and a lack of strategic planning with regard to growth. The empty homes and overburdened budgets continue to hamper the local economy, sapping property values and wasting resources. Still, the attitude toward development has not changed. Perhaps more frighteningly, many commissioners espouse the philosophy that more of the same will get us out of this mess, that the handful of jobs created by building more unneeded homes are worth the compounded costs of adding to the problem.

True, we can elect these officials out of office, but the deep-pocketed developers make it very difficult to defeat a trusty incumbent, and once elected commissioners are in for four years – without a viable recall process. Amendment 4 would help to ensure that developers more carefully consider planned development and demonstrate a greater level of respect for the will of the community and its long term vision of what it should look like. Giving that power to the voters is a sledgehammer approach, but in the right hands, a sledgehammer is a useful tool – one I trust the people with over the developer-influenced boards that allowed such ramped overdevelopment in the first place.

Dennis Maley is a local author and the editor of the Bradenton Times. He can be reached at dennis.maley@thebradentontimes.com

Florida candidates: How do you feel about growth and environmental issues? Response: No comment.

2010-10-09T18:51:00.001-04:00

http://fltrib.com/environment-lost-along-other-issues-governors-race?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thefloridatribune+(The+Florida+Tribune)
Environment lost along with other issues in governor's race

By:

Bruce Ritchie

1000 Friends of Florida, a group focusing on growth management issues statewide, sent a questionnaire last month to the eight major party candidates in the state Cabinet races.

The number of responses: Zero, said Charles Pattison, the group's president.

That may be telling about the importance that growth and environmental issues are playing in this year's governor's race. With less than four weeks until the election, neither candidate in the governor's race has said much publicly about those issues.

Voters are telling pollsters that the economy and jobs are the top issue, with the environment and other social issues ranking very low, said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.

There is some mention of jobs in the governor's race, but the environment is not alone among the issues being ignored, Coker said.

"The governor's race has become nothing more than a food fight," he said. "Nobody is talking about any issues."

Democrat Alex Sink last week quietly released her environmental platform to select groups. Republican Rick Scott has said little about the environment while championing "energy independence" including more nuclear power. And he supports offshore drilling, in contrast to Sink and most environmental groups.

The Sierra Club announced Friday it was endorsing Sink. Even voters who are most concerned about the economy should be able to tell from the BP oil spill how important Florida's environment is to its economy, said Cecilia Height, Sierra Club Florida's political chair.

"You can see how the environment and the economy are intricately linked in that scenario," Height said. "Those [Florida Panhandle residents affected by the oil spill] are still hurting and will be hurting for many, many years to come."

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Scott, with chamber chairman Steve Halverson saying that Scott's experience in creating jobs "is the type of leadership that Florida's economy needs."

People are wanting jobs, not the "latest and greatest environmental regulation," said Adam Babington, the Chamber's vice president for governmental affairs.

Scott has on a few lines on the environmental issues section of his Web site. Regarding the economy, he says he is against "job killing regulations." That kind of talk doesn't provide comfort to growth management supporters, said Pattison, of 1000 Friends of Florida.

The group is concerned about the Florida Department of Community Affairs, whose future was left in question this year when the Legislature refused to reauthorize the agency as part of the "sunset review" process. Sink says she will support the agency, but Scott told the St. Petersburg Times on Friday that he favors getting rid of the agency.

"The reason we keep plugging away at it [growth management] is we think there will be a recovery at some point," Pattison said. "We don't want to see mistakes made again that we didn't learn from in the current situation."

Originally published in the Florida Current - exclusively distributed via Lobbytools - Florida's Premiere Legislative and Media Monitoring Service

More than 3 billion dollars of Florida dirt bonds are in default. Reckless development has crashed our economy. We need to stop the madness. Vote yes on Amendment 4.

2010-10-09T08:32:00.001-04:00

http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=53176

The Last Florida Waltz

2010-10-08T18:58:00.000-04:00

A slide show of Florida scenes - music by Scotty Lee Rexroat

Statement on Rick Scott's plans to kill DCA

2010-10-08T17:11:00.000-04:00

The Yes on 4 campaign today released this statement from Florida Hometown Democracy president Lesley Blackner on news reports that gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott would aim to dismantle the Department of Community Affairs if elected:

Rick Scott's statement about how he would treat the DCA as governor is just Reason No. 476 to vote yes on Amendment 4. It is clear that those who want to run this state have no commitment to growth management and want to return as quickly as possible to our cycle of boom-and-bust real estate speculation.

And it is not just candidates. Incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon was also quoted by the St. Petersburg Times as saying he would like to see the DCA go away. Cannon laughably talks about how the DCA stands in the way of "quality" projects. But we see our state littered with "quality" projects standing half-built and boarded-up, both an eyesore and a strain on local budgets. Those "quality" projects provided profits for a few, hundreds of thousands of vacant and abandoned homes and higher taxes for Florida residents.

The only hope that Floridians have for responsible, healthy growth in our state is to adopt Amendment 4 and have the ultimate say on development in their community. If we leave growth management to Rick Scott and Dean Cannon, we truly will see Florida paved from East Coast to West Coast.

Yes on 4's website address is www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.

Pd. Pol. Adv. By FloridaHometownDemocracy, Inc. PAC, P.O. Box 636, New Smyrna Beach, FL.

To understand the motivations behind Florida Hometown Democracy and its Amendment 4 campaign, take a drive around central Pasco County.

2010-10-08T11:05:00.000-04:00

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/oct/08/hometown-democracy-pits-environmentalists-against-/news-breaking/

Hometown Democracy pits environmentalists against businesses and builders

Staff file photo by CLIFF McBRIDE (2009)

Amendment 4 would put future land-use changes up for a vote, taking those decisions away from politicians and putting them in the hands of the people those decisions would directly affect, supporters say.

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 8, 2010

WESLEY CHAPEL - To understand the motivations behind Florida Hometown Democracy and its Amendment 4 campaign, take a drive around central Pasco County.

Over the last decade, ranchers and orange growers sold their land to deep-pocketed developers, who promptly plowed everything under. In place of cattle and citrus rose subdivisions, new roads, schools and strip malls.

Then, the bottom fell out.

Now, once-booming parts of Pasco County host developments more imaginary than real. In unfinished neighborhoods, streets weave among empty lots bristling with exposed plumbing. Established subdivisions are riddled with foreclosed and abandoned homes. In some places, cows have returned to graze among grassy lots that once were pasture.

The scenes in Pasco County are echoed in Hillsborough, Hernando and Polk counties and across the state.

For supporters of Amendment 4, a measure on the Nov. 2 ballot aimed at controlling growth, the runaway construction of the last decade shows that Florida's development needs a brake -- one only voters can provide. They say local leaders have abetted the destruction of their own communities through back-scratching deals with campaign contributors.

"Elected officials are very susceptible to the pressure they feel," said Wayne Garcia, spokesman for Florida Hometown Democracy. "There is this creeping and insidious effect this kind of development has on every Floridian."

If approved by 60 percent of state voters, Amendment 4 would put future land-use changes up for a vote, taking those decisions away from politicians and putting them in the hands of the people those decisions would directly affect, supporters say.

Amendment 4's opponents say the proposal would tie future development in knots. That would cut the legs out from under economic growth just when the state needs all it can get, they say.

"There's a lot of fear out there," said Tampa land-use attorney Jim Shimberg. "Do we want to create more uncertainty?"
Exactly how Amendment 4 would work is unclear.

Supporters say it would apply only to those large-scale projects that require changes to a community's long-range plan. That could amount to a handful of items appearing on a ballot in any given referendum, they say.

Opponents say the amendment's language suggests hundreds of routine decisions usually left to professional planners would be put to a vote, producing ballots dozens of pages long.

The fight over Amendment 4 has remained low-key, overshadowed by the race for governor and other campaigns.

Those invested in Amendment 4 come largely from two camps: the environmentalists and slow-growth advocates on one side and the state's business and development communities on the other.

For supporters, this year's vote ends more than a half-decade spent pushing the amendment toward a referendum. Previous efforts failed to survive scrutiny by the Florida Supreme Court.

Supporters are led by Lesley Blackner, a South Florida environmental attorney who fought construction of the Suncoast Parkway a decade ago. Over the last seven years, Blackner has contributed more than $800,000 to Florida Hometown Democracy's $2.4-million war chest.

Aside from Blackner, large donors include Florida Watch Action Inc., a Tallahassee interest group that has given $90,000 this election cycle, and Davie businessman Steve Rosen, who has given $120,000.

Otherwise, Florida Hometown Democracy has gathered most of its support from individual donors giving small amounts.

"It's a real game-changer for the balance of power," Garcia said.

The anti-Amendment 4 forces have coalesced under the banner of the Tampa-based Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, which has raised more than $8 million between Jan. 1 and Sept. 24, the most recent date reported.

The group's donor list includes names familiar to anyone who bought a home during the housing bubble: Pulte Home Corp., which has given $567,000 to defeat the measure; Lennar Family of Homes, which gave $367,000; and K.B. Home, which has given $255,000. Chambers of commerce from across the state have also joined the fight against Amendment 4.

The single-largest donor, the Florida Association of Realtors, has given $2.25 million, including a $1-million donation in June.

Shimberg says Amendment 4 supporters overstate the power developers have over local land-use decisions. Residents have more chances to challenge projects than in the past. Things aren't as cozy as they might appear, he said.
"I know people think that's the way it works, but that's not the way it works," he said. "Everything doesn't get built."

Amendment 4

Title: Referenda required for adoption and amendment of local government comprehensive land use plans

Ballot summary: Establishes that before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan or amend a comprehensive land use plan, the proposed plan or amendment shall be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency, consideration by the governing body and notice. Provides definitions.

Effect of vote

Yes: Land-use changes made to a community's long-range comprehensive plan would be put to voters during election years after being vetted by the community's planning staff and local planning agency.

No: Land-use changes would remain in the hands of county commissioners after review by professional planners, the local planning agency and the state's Department of Community Affairs.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 731-8168.

Amendment 4 supporter Scott Rexroat

2010-10-07T17:16:00.001-04:00

Amendment 4 - opportunity knocking...

2010-10-06T08:29:00.001-04:00

http://www.pelicanislandaudubon.org/hootoctober2010.html

Voting For Amendment 4

The President's Hoot

October 2010

Are you as confused as I am about how to vote for Amendments and Judges? I usually do not know anything about Judges except to stay away from them locally. But when amendments are strongly supported for or against by developers and politicians, I take notice.

Opportunity knocks. Amendment 4, also known as the “Florida Hometown Democracy” Amendment has been on the PIAS radar screen for some time. It simply states on the ballot “Establishes that before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan, or amend a comprehensive land use plan, the proposed plan or amendment shall be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency, consideration by the governing body and notice. Provides definitions.”

Amendment 4 only applies to changes to the comprehensive land use plan (the overall growth management blueprint) and not to the more frequently decided individual development approvals, re-zonings, or variances. This means that before any change can occur in the current land use of our county and city lands, the voters will have a chance to approve or deny that change.

The Fl. League of Cities, the Fl. Association of Counties and the Fl. Chamber of Commerce are opposed. According to the New York Times, the opposition has raised $12 million to defeat the amendment. KB Homes and Pulte Homes gave more than $1 million. However, there are over 100 organizations supporting it including many Audubon chapters, Sierra Club of Florida, Save The Manatee Club, and Native Plant chapters, Friends of and taxpayer groups, and many other environmental organizations.

Amendment 4 vote: Should the people have a say in determining whether their government’s comprehensive land use plan could be changed with a simple majority vote of commissioners or city councils? If you think not, like most developers and politicians, then vote against Amendment 4. If you think you want more of a say in crafting our county and city land use changes, then vote Yes to Amendment 4. If Amendment 4 is enacted, we could have more careful planning from staff and politicians if they know that all voters will be reviewing and approving major changes in our comprehensive land use plans, not just developers.

Contrary to some who think our county’s comprehensive land use plan includes other things than land use, Amendment 4 is very clear, that only if the land use part of the comprehensive plan is changed will it require a referendum vote. Why should changes be made to the comprehensive land use plan without voter approval? This is our community!
Critics of Amendment 4 say it will just be another layer needed for approval and that it will be costly to get the voters’ view. I say, based on experience, we do need another layer of approval and the cost will be less than all the poorly funded and unfunded inadequate infrastructure and impacts (crowded schools, roads, police, libraries, and now even the lifeguards) of our out of control development. Indian River County’s over development with “backdoor subdivisions” have drained these community services. Our “busted subdivisions” with their empty houses, huge inventories, vacant lots, bankruptcies and foreclosed homes, have not paid for it. If an emergency change is needed, I am sure the community voters will approve it. In the last six years, Indian River County has had only 22 future land use amendments: Averaging less than 4 per year.

Growth management in Florida is not working. Our natural areas are being ruined and our waters polluted. Even though Amendment 4 is not perfect, it could start the process of change that is needed in the way we do business in Florida especially as the teeth have been taken out of the Department of Community Affairs (the state watchdog for development) through budgets cut to the bone, and the State Legislature may even eliminate it next year (like our commissioners recently disbanded many citizen advisory committees). The DCA has done the most to keep Florida’s growth under control, and the Florida Legislature wants to reduce its effectiveness. In addition, the Supreme Court has allowed our big corporations to pour money to candidates for elected office and thus our out of state developers will be even stronger in their influence with our local and state politicians.

We need to work together as a community…politicians, developers, environmentalists, educators, service providers, and citizens to balance population growth with sustainable resources. We need a common vision of what we want for quality of life where developers can help make our community ideal for us all, so we all benefit. A strong vote of support on Amendment 4 will at the very least send a clear message to county and state officials that we citizens are deeply concerned about balancing population growth with sustainable resources.

Conclusion: Who do you want to control our growth – you or the developers?

Please vote FOR Amendment 4.

Richard H. Baker, President

Leaving Florida's future in the hands of politicians and developers? Now that's scary.

2010-10-05T12:09:00.000-04:00

Another edition of Econcat 88's Road to Nowhere Tour - Florida Panhandle

2010-10-05T08:27:00.000-04:00