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Weekly Update, March 19, 2010 from the Director Public Affairs
Land Use Changes Seminar PDF
REALTOR® Annual RPAC Party in Paradise Successfully Draws Overflow Crowd
Your REALTOR® Association’s annual RPAC Party in Paradise successfully drew an overflow crowd at the Resort at Marina Village in Cape Coral, with over 100 enjoying food, beverages, and the opportunity to donate to the critical REALTOR® Political Action Committee (RPAC). The REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) is the nation's largest, most successful and most bipartisan political action committee. Your voluntary investment is used to improve your bottom line in several ways: Through issues mobilization, political advocacy, and by directly supporting candidates at the local, state, and federal levels of government who champion the ideals and principles of REALTORS®. RPAC is your best investment in real estate!
In addition to representing 135,000 REALTOR® members statewide, and more 1 million members nationwide, RPAC is also a monetary fund comprised of voluntary contributions from members. By members pulling together and contributing, RPAC is able to be a single unified voice for real estate in all levels of government. Of every dollar you contribute, 30 cents goes to the National RPAC for grassroots activities and supporting candidates running for office on the federal level. The remaining 70 cents stays in Florida and is divided between the state and local associations to support state and local candidates and issues. RPAC is the muscle behind NAR, FAR and your local Board/Association.
It is the desire of NAR and FAR that all members of the Association pay their ‘fair share’ of $49 towards this important committee. Contributions of $99 enable members to become part of the $99 Club and enter the state’s annual Technology Package drawing held in August at the FAR Annual convention with assorted technology gifts worth $5,000.00. Last year, President Christie Knight was a finalist for this drawing, winning an exciting consolation prize. Forms for the drawing are available in our offices, should anyone wish to enter. As a result of a successful RPAC donation drive and the Party in Paradise’s live auction for fantastic resort packages, the Association is now at 79% of reaching its annual Goal, as set by FAR.
Sadly for Lee County Residents, Commissioner Bob Janes Lost Battle with Lung Disease
Bob Janes, Lee County commissioner since 2000, died last week in his home at age 78. Born August 28, 1931, Janes was a retired Army colonel, Nixon administration White House staffer, onetime banker and three-term Lee County commissioner. Elected in 2000, 2004 and 2008 to the Lee commission, Janes was an advocate for mental health, substance abuse and corrections services.
Janes served on the Sanibel Planning Commission from 1986-1992 and Sanibel City Council from 1992-2000, including mayor for three years. He also served on the Lee County Private Industry Council, Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Southwest Florida Work Force Development Board. Janes owned Florida Real Estate Academy, Jolly Roger Motel and Letizia’s Continental Cuisine and became vice president and branch manager of Sanibel SunTrust Bank from 1997-1999.
As a Lee commissioner, Janes was instrumental in the creation of a triage center and shelter in Fort Myers that opened in 2008 to support troubled people who otherwise might land in jail. He led the board to buy 5,620 acres of Babcock Ranch in northeast Lee County for preservation in 2006.
A memorial fund for Commissioner Bob Janes has been set up through the Conservation 20/20 Program. Donations will be used on the Bob Janes Preserve, a 5,620 acre preserve named in his honor. Donations may be sent in care of Cathy Olson, Conservation 20/20 Program, 3410 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers FL 33916. Checks should be made out to “Lee County Board of County Commissioners.” Please write Bob Janes Memorial Fund in the note section. Our Association’s Board of Directors is planning to make a donation on behalf of our members to this fund.
Lee County will host a public ceremony celebrating Janes’ life on Monday March 22 at 4 p.m. at the Harborside Event Center in downtown Fort Myers. The public is invited to attend, with doors opening about 3:30 pm.
Gov. Charlie Crist would have to appoint a successor who would hold the office until an election in November. That person would serve the remaining two years of Janes’ term, according to the Lee County Supervisor of Elections. Crist is able to appoint anyone in Lee County, though the election requires contenders to be residents of District 1. A number of residents have thrown their hat in the ring; stay tuned for the Governor’s appointment as soon as it is made.
Retired Insurance Salesman Erick Kuehn appointed to Cape Coral Council
The majority of the Cape Coral Council will now mostly follow in the steps of Mayor John Sullivan. The reason being is the appointment of retired insurance salesman Erick Kuehn this week to the council as the replacement for Eric Grille. This appointment now puts momentum and a voting majority behind a plan to pare down city government.
”I’m a fiscal conservative,” Kuehn said. “I’m a very strong believer in smaller government and lower taxes and fees.”
Supporters say a smaller City Hall will keep taxes in check and encourage business growth. Others fear the council will gut city services, delay infrastructure improvements and scare away investors with anti-City Hall rhetoric.
Kuehn along with Sullivan and Councilmen Pete Brandt, Bill Deile and Chris Chulakes-Leetz — the four who voted for his appointment — have all signed a Contract With Cape Coral, an informal document drafted in 2009 promising to cut city spending, change the administration and make Cape Coral a more business-friendly community. All five also donated time and money to each other’s campaigns.
Kuehn’s presence will affect key issues coming before the group:
• The council will be even less likely to support incentives for a national swimming center in Cape Coral, possibly prompting its developers to look elsewhere.
• Road and median improvements, which have been cut from this year’s budget, aren’t likely to be added back next year.
• Kuehn could put muscle behind calls to cut back employee compensation, but he has said he wants to avoid layoffs.
• The council is unlikely to diversify the city’s revenue, choosing to put the cost of government operations primarily on property taxes.
According to the media, although Kuehn shares Sullivan’s penchant for spending cuts, that doesn’t assure he’ll vote hand in hand with the mayor, said Councilman Kevin McGrail, one of the three who did not vote to appoint Kuehn.
Supreme Court ruling on beach renourishment case expected in July
The US Supreme Court is expected to decide “Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. vs. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection” in July. A state beach renourishment project in Walton County created 75 feet of beach in front of private homes and the state then declared the new beach to be public property. The property owners contend that their properties should extend to the mean high water line and the state is “taking” their land and beachfront status. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the state, causing a “judicial taking”, say the property owners.
Summary of Growth Management Issues at Legislative Session and Amendment 4
The media has written extensively about the legislative session and growth management, and following is an excellent summary of one outlet’s account of the issue this year:
One subject that roiled last year's legislative session is largely absent from lawmakers' vocabulary this year: growth management. The reason, according to Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham, is that everyone is scared of the subject. Legislators and lobbyists fear voter anger, or they fear a growth-related constitutional amendment, or they fear stirring up a fuss before a new governor takes over in January.
But next year's session? That's when it will all come storming back, Pelham says.
Last year, lawmakers, contending that the state's slumping economy would be aided by streamlining the development process, took aim at the rules set up by the 1985 Growth Management Act. There was talk of abolishing Pelham's agency. When he visited the Capitol to talk to lawmakers, he was seldom warmly greeted. The biggest uproar last year was over Senate Bill 360. The bill, which Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law, allows developers in the most urban counties to proceed with their projects without paying to expand roads that would be affected. It also lets cities and counties designate new urban areas that would be exempt from road-building requirements.
Business groups such as the Florida Association of REALTORS® backed the bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, an electrical contractor. But it was bitterly opposed by environmental groups and some county and city governments, who contended it would produce more sprawl and gridlock without creating new jobs.
A number of local governments subsequently filed a lawsuit arguing the bill violated the state Constitution. The lawsuit — combined with the lack of demand for new housing — has left the effect of the legislation unclear for now, said Eric Poole, the legislative director for the Florida Association of Counties.
The only bill expected to win approval relating to growth management is aimed at fixing a potential glitch in SB 360. Pelham's department is also facing its mandatory sunset review, which requires it to justify to the Legislature why it should continue to exist. But some lawmakers say they want to defer that decision until 2011, along with other ideas for eliminating development rules. The only real question is whether they will follow Gov. Charlie Crist's recommendation to maintain the department's current funding. Pelham said it's nothing he's done. It's the timing.
"You've got a lot of people in the Legislature who are now running for statewide office," Pelham explained. A lot of them "got beat up" by the voters back home over their support for SB 360 last year, he said. As a result, they're worried that a renewed controversy over growth management would hurt their election chances. "Everybody knows, you just mention growth management and you're looking for a fight," agreed Charles Pattison of the pro-planning group 1,000 Friends of Florida.
So they don't even bring it up. "Growth management always lends itself to trying to tweak it to make it better," said state Rep. Dorothy Hukill, a Republican from Port Orange. "This year we are conscientiously taking our hands off. It's recognition we are only a few months from an election."
Bennett said he believes last year's growth legislation will help curb urban sprawl and address transportation needs. It just needs an opportunity to work. "We need the economy to rebound so we have some growth to manage," he said.
Ahead of the session, Bennett, chairman of the Senate Community Affairs Committee, planned a number of sweeping growth management proposals, most aimed at Pelham. He wanted to significantly curtail the scope of the agency because its review of developments "costs millions and millions of dollars and too much paperwork," Bennett said. "That's the problem with bureaucracies. … I think we need to change that."
But this month Bennett cut those potentially controversial provisions. He said he wasn't worried about his own re-election, but rather the upcoming vote this fall on Amendment 4. The proposed constitutional amendment, also known as Florida Hometown Democracy, would put decisions about changes to growth plans in the hands of the voters rather than leaving them to local governments. Bennett said lawmakers don't want to give supporters of the amendment any ammunition, so they're holding off taking any action this year.
Lesley Blackner, president of the Florida Hometown Democracy organization, said she's not surprised that lawmakers are worried about it passing. "The people who run Florida, all they care about is endless growth," said Blackner, a Palm Beach lawyer. "Land use is politics. Whoever controls the politics controls the land use."
Pelham said that's not all that's at work, though. Some lawmakers fear that if they badmouth the amendment, it could hurt their own election chances with voters unhappy with how growth is currently managed in Florida.
"I think most of (the legislators) don't want to be seen as opposing Hometown Democracy even though they may not like it," Pelham said.
What happens next year will depend on whether Amendment 4 gets 60 percent of the vote, as the law now requires for passage, said Gary Hunter, a lobbyist for the Association of Florida Community Developers. But if Amendment 4 fails, look for Bennett's proposed changes to come back in the next session accompanied by a lot of other bills aimed at loosening the rules on growth.
Further fueling the likelihood of a push for changes is the fact that, in January, a new governor will succeed Crist. It's likely that new governor will also replace Pelham as head of community affairs. Pelham said he knows of at least two big developers who are sitting on major project plans until then.
Pam Bondi's leadership team (Attorney General) Republican attorney general candidate Pam Bondi has announced her campaign leadership team: State Honorary Co-Chairs: Bob Martinez and Mary Jane Martinez, former Governor and First Lady of Florida Ned L. Siegel, former Ambassador to the Bahamas State Chairman: Rick Baker, former Mayor of St. Petersburg
State Co-Chairs : Angela Corey, Jacksonville: State Attorney for Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit and long-time political leader and activist in northeast Florida; Gonzalo Dorta, Miami: Prominent attorney, recognized political leader and key fundraiser with strong ties to the campaign organization of former Governor Jeb Bush; Martin Garcia, Tampa: Prominent attorney, investor, philanthropist, and Vice Chairman of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission; Phil Handy, Orlando: President of Winter Park Capital Company, past Chair of the Florida Board of Education, and recognized state political and fundraising leader for the campaigns of both Presidents Bush and Governor Jeb Bush; Tom Lee, Tampa: Vice-President of Sabal Homes and former President of the Florida Senate; Jorge Luis Lopez, Miami: Prominent attorney, philanthropic activist, and recent candidate for the Florida House of Representatives; Kathleen Shanahan, Tampa: CEO of WRS Compass, Inc., former Chief of Staff to Vice-President Dick Cheney, and former Chief of Staff to Governor Jeb Bush; Levi Williams, Ft. Lauderdale: Prominent attorney, appointed by Attorney General Bill McCollum to serve on the Council on the Status of Black Men and Boys, and past legal counsel to the Broward County Republican Party.
Five members of Congress support Kottkamp in AG race Five Republicans in Florida's Congressional delegation have thrown their support to Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp's candidacy for attorney general. Two that are not so surprising are from Kottkamp's home area in Southwest Florida: Reps. Connie Mack IV and Vern Buchanan. The others are Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami and Bill Posey of Rockledge.
Upcoming Meetings of Importance
Business People United for Political Action Committee (BUPAC)
SPEAKER schedule:
Mar 18 Jason Moon, candidate State House D-73
Mar 25 Dick Ripp, candidate County Commission D-2
Apr 01 Tom Scott, candidate School Board D-5
Where: Edison State College – Taeni Student Services Hall room S106
Cypress Lake Dr at Edison Lane, Parking Lot-6, Look for Clock Tower
When: 7:00 a.m. Breakfast; Program 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Cost: $8 with food, or $4 without food
NAIOP HOSTS NETWORKING BREAKFAST ON MARCH 24 The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) (www.naiop.org) of Southwest Florida will host a networking breakfast at 7:30 a.m. March 24 at the Embassy Suites in Estero. The breakfast will feature a five-member panel including Jay F. Cook, attorney with the Law Offices of Jay F. Cook; Andy D’Jamoos, executive vice president of The D’Jamoos Group; Jim Howard of GlassRatner; John Nicola, assistant vice president for Grandbridge Real Estate Capital; and Susan Maurer, area president of BB&T Collier County. The panel will discuss financing, landlord/developer situations, capital markets and other topics relating to the market. Tickets cost $10 for NAIOP members and $15 for non-members.
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