 |
|
Home ·
Amendment ·
Summary · FAQs ·
About Us |
Group fights for tougher tree rulesBy Karen Rivedal Jacksonville voters will have an opportunity to decide for themselves whether the city's new -- and controversial -- tree-protection regulations need to be strengthened. A referendum proposed by Citizens for Tree Protection Inc. will appear on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, Duval County Supervisor of Elections John Stafford said Wednesday, after the volunteer group collected more than the 20,941 signatures required for ballot placement. Members of the group last week delivered to Stafford's office what they said was more than 30,000 petitions supporting the referendum. Elections office staff said they stopped counting names shortly after the legal minimum was reached, certifying 20,997 signatures. Group co-founder John Crescimbeni said his band of volunteers now will focus on convincing voters to approve the referendum. The group isn't taking anything for granted, given the likely opposition of the city's powerful home builders' lobby. "It's not over until it's over," Crescimbeni said. "There may be somebody that wants to take issue with it." As yet, no group has stepped forward to oppose the referendum. But local builders have opposed stricter tree protections, arguing that the rules will increase the price of new homes. They lobbied against a new tree law proposed by Mayor John Delaney and approved by the City Council last year after months of deeply divided debate. And the citizen group's measure would be twice as strict as that law. Howard White, first vice president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, said Wednesday the existing law was a hard-fought compromise that "pretty much" satisfied everyone. "We ought to give that ordinance time to work," White said. "We ought to see how it's going to impact the home buyers who are ultimately paying the price." And White questioned whether the volunteer group's effort to pass a charter amendment was proper. "We don't feel that the city's constitution should be used to usurp the elected officials' legislative process," said White, who runs North Florida Builders Inc. "If that's the venue they take, we don't think it's right." But Councilman Matt Carlucci, who voted for the city's law, said he didn't feel circumvented by the group's action. "That's the beauty of the democratic process," said Carlucci, who also was one of the first to sign the group's petition. "It's for when the people feel like their legislative representatives didn't serve them adequately." Indeed, some in the community -- including the city's own landscape commission, about half a dozen council members and many neighborhood groups -- said the existing law doesn't go far enough. The city's tree law requires homebuilders to preserve, replace or pay for hardwood trees measuring six feet around or larger. The citizens group's measure -- reflecting an earlier law that was never enforced -- would protect hardwoods three feet around or larger. Group members say the rules they're proposing are actually more flexible for home builders because invasive species would not have to be preserved and off-site mitigation of protected trees would be allowed. Commercial builders, under current law, already have to follow the three-feet-around rule and have for many years. Group members say they aren't overly worried by a possible builder challenge, because they believe in their network of grass-roots support. Dozens of community organizations have endorsed or assisted the group's efforts, including JaxPride, Greenscape, the Greater Arlington Civic Council, the Mandarin Community Club, Riverside-Avondale Preservation and five of the city's six Citizens Planning Advisory Committees. "We don't have a heck of a lot of money, but we do have a lot of volunteers," Crescimbeni said. "This is a grass-roots effort, and one dollar plus lots of grass-roots effort is probably worth $100 or more from those would oppose this." White said he didn't know yet if the builders association would attempt a formal challenge of the referendum, noting builders would probably meet soon to decide exactly what to do. Meanwhile, members of Citizens for Tree Preservation plan to keep up their drumbeat for stricter tree protections. "We've got a campaign to run, just like any other candidates or issue on the ballot," Crescimbeni said. "We've got a message to deliver to voters." This is not the first grass-roots effort to toughen a city law. In 1987, after City Council members passed a sign ordinance that critics said didn't do enough to regulate billboards, Citizens Against the Proliferation of Signs got a referendum on the ballot that went much further -- banning future billboard construction and reducing the number of existing billboards. It was approved by 59 percent of voters. |
|
Home ·
Amendment ·
Summary · FAQs ·
About Us |
© 2000 by Citizens for Tree
Preservation, Inc. |