A judge orders elections that will give Carrabelle a say in development.
By JULIE HAUSERMAN
Published September 4, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - When the giant St. Joe Co. announced plans to develop vast stretches of coastline between here and Pensacola, a tiny band of citizens sprang into action.
They demanded a say in how the region grows. This week, a judge gave them a victory.
Citizens started circulating petitions two years in the tiny town of Carrabelle, ground zero in St. Joe's development plans. Their goal: a public referendum whenever the city extends water and sewer services outside city limits for new development.
The citizens got the signatures, but the Carrabelle City Commission refused to put the issue on the ballot. So the citizens sued. On Tuesday, they won.
"By the city of Carrabelle's refusal to place the proposed amendments on the ballot, the governing body has substituted its judgment for the will of the people," wrote Circuit Judge Janet E. Ferris.
One Carrabelle commissioner, chiropractor Edward Saunders, thought his colleagues were wrong to block the election. He was outvoted.
"Apparently, some of the commissioners didn't think the citizens were smart enough to decide for themselves," Saunders said. "The citizens will now get a chance to decide, which they should have done in the first place."
The Carrabelle city attorney, who defended the city's actions, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The sleepy fishing village east of Apalachicola will now have to hold special elections.
"It's allowing local people to have a voice in their government," said John Hedrick, of the Panhandle Citizens Coalition.
The coalition also is supporting the Florida Hometown Democracy Initiative, a statewide push to put an amendment in the Florida Constitution that would allow citizens across the state to vote whether to change local land use plans.
It's unclear when Carrabelle's court-ordered elections will be held. One of the ballot issues will deal with the water and sewer connections, and the other will deal with the city's height limit.
Carrabelle is about to see big changes. For years, the state owned a prime piece of waterfront real estate there called Timber Island. But the state recently decided to sell the land, and St. Joe Co. was the lone bidder.
St. Joe hasn't revealed its plans, but some say the company could put high-rise condominiums on the once-public waterfront. They would be the first-ever high rises on the sparsely developed part of the Panhandle coast.
That's because the Carrabelle City Commission voted last summer to allow case-by-case exceptions to a three-story building-height limit that's been in place for generations. A year later, St. Joe bid on the state land.
When the city holds its special election, citizens also will be asked to vote the new building-height limit up or down.
