ORLANDO - Add retailers and commercial real estate developers to the list opposing Florida's proposed Hometown Democracy initiative.

Although supporters still are collecting signatures to get the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot, the International Council of Shopping Centers is rallying opposition to the plan to let voters approve or veto local comprehensive land-use changes.

'On its face it's incredibly alluring, ... but it's going to cause major disruptions to the development industry,' said Seth Layton, the ICSC state government relations committee chairman.

He told the estimated 5,000 people attending the council's annual Florida conference that the amendment threatens development more than the state's property insurance crisis.

The commercial developers join the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the political group Floridians for Smarter Growth in opposing the Hometown Democracy proposal that could be on the November 2008 statewide ballot.

All three groups argue that the plan circumvents existing opportunities to challenge land-use changes.

'We get blocked right and left if it's not good development' under the existing public hearing process, said Arnold Gibbs, an Orlando engineering consultant and member of the Florida ICSC government relations committee.

Hometown Democracy organizers say the amendment is necessary to beef up county comprehensive-use plans weakened during the past 20 years with loopholes benefiting developers. The group's Web site blames developers for pushing growth and locally elected officials for rubber-stamping land-use changes.

'It really goes to the heart of the developers' power, and that's to control the majority of city and county officials,' said Lesley Blackner, president of Florida Hometown Democracy, a political action committee organizing the petition.

As of last week, petition organizers had collected nearly 300,000 of the 611,000 signatures needed to place the issue on the ballot. The balance of signatures is needed by Jan. 31 to qualify the amendment for the November 2008 election.

Hometown Democracy advocates say the plan only would require votes on plan changes approved by local elected commissioners. Opponents argue it would add hundreds of ballot questions to each election. Critics claim more than 10,000 land-use votes took place in Florida's municipal and county governments last year.

Floridians for Smarter Growth is collecting signatures for an alternative amendment proposal. Called the Florida Growth Management Initiative, it also would require voter approval for land-use changes but in fewer circumstances. It's not clear whether any signatures on those petitions have been verified.

A local growth amendment passed last year in St. Pete Beach exemplifies the Hometown Democracy approach. Pending lawsuits have prevented the rule from being enacted.

Retailers nationwide are paying close attention to the Florida Hometown Democracy battle, said Jennifer Platt, federal government relations director for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

It's a dangerous precedent for developers and is misleading to the public that they don't have any power in the current democratic process, she said.

'They're hiding behind the idea that the public should have more say,' she said.

Reporter Mary Shedden can be reached at (813) 259-7365 or mshedden@tampatrib.com.