After months of discussion, the Stuart City Commission has approved a referendum asking voters whether to protect two city-owned baseball fields from long-term development.
The measure would amend the city charter and place the question before voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. City Attorney Lee Baggett said the referendum language was finalized following the commission's previous meeting.
The commission had requested changes to the title of the ordinance, while leaving the proposed referendum language unchanged.
"We would be adding to the charter, so that's why it's the purpose of an ordinance, and this also requires it to go out for referendum. In the first reading, in your motion, in moving it to second reading, requested that we add a couple of words in the title, and we have done that, and the words were general and and, but you didn't have any proposed changes to the actual proposed language for the referendums," he said.
The city owns Sailfish Park and Guy Davis, which have been part of Stuart's baseball landscape since the 1940s. If voters approve the measure, city commissioners would need voter approval before selling or entering into a long-term lease for the properties.
Will Laughlin, who spoke in support of the referendum, said he was concerned about what could happen if the makeup of the commission changes in the future.
"That if we get a commission with three commissioners that are the majority, they might decide to say, you know what, this would be great to see these towers built here, because that goes right along with this transit-oriented development plan. So I'm hoping that the commissioners here recognize that the voters are smart enough to recognize that we want to protect the ball fields," he said.
Commissioner Laura Giobbi said the referendum would allow residents, rather than the commission, to make the ultimate decision about the properties.
"What we want to do is, by protecting them, we put that out to the public to make that decision, not the commissioners, because as many people stated, if the balance of the commission changes, there might be people who are very much interested in having money for the city versus preserving ballparks for our kids," she said.
The referendum would not affect short-term user agreements for people using the fields.
A previous effort to develop Sailfish Ballpark was rejected following public opposition in 2018.
Baggett said the city would be able to provide information about the referendum without advocating for its passage or defeat.
"We would be able to publicize on our website that this is on the ballot and show it. We just can't take a position and we can't market it. We can't promote to vote one way or another," he said.
Information about the referendum will likely be posted on the city's website.
Voters will see the ballfields referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.