ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A judge has blocked a motion for a temporary injunction on an Orange County ballot measure that will give voters the chance to weigh in on a rent control ordinance.
“There is public good in the democratic process and in allowing the public to exercise their right to express their opinion on this issue, even if that is all it will ever be, an opinion,” the judge’s order stated. “The public interest is rarely served by removing contentious issue from public debate.”
The county was hit by a lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of the Florida Apartment Association and the Florida Association of Realtors, seeking to invalidate the ballot measure after it was approved by county commissioners in a 4-3 decision.
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“The Court should not substitute its judgment of public interest for the people’s elected representatives,” the ruling states in its reasoning for denying the motion for an injunction.
In the ruling, the judge states that there is no harm to the plaintiffs in allowing the voters to decide whether the ordinance will move forward and further states that they will suffer no harm if the ordinance is ultimately rejected at the ballot box.
See our previous coverage of this story in the video player below:
“All of the harm argued by the Plaintiffs relate to the reaction of its members, and possibly others, to the possibility of the enactment of the ordinance, not to burdens imposed upon them by the ordinance itself,” the order reads. “These are not the type of harms that may justify the Court’s interference in the normal political and adjudicative process.”
However, the judge added that “the Court’s reasoning on this issue may change” if the ordinance is passed.
See our previous coverage of this story in the video player below:
The measure is set to appear on Orange County voters’ ballots for the Nov. 8 election
If approved by the voters, the proposal would go into effect Nov. 21 and enact measures limiting how much landlords and developers will be able to raise rents over one year. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim the county commissioners failed to demonstrate the proposal was necessary, adding they believe it would lead to unforeseen consequences.
Read the judge’s full order below:
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