EDITORIAL: ‘Whipsaw II:’ The horror story of policymaking

For the second time in as many months, the city is abruptly changing course.

First, about a month ago, the city retooled its approval process for tall buildings after just three tests of its tiering system.

Now, city leaders are finding a new way forward for affordable housing in Destin.

At last week’s City Council meeting, councilors voted to scrap a committee they had created months before to tackle the contentious workforce housing issue. Instead, leaders referred workers’ complaints about not being able to afford homes in the city to an existing committee, the Local Planning Agency.

On its face this may seem to be a minor organizational issue, but it may point to a more systemic problem in city government.

The temptation can be great — especially when new blood flows through the council — to remake city policy in one’s own image. Even veteran leaders must resist the urge to upend consistent rules to placate the minority who complains the loudest.

But that’s no way to make city policy.

Land Use Attorney Jerry Miller summed up the point best when he said at a recent visioning session that the “most maddening” thing officials can do as they develop new ordinances is to engage in “whipsaw policy.”

“Maintaining policy and standard consistency will do more to provide sustenance to a community than anything you can do,” he said.

Miller’s point is that it is impossible for the governed to know the rules when they keep changing.

At its best, such backpedaling confuses residents who are trying to follow the bouncing ball of government. At its worst, it stifles commerce at a time that the city can ill afford to have the specter of anti-business looming over it.

This latest action by the council seems to smack of such whipsawing — at least it did to Councilor Kelly Windes, who was the only one to vote against the proposal.

“This is what we need new councilors for,” Windes said sarcastically, “to abolish what was done right before they came on the board.”

Windes is right.

At the end of the day, city policy shouldn’t leave citizens — or councilors — feeling whiplash.