Winning a Community Benefit Agreement by Jennifer Epps-Addison, J.D

Jennifer Epps-AddisonExecutive Director, Wisconsin Jobs NowBoard Member, Partnership for Working FamiliesOwner, Synergy Consultants LLC

www.forworkingfamilies.org

www.wisconsinjobsnow.org

www.synergyconsultantsllc.org

Winning Justice Through CBAs

Background on Community Benefit Agreements

Legally binding contract between developer, broad-based coalition and city/public authority

Sets forth a range of community benefits regarding a development project

Result of substantial community involvement

Coalition support for project and implementation

What is a CBA?

In some cases, the community benefits terms from a CBA may be incorporated into an agreement between the local government and the developer, such as a development agreement or lease. That arrangement gives the local government the power to enforce the community benefits terms.

What is a CBA?

Rather than having all parties fight these battles on a project-by-project basis, a CBP approach is to have local governments establish a slate of community benefits policies governing all large urban development projects, at least when subsidies are being provided. Local hiring policies, job quality requirements, environmental mitigations, and provision of affordable housing should be standard conditions of approval (or at least of subsidy) of large, multi-use projects in low-income urban areas. Such policies could set baseline standards while providing flexibility for unusual circumstances.

What is a CBP?

CBAs allow a win-win approach to development: meaningful, up-front communication between the developer and a broad community coalition decreases developers’ risk while maximizing the positive impact of development on local residents and economies. The developer benefits from active community support of the project, and community members gain when the project responds to their needs.

What is a CBA/CBP?

Without a CBA

With a CBA

What Can You Win?

Why the Community Benefits Model Works

1. Community benefits tools maximize returns on local government investment in development.

2. Community benefits programs can transform regions through stronger, more equitable economies.

3. Community benefits help generate public support for economic development projects.

4. Delivering community benefits is smart business.

5. CBAs hold developers accountable for their promises to local governments and residents.

6. Public input results in better projects that benefit the whole community and attract local customers.

7. Community benefits are part of a smart growth agenda.

8. Time is money, and projects with CBAs often enjoy a faster, smoother entitlement process.

Oakland Army Base

In 2012, the Revive Oakland coalition won job standards for the $800 million redevelopment of the Oakland Army Base into a modern goods movement and warehousing development:

Living wage50% local hire, 25% hiring disadvantaged workersWest Oakland job and training centerLong-term community oversight board to oversee complianceAll new union apprenticeships reserved for Oakland residentsNo pre-screening of job applicants for prior criminal recordsProject labor agreement ensures safe conditions and quality jobsLimits on use of temp agencies

Kingsbridge (Bronx) Armory

In April of 2013, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance reached a groundbreaking CBA for the development of the nation’s largest ice sports center, including:Living wage for all workers within the project;At least 25% of construction employees be targeted workers;At least 51% of non-construction workers are local with first priority to underemployed residents of immediate neighborhood;$8,000,000 initial contribution, plus ongoing contributions, to a coalition-controlled fund for specified community needs;Incentives for local businesses to employ local workers;Local contracting, M/WBE utilization, and local procurement requirements;LEED certified green building standards;Priority community access to the project’s athletic facilities;Community-based oversight and enforcement of CBA commitments.

Best Practices

CBA Best Practices

There is no one way to win a CBA campaign, but there are a number of best practices that have emerged as common themes throughout various community benefit campaigns

Best Practices – 4 Goals

1) Increase transparency and include South Chicago residents in the plan for the Development• Community Advisory Board• Neighborhood Impact Study• Community Driven Master Neighborhood Development Plan

2) Employ local residents in construction jobs as well as create opportunities for local businesses to occupy retail space within the development once it’s completed• Maximize Apprenticeships • Create training programs in community colleges and high schools • First source hiring

3) Create real affordable rental housing as well as home ownership opportunities for local residents• Priority given to displaced / long term residents• Down payment assistance • Tax credit for long term residents

4) Establish a science and technology program with local schools.• Identify the beneficiaries early and get buy in • Be specific • Partner with community/tech colleges • Secure a financial commitment and retain program flexibility

Best Practices – Construction Careers

Developing real construction career opportunities in urban areas requires work on two levels. On the one hand, public policy has to support a high-road construction industry, where family-supporting wages, benefits, and skills and safety training are the norm. On the other hand, public policy must create demand for targeted workers and establish the workforce and training system that ensures qualified workers are ready to fill new jobs. Construction careers policies and policy approaches find innovative ways to work on both levels at once.


After years of often-contentious experience, a consensus is emerging that the strongest approach to achieving quality jobs and new opportunities is a signed project labor agreement, combining job quality standards with targeted hiring requirements. These agreements, sometimes called Community Workforce Agreements, set the terms for the project, providing a comprehensive framework for ensuring that construction creates high quality jobs and provides opportunities for new workers to get into construction careers.


1. Require apprentice maximization based on the Journeyman to Apprentice ratio guidelines

2. Build partnerships with local community colleges to hire students and graduates into skilled positions. Students are prepared for the work because they receive job training and career placement through the partnership agreement

3. Build partnerships that train high school students in the skilled trades. Require a certain number of high school students be trained as part of the educational process each year funded by the developer.

4. Require the developer(s) fund a program to help open up access to real estate development opportunities by creating an internship program for neighborhood residents with real job opportunities or opportunities to work on other development projects in their community. (Acre program/MKE)

Best Practices – Targeted Hiring

Both local government policies and Community Benefits Agreements have included measures designed to ensure that local residents and disadvantaged individuals have employment opportunities in the retail, transportation, entertainment, food service and other sectors. These measures have resulted in thousands of jobs for the communities that need them most, and are sometimes paired with job training and other skills development programs that help individuals build a career.


One concrete way to ensure that public investment in private development benefits low-income communities is to establish targeted hire requirements.

Targeted hire requirements create opportunities for low-income people to get jobs – they create demand.

Good first source referral systems create the pipeline of qualified workers from low-income areas prepared to meet that demand.

Community benefits coalitions advocate for targeted hire requirements in order to target opportunities to low-income residents and people of color who might otherwise not benefit from new development. Targeted hiring programs are on the strongest legal footing, and are likely to produce the most meaningful outcomes, when they are rooted in efforts to reduce poverty rather than merely to hire city residents.


Across the country, targeted hire programs have developed effective mechanisms for helping low-income local residents find jobs at new development sites and have created job opportunities with existing employers that had previously been unavailable to many low-income workers.

Best Practices for Targeted Hiring Include:•Strong policy language which sets the stage for success by clearly defining the responsibilities of all stakeholders: developers, employers, contractors and the first source referral system.•Implementation insights and anecdotes that provide some guideposts for creating and maintaining a first source referral system.•Jobs and hiring outcomes that are tangible and accountable.

Best Practices – Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing - Housing that costs no more than 30% of a household's income is considered to be “affordable” for that household. More specifically, “affordable housing” meets this 30% standard for low-income households (i.e., households earning below 80% of the area median income). For owners, housing costs include principal, interest, property taxes, and hazard insurance. For renters, costs include rent and tenant-paid utilities (except telephone and cable).

CBA coalitions address affordable housing based on community needs

Bay view/Hunter’s Point in San Francisco:Ensure that 32% of housing units built within the project are affordable, at a range of income levels;Provide over $27 million in housing assistance funds targeted to neighborhood residents, including down payment assistance enabling additional units to be sold below market rates;

Gates/Cherokee in Denver:250 affordable rental units150 affordable sale units

Oak to 9th in Oakland:465 units for very low income (between 30%-60% AMI)1/2 will be family size1/4 senior housing

The Atlanta BeltLine Affordable Housing Program

Make city living financially attainable for renters and homeowners

Create 5,600 units of affordable housing over 25 years

Retain 15% of net bond proceeds for an affordable housing trust fund

Provide down payment assistance to homebuyers

Provide incentives to developers

How Other Communities Have Won Power

A Framework For Success

Step 1 is to Build the Coalition.

Building a coalition is an ongoing effort. Ideally, coalition building starts long before engaging a developer in response to project plans and it extends beyond signing a CBA. However, some coalitions can grow organically in response to a specific development. Either way, it is highly recommended that coalitions be broad, representing a variety of community interests. It is important that agendas are negotiated within the coalition so that the developer and city are not forced to deal with various groups, which can weaken the advantage of negotiating with a coalition.

Coalition Best Practices

Community benefits coalitions are long-term, broad-based groups with deep roots in the community.

Coalitions typically represent a broad array of stakeholders, such as local residents across the income spectrum, people of all colors, representatives from labor, environmental and faith groups, and affordable housing advocates.

Community benefits coalitions recognize that high-quality new development is critical for expanding prosperity. Coalitions seek a role in shaping that development, and know that no one wins if the project fails.

Coalition members are willing to “lay on the table” their stake or interest in the project

There is an explicit internal governance agreements that all members are accountable to

The Coalition outlines bottom lines quickly in an open and transparent manor


Step 2 is Issue Education. Like coalition building, it is an ongoing process. Issue education can start before a particular project or campaign is in place, or it can begin at the start of negotiations. It’s an important part of the CBA process because it encourage groups within a coalition to speak the same language. It also builds trust and a common agenda. In addition to educating coalition staff members, issue education can also involve training grassroots community members and/or neighborhood residents to act as advocates for the issues.


Step 3 is Research. Research is an important precursor to negotiations. Some key research goals include understanding the development process, locating the leverage points, and highlighting existing and alternate regulations.

Questions to Ask:1. How much $$ will be spent on the development? 2. How much is federal, state or local public $$?3. Are there already any standards that must be met, because of TIF money?4. What kinds of tenants are anticipated?5. Timeline for groundbreaking and construction?6. Any additional city approvals that are needed?7. How much housing is planned? 8. Any HUD money? Is there already a stated mix of market based or

affordable housing?

Step 4 is to do Community Assessment. This is the process of discovering what is important to the community. Often that process begins with a large community meeting. Top concerns are usually related to jobs, housing, neighborhood services, and environmental issues. This is a particularly important step for coalitions, because it ensures that they accurately represent the interests of their community.


Step 5 is to Identify Community Priorities. In this stage, importance is placed on moving from a laundry list of demands to a prioritized needs assessment for the specific neighborhood. This assessment will be the basis of negotiations and can be a difficult process.

Imagine that a coalition identifies an environmental issue as the highest priority, but community assessment reveals that the neighborhood is far more concerned with jobs. This is where issue education and community assessment is useful, because it will help the coalition determine which issues to fight for, and which they can—and possibly should—make concessions on.


Step 6 is to Apply Leverage. There will be times when the coalition needs to “flex its muscle.” The power of the coalition must be apparent before the development approval process is complete, which allows meaningful opportunities to make a lasting impact. Negotiations should not begin until the coalition has achieved sufficient power and visibility. This lends the coalition credibility and forms the basis by which they will win any of their negotiating points.


Step 7 is to Form a Negotiating Team. The negotiating team should include experienced negotiators, people well-versed in the issues being discussed, and those who may be able to anticipate the developer’s responses. If legal counsel has not been involved up to this point, now is the time to seek legal advice, and possibly even hire an attorney to be present during negotiations. Remember, it is important to account for the good-will of coalition members, to make sure people feel that they are well-represented, and to protect their interests.


Step 8 is Negotiations. Negotiations work best “when [they’re] community-driven and reflective of an honest assessment of what that project means for the local people and what they themselves would like to see occur at that site. Coalitions should enter negotiations knowing which issues they plan to fight for and where they will make concessions, and be prepared with alternatives and “creative solutions” to counteract objections the developer or the city might have


Step 9 is to Sign the CBA. At this step, there may considerable back-and-forth between the coalition’s legal counsel (if counsel has been retained) and that of the developer as both sides work on the creation of the legal document. Signers of a CBA can include coalitions or groups within the coalition, the developer, and possibly the city.


Step 10 is Coalition Support. Remember, the primary incentive for the developer to sign a CBA is for the coalition to show support for the project. This is the step in which the developer expects YOU to hold up your end of the deal. After—and sometimes even before—signing the CBA, the coalition will be required to demonstrate support for the project. Support may include agreeing to not oppose the project, appearing at press events, and appearing before the city council.


Step 11 is Implementation, Monitoring, and Enforcement. It is essential for the coalition to maintain a continuing oversight body to ensure that the terms of the agreement are being upheld. Ongoing communications between the community and developer, and ongoing communication between members of the coalition, is also critical.

Implementation of the CBA can begin on the date of signing and may extend for years, during which time the terms—such as selecting contractors and tenants, putting in place training programs and first source hiring systems, and building and renting affordable housing—begin coming to fruition. Often, the terms of a signed CBA will need to be renegotiated as the project moves forward and new issues or difficulties arise. Coalitions should be prepared to continue acting as watchdogs for community interests long after the agreement is signed.


What is Power?

Organized People and/or Organized Money

We build power by organizing people into COALITIONS

Questions to ask: Who is at the table? What does each organization have to contribute? How many people care about this? What is my capacity to mobilize?

What is Power

Challenges with Coalitions Coalition Challenges

Build the Project Narrative

Why are you involved? How are you connected to the community? How long has your family lived here? What are your aspirations for the neighborhood?

Build the Program Narrative

Sphere of Influence Each of us has a circle around us, a

networked system of friends, family and co-workers each with unique relationships that could be leveraged in support of our goals. This is called your sphere

of influence.

Map your sphere of influence:(1) Local elected officials that have decision

making power(1) Who do you know personally(2) Who do you know that has influence over an

elected(2) Map members of the business community.

Think of small businesses that may be affected by this policy for example.

(3) Map who if anyone needs to be brought into the coalition

Local Elected

Business Community

Community Coalition

Sphere of Influence

Resources

Jennifer Epps-AddisonExecutive Director Wisconsin Jobs Now [email protected]

Policy & Tools: Housing and poverty data sources

Area Median Income: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il.html

Individual Income Limits: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il.html

Fair Market Rent: http://huduser.org/datasets/fmr.html

American Fact Finder: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

The US Census Bureau's data site. Data are available for the 1990 and 2000 Censuses of Population and Housing as well as the annual American Community Survey.

http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il.html

http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il.html

State of the Cities Data System (SOCDS): http://socds.huduser.org/

HUD User data source. Includes data from the 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 Census; building permit data by jurisdiction; the latest available unemployment statistics; crime data; and 1990 and 2000 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data.

Windows on Urban Poverty: www.urbanpoverty.net

An interactive mapping site that documents the geographic dimension of poverty in the United States.

Dataplace by Knowledgeplex: http://www.dataplace.org/

Provides access to data from the 1990 and 2000 Censuses (demographic, economic, housing, and social characteristics), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (home mortgage applications and loans), Section 8 Expiring Use database (neighborhood- and property-level data on federally assisted housing at risk of loss), and Consolidated Plan special tabulations (data on housing needs by household income level). DataPlace's data library will expand in the coming months to include information on topics such as business establishments from the Census Bureau's ZIP Business Patterns database and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit developments from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. DataPlace also has a mapping tool and a chart tool as well as area profiles (quick statistical snapshots of any geographic area).

News & Politics

Winning a Community Benefit Agreement by Jennifer Epps-Addison, J.D