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Community Benefits Agreements and Local Government

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  • Laura Wolf-Powers

Abstract

Problem: As community benefits agreements or community benefits arrangements (CBAs) become more common in redevelopment practice they are generating conceptual confusion and political controversy. Much of the literature on CBAs is focused on local organizing coalitions' inclusivity and political strategies, or on the legal aspects of the agreements, providing only limited information to planners who encounter advocacy for CBAs. Purpose: I aim to help planners prepare to deal appropriately with community benefits claims in their communities by closely examining four urban redevelopment projects in which CBAs have been negotiated by stakeholder organizations, legislators, developers, and government agencies. Methods: I characterize the 27 CBAs in effect in the United States as of June 30, 2009, based on their participants and structures. I then examine four of these CBAs in detail using the semistructured interviews I conducted with individuals involved in crafting, advocating, and implementing them and coverage in major daily papers, alternative newsweeklies, blogs, and the business press. Results and conclusions: The cases featured in this article suggest that four key factors influence the way CBAs work in practice and the extent to which they vindicate or refute the claims of CBA proponents and detractors: the robustness of the local development climate; the local politics of organized labor; the accountability of the community benefits coalition to affected community residents; and, most importantly, the role of local government in negotiation and implementation. Takeaway for practice: Public sector actors, including elected officials and the staffs of redevelopment agencies, housing departments, workforce development agencies, parks and recreation departments, and budget departments become implicit parties to CBAs and often play significant roles in implementing them. Thus, public sector planners should carefully review and evaluate the implications of community benefits claims for local government's interests and goals. Depending on the circumstances, these evaluations may lead local officials to support community benefits arrangements or to oppose them. Research support : This research was supported by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Wolf-Powers, 2010. "Community Benefits Agreements and Local Government," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(2), pages 141-159, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjpaxx:v:76:y:2010:i:2:p:141-159
    DOI: 10.1080/01944360903490923
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    Cited by:

    1. Satya Sai Kumar Jillella & Annie Matan & Peter Newman, 2015. "Participatory Sustainability Approach to Value Capture-Based Urban Rail Financing in India through Deliberated Stakeholder Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-25, June.
    2. Lisa E. Schweitzer, 2016. "Tracing the Justice Conversation After “Green Cities, Growing Cities”," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 82(4), pages 374-379, October.
    3. Berthomé, Guy-El-Karim & Thomas, Alban, 2017. "A Context-based Procedure for Assessing Participatory Schemes in Environmental Planning," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 113-123.
    4. Kirk E. Harris, 2015. "Because We Can Doesn’t Mean We Should and if We Do," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 29(3), pages 245-261, August.
    5. Mary Donegan & T. William Lester & Nichola Lowe, 2018. "Striking a Balance: A National Assessment of Economic Development Incentives," Upjohn Working Papers 18-291, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    6. Holstenkamp, Lars & Degenhart, Heinrich, 2013. "Bürgerbeteiligungsmodelle für erneuerbare Energien - Eine Begriffsbestimmung aus finanzwirtschaftlicher Perspektive [Citizen Participation Schemes for Renewable Energies - A Definition from a Finan," MPRA Paper 81263, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Madeline Streiff Buitelaar, 2019. "Cui Bono? Assessing Community Engagement in San Francisco Community Benefit Agreements," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Kim, Minjee, 2020. "Upzoning and value capture: How U.S. local governments use land use regulation power to create and capture value from real estate developments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Nichola J. Lowe, 2014. "Beyond the Deal," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 28(4), pages 287-299, November.

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