Center for Community Builders: Community Benefit Agreements

AN INTRODUCTION TO

COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENTS

What is a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA)?

A Community Benefits Agreement, or CBA, is a signed agreement between a coalition of community groups and a developer.
In the agreement, the developer commits to providing specific benefits to the community in exchange for community support for the project (or at least non-opposition).

What does a CBA do?

A CBA campaign can make sure that a development project includes things that the community wants and needs.
CBAs allow the developer to get community support for his or her project.
Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are flexible tools that can provide a wide range of community benefits. Some examples of benefits that have been achieved are affordable housing, living wage requirements, local hiring, environmental mitigations, and community space.

How do CBAs work?

Getting a successful CBA requires building a strong coalition among many different groups. The coalition then negotiates with the developer, seeking to persuade the developer to agree to the coalition's agenda and sign a legally enforceable contract.
CBAs can work in most markets and in nearly all large projects.
It is very important to include a monitoring component, such as a community oversight committee, as a part of the CBA.

How does a CBA start?

One or more community groups start to develop a CBA campaign by educating themselves about a proposed project and how it is likely to impact their community.
The community identifies and approaches other groups or interests that may have concerns or want something from this development.
Coalition members must discuss their goals and find ways to work together on a shared agenda.

Where are CBAs most effective?

The most significant benefits have been won when the developer was asking for public subsidies and when the community coalition was broad and united.
A broad coalition can include the following: community groups, residents, labor unions, environmental groups, schools, churches, small business owners, etc.

How do CBAs provide priority benefits?

In a CBA, the Coalition agrees to negotiate together for benefits that are important to each and all of the members. This means negotiating for affordable housing, jobs, the environment, public space, and business opportunities as a package. No one walks away from the table until everyone’s needs have been addressed.

How do CBAs further equity principles?

Development without displacement. Investment without disenfranchisement. CBAs promote particular developments AFTER communities have assurances that the development will concretely benefit residents and that potential harms are mitigated.
Public action and public investment for public benefit. An action by a public body or public dollars and resources entitle the community to legally enforceable benefits.
City & public assets are the people’s assets. Residents have a right to the City. CBA campaigns put resident groups on equal legal standing as the City and the developer.
Equitable distribution of burdens, benefits and decision-making power. CBAs can accomplish equitable distribution of benefits and burdens and attempt to heighten the power of community in the decision-making process for development projects.
Housing is a human right. The CBA movement would say not only housing but good paying jobs, health care, etc are all human rights.
Community control of land use under resident leadership. A demand of a CBA campaign could be land that the community could then control.
Harness reinvestment as an engine for community health and development. CBAs can harness the impacts of private developments for community health and development.
Long-term community vision and stewardship of community assets. CBAs are intended to increase the political strength of the constituent members of the Coalition.

What are the main Criticisms/Challenges of CBAs?

Coalition building can be very difficult and time consuming.
CBAs almost always require that the coalition publicly support a project in exchange for benefits, so groups should consider carefully whether a project is worth supporting, even with the benefits desired, before starting a community benefits campaign.
It is helpful to have an independent analysis of how much in community benefits a project can support.
The political climate in weaker market cities can make it more difficult to get support for CBA efforts, which require developers to enter into binding agreements with community groups. In these climates, coalitions have won significant, legally enforceable commitments to community-identified benefits through negotiations with developers and/or public agencies that are enforced through other means.

Where are CBAs being used?