Community Benefits
Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs)
A CBA is a project-specific, negotiated agreement between a developer and a broad community coalition that outlines the project’s contributions to the community and ensures community support for the project. Covering a wide range of issues, CBAs are legally binding and are commonly incorporated into the City’s developer agreements.
CBAs are just one tool among many that make up a community benefits approach to development. Others include community benefits policies and community impact reports.
CBAs are part of a win-win development strategy: 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.
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.
Why the Community Benefits Model Works
- Community benefits tools maximize returns on local government investment in development.
- Community benefits programs can transform regions through stronger, more equitable economies.
- Community benefits help generate public support for economic development projects.
- Delivering community benefits is smart business.
- CBAs hold developers accountable for their promises to local governments and residents.
- Public input results in better projects that benefit the whole community and attract local customers.
- Community benefits are part of a smart growth agenda.
- Time is money, and projects with CBAs often enjoy a faster, smoother entitlement process.
Community Benefits in Orange County
Site-specific community benefits agreements (CBAs) ensure that development projects create opportunities for local residents and workers, and other community benefits policies can set the stage for lifting thousands of people out of poverty. In Orange County, broad-based community coalitions are pursuing CBAs and other community benefits policies in Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle and Santa Ana’s Station District.
Convened by OCCORD, the Community Benefits Coalition represents an array of expertise on issues such as affordable housing, jobs and employment, child care, community health, environment, youth development, and universal design, among many others. The coalition is spearheading the campaign for responsible development in the Platinum Triangle and has advanced strategies to incorporate neighborhood residents in the planning process and build power for working families in Anaheim.
OCCORD is also working with the Santa Ana Coalition for Responsible Development (SACRED) to establish community benefits priorities for the Station District.
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