Community Benefits
Ensuring low-income communities have a voice in and a fair share of the benefits of new development.
Our neighbors living in low-income neighborhoods are often negatively impacted by large development projects, while also excluded from any potential benefits from those developments. A Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is a tool that allows community members to negotiate with developers to win things that the community needs. This is a collaborative process that enables the developer to incorporate the wisdom and knowledge of impacted residents in exchange for public community support and specific benefits that the developer agrees to contribute. These benefits can include affordable housing, local hire policies, living wage requirements, parks, and many other things. Public Advocates works to ensure that directly impacted community members who live in low-income neighborhoods can lead and share their stories at the decision-making table in these negotiations and that the negotiations result in a CBA that tangibly benefits the community.