Anthony Penn PresidentCEO Ohio Recovery Housing Annual Conference

Anthony Penn President/CEO Ohio Recovery Housing Annual Conference Developing Good Neighborhood Relationships April 18, 2016

Bell Center Africentric Therapeutic Community Developing Good Neighborhood Relationships April 18 th, 2016 2

Anthony Penn, President/CEO Prior Experience and Background with Gaining Community Acceptance • Led Efforts to establish 10 Community Advisory Councils to serve as a vehicle for communication for supportive housing programs. • Key leadership in the development of 13 different Good Neighbor Agreements for supportive housing programs. 3

NOT IN MY BACK YARD 4

Linvile Village Apartments – Case Study • You are the program manager of the Linvile Village apartments that plans to have a ground breaking ceremony in 90 days. • You get a call from city officials and several of the development key funders telling you about a flyer hostile to the development is being circulated in the neighborhood. The flyer does not describe the proposed development and future residents and your program as you have described in your application to the city and your other funders. You have also received a call from a reporter wanting to write a story today. 5

Linvile Village Apartments – Case Study • Given the facts of the scenario Ø What one or two things would you do right away toward getting approval? Ø What one or two things do you wish you had done before this time? 6

Gaining Community Acceptance A demonstrated Best Practice approach to gaining community acceptance follow six steps to build and gain support. • Research and neighborhood assessment • Political Strategy • Building Active Community Support • Strategy to address community issues • Legal Strategy • Media Strategy 7

Background on the Six Step Process Developed by Tim Iglesias – Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California Goal: Not to overcome opposition, but manage it. • Deal with legitimate concerns • Maintain respect for current/prospective residents • Leave community hospitable • Open the door and keep it open for present and future development efforts 8

Characteristics of Some Developers • Isolated vs. collaborative • Reactive vs proactive • Tactics over strategy • See opposition as inevitable. Think they can’t learn anything because all projects are unique 9

Local Opposition • Comes from those actively opposing the development • Actions intended to delay or undermine • Those closest to the development tend to have the most interest to get involved or oppose. • One sophisticated opponent with a lot of time can cause a lot of problems. 10

The six step process to gaining community support is intended to be a proactive comprehensive, collaborative and flexible approach. It’s a framework, not a formula. 11

The Six Steps Assessment and Planning • Done early in the pre-development process • Meet with loyal supporters to assess and plan • Determine what local government approvals are needed • Determine process, criteria and time line 12

Assessment and Planning • What is our organization’s reputation in the community? • Who are the leaders in the community? • What is their knowledge of our housing model? • What is their experience with our organization? • What is the knowledge and experience with the population we are serving? 13

Assessment and Planning • What is around the site? • What are the neighbors’ issues going to be? • What are the potential legal issues? • Where are we going to find supporters? • Will the development attract media attention? 14

Political Strategy • Assess the local government • Timing is critical • Identify solid supports, uncertain voters and opponents • Determine education and advocacy work needed • Identify key leaders and what will pull them to our side, if they are not already 15

Building Community Support • Brainstorm potential supporters • Prioritize Ø Order of Importance Ø How much and what supporters can/will do • Recruit Ø Get your foot in the door Ø Ask potential supporters to do something small before asking for something big 16

Building Community Support • Train and support • Mobilize and deploy • Keep them informed • Thank them 17

Community Concern • This is a critical and the most difficult process. • It’s about relationship building. • Not everyone who asks a question is an opponent • Develop a written response to all questions/concerns • Mediation training “Interest vs Rights” 18

Legal Strategy • Can cover several topics: Ø Land use issues/zonings Ø Discriminatory statements or actions Ø Fair Housing and rights of residents 19

Gaining Community Acceptance • Role of Good Neighbor Agreements • Role of Community Advisory Councils 20

Q&A Contact Information: Anthony Penn (614) 251 -7704 apenn@columbus-area. com 21