Public Engagement in the Eco Devo Process

Progress and development are crucial to the life of any community. Businesses come and go throughout history, but employment and development are vital for sustainability and growth of the City. While it is crucial, it also has to align with community values and serve the best interests of the local community.

We have all seen it: a developer tears down a couple of houses to make room for a parking lot that is blocked by the Council because of negative community input. A Governor proposes a massive development project with 1,600 projected jobs for a community of 6,000. What officials think would be a great project with a load of jobs splits a community in two and causes the withdrawal of the plant.

In the end, progress and development must be a collaborative effort—a partnership between public officials, developers, and the community. When thoughtfully approached, economic growth can honor local values while addressing the evolving needs of the population. Striking this balance requires transparent communication, genuine engagement, and a commitment to ensuring that every project serves as a catalyst for long-term sustainability and collective prosperity. By placing the community at the heart of decision-making, cities can grow not only in size but in strength, resilience, and unity.

GFOA has provided some recommendations in the Best Practice, Public Engagement in the Economic Development Process, for communities to consider. This best practice helps to ensure that development meets the needs of the developer but fits the character of the community.

GFOA recommends that governments encourage effective public engagement in the economic development process through local economic development strategic plans and per-individual development agreements before public hearings occur.

GFOA recommends a dual approach to public engagement in the economic development process: 1) they recommend producing a local economic development strategic plan and 2) to engage early in the process of individual development agreements.

 Local economic development strategic plan basically would lay out the framework for development in the community.  This is likely a combination of existing plans for planning and identifying areas for development in the community.

Secondly, engaging the public in the development agreement process is critical to understanding the support of the public for the project and potential developer incentives to offset drawbacks of the project. These strategies are recommended but not limited to the following:

• Consistency with Local Economic Development Strategic Plans: These plans should have established community value that will help guide development possibilities.

• Development Agreement Advisory Committee: Municipalities could engage an advisory committee to make recommendations to governing body members on potential development projects to allow for early review and input.

• Community Benefit Agreements: Agreements set up to engage the public early in the process to assist with protecting their needs due to development impacts.

• Annual review for conformance: Review annually the development goals to ensure progress and criteria of the development have been satisfied.

• Public meetings: These can occur through various means: workshops, roundtables, or charrettes. Utilize what works best to get structured and meaningful feedback from residents. 

Ongoing and regular engagement helps to build trust in government.

Progress and development are essential to sustaining vibrant communities, but their success depends on aligning projects with the values and needs of local residents. To improve and implement the recommendations provided, governments should focus on fostering trust through consistent, meaningful engagement. Don’t be the government that launches a development project, only to have it quickly shut down due to development concerns.

By embedding the practices mentioned above into the development process, officials can build trust, unify communities, and ensure that economic growth reflects shared goals and long-term sustainability.