About
Community benefits agreements (CBAs) or ordinances (CBOs) are legally binding contracts between community groups and developers or between local governments and developers that require developers to provide amenities tailored to community needs, including the needs of small businesses. These benefits can include provisions for affordable housing, local hiring, living wages, specific types of retail, community service and program funding, and prioritizing and preserving neighborhood-serving businesses.
CBAs aim to ensure that communities impacted by new development directly benefit from the project. Municipalities can require CBAs for certain types of development projects, such as Detroit’s Community Benefits Ordinance, which applies to new development projects over a certain cost threshold.
STAKEHOLDERS
Government or Public Agency
Community Residents
Real Estate Firm or Developer
Strategies in Action
Community Benefits Ordinance – Detroit, MI
Tool : Community Benefits Agreements In 2016, Detroit voters passed a Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO). The ordinance applies to new development projects valued at $75 million or more, or projects that receive $1 million or more in [...]
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Community Benefits Agreement – Berkeley, CA
Tool: Community Benefits Agreements Since 2018, the City of Berkeley and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a multi-county transit system, have collaborated on new transit-oriented development(TOD) at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations. [...]
UPLAN Community Benefits Agreements – Long Beach, CA
Tool: Community Benefits Agreements In an overhaul of its zoning code, the City of Long Beach, California, released the UPLAN Zoning District Recommendations, which includes a model community benefits agreement for use with new development projects. [...]
