Join the One Hill CBA

Hello,


We need folks to contribute ideas about the types of resources we need to make our community flourish. If you are a Hill District resident, business owner, social service administrator or a member of religious group, come out give your opinions on what resources our community needs. We also need folks who will commit to following their issue to make sure the community gets what it has asked for. See you Wednesday at 5:30PM Hill House.

Below are some examples of what one community negotiated.

Ballpark Village CBA -- San Diego 2005

In September of 2005, a broad coalition entered into the first CBA in San Diego. The CBA set out a range of community benefits to be provided as part of a large, multi-use project to be built adjacent to the new downtown baseball stadium. CBA benefits include:

Requirements for environmentally-friendly design standards (LEED) and construction practices;

Living wages for employees of service contractors at the project;
A local hiring program for construction employees, permanent employees, and service workers at the project;

• Responsible contracting requirements;
• $1.5 million for job training of local residents;
• Affordable housing obligations going beyond the city's requirements;
• Commitment to attract a grocery store operator who pays living wages and benefits.
• $100,000 in funding for a gentrification study of the impact of downtown development on surrounding communities; and
• $50,000 in funding for arts, youth, and culture services in the surrounding communities.
  The coalition and the developer are currently negotiating revisions to the CBA.

Understanding CBAs

What Is a Community Benefits Agreement?

Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs)—project-specific contracts between developers and community organizations—are safeguards to ensure that local community residents share in the benefits of major developments. They allow community groups to have a voice in shaping a project, press for community benefits that are tailored to their particular needs, and enforce developer’s promises. The CBA process begins with interested members of the community, who identify how a proposed development project can benefit residents and workers. Once a list of potential benefits is determined, community members meet with the developer and/or representatives of the city to negotiate a CBA. Each CBA is unique, reflecting the needs of particular communities.

History of Community Benefits Agreements

The CBA concept was pioneered by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), which in 1998 worked with then City-Councilmember Jackie Goldberg to incorporate community benefits provisions into the development agreement for Hollywood and Highland, a large entertainment and retail project in the heart of Hollywood, CA.
The first full-fledged CBA came in 2001, when a large coalition of community groups negotiated a far-reaching agreement with the developer of the Staples Center for the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District. This was followed by four more CBAs on projects across Los Angeles. A dozen additional projects in Los Angeles have community benefits provisions incorporated into their respective development agreements. Many communities across the country are now using the community benefits model. Groups in at least six cities-- Denver, Seattle, Milwaukee, Miami, New York and New Haven—are actively pursuing community benefits agreements.

How Do Community Groups Get a CBA?

At an early stage in the approval process for a development project, a community coalition forms, which may include representatives of the communities affected by the development, local nonprofits, labor unions, environmental groups, and others. Coalition members must discuss their goals and find ways to work together on a shared agenda. The coalition then negotiates with the developer, seeking to persuade the developer to agree to the coalition's agenda. In exchange for the community benefits agreed to by the developer, the community groups promise to support the proposed project before government bodies that provide the necessary permits and subsidies. Once an agreement has been reached, the developer and the coalition members sign the CBA, which lays out the agreement in a legally enforceable way.

Examples of Issues Community Benefit Agreements Can Target:

Housing Business & Economic Development
Employment & Jobs Education
Historic Preservation Community Facilities/Social Services
Arts & Culture Environmental Stewardship/Green Spaces
Transportation Research & Laboratory Activities

Source: Partnership for Working Families www.communitybenefits.org

We Can Do This!

Hi Everyone,

Today, is day one of the effort to increase and improve the communciations of the One Hill Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) process through blogging. The discussion of CBAs can become a little complex, but essentially they are...

"deals between developers and coalitions of community organizations, addressing a broad range of community needs — are safeguards to ensure that affected residents share in the benefits of major developments.They allow community groups to have a voice in shaping a project, to press for community benefits that are tailored to their particular needs, and to enforce developer’s promises." (Community Benefits Agreements-Making Development Projects Accountable)

The One Hill CBA process was begun by the Hill District Consensus Group and Pittsburgh United and is now a body unto itself working to decide what are the key priorities (jobs, housing, children's center, etc,) that we should seek support for with the public dollars being given to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The One Hill CBA meetings are being held on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Hill House Association in the Kaufmann Program Center, so get involved!