Community engagement is a necessary part of the development process that cannot be overlooked. Community engagement in an ongoing process, not a one-time thing, it should also be a two-way conversation. The following guiding principles are important to follow when committing to a strong community engagement process.
Meaningful
The community engagement process should be more than just a one-way relationship. Avoid public engagement which is only providing information, and allow the ability for the public to give feedback before the decisions are made. It’s important to note that not all feedback will be constructive, or may be things that are out of your control. In these situations, try to communicate your position without the use of technical language and respect the person’s concerns. When people feel their opinions are being respected their feedback is being valued, people are more likely to support your development.
Manage Expectations
The majority of the negative feedback received on a development project is the fear of change and the unknown. When you can effectively manage expectations for the development, you can reduce people’s fears. One other issue you may run into with public consultation is with regard to implementing the community’s ideas. Many people quickly jump directly to very granular parts of the development, such as solar panels or number of parking spots, before things like the number of affordable units. Its important to be able to manage people’s expectations regarding their input, explaining why some things are not feasible for the project within the budget.
Transparency
It is important to be transparent with all stakeholders throughout the development process. A lack of transparency with city planners or council, future tenants, or community organizations will only hurt the project further down the line and create hostility towards your development.
Inclusive
Consider how you will engage a diversity of people and reduce barriers to participation in the engagement process. The fewer barriers to participation, the better representation of the community you will engage in, as opposed to only receiving feedback from people who have the strongest opinions, or those who have the most free time. The main barriers that impact people ability to participate include:
- Physical – for people with mobility issues, you must ensure that all open houses are held in accessible buildings, as well as providing alternative online options for those who cannot attend in person.
- Time – when choosing the time of holding community engagement consider when people have work, school, and other activities, try to plan the timing of your engagement around this to meet people at times that are convenient for them.
- Geographical – an important distinction in community engaging is that you should engage the community where it is, and not have them come to you. An example of this is holding open houses in community centers, religious buildings, or other meeting places when people are already going to be there, opposed to asking people to come to you when and where its most convenient for you.
- Technological – providing online options for public participation can have many benefits for reaching a larger audience of people, especially younger, using social media campaigns and advertising. However, it’s important to also provide traditional forms of participation such as open houses and mail surveys to reach audiences who do not have access to technology or do not use it as a primary source of information.
- Linguistic – it is important to provide information in not only both official languages but also in additional languages that are used in the community of your project. If you are holding an open house, having a translator on site could be an effective way to include those who are not English first language. Consider using visual forms of communication such as drawings, pictures and graphs, as well as avoid using technical language.
Key Actors to Engage
Community Organizations
Community organizations can have a strong impact on the decision-making process as they can influence the decisions of city councilors. Community organizations can be your biggest supporters or you’re your biggest stumbling block. On one hand, community organizations may welcome affordable housing into their neighbourhood and be instrumental in advocating for your project to city council, and even support it financially. On the other hand, sometimes they may be against new developments in their neighbourhoods. They sometimes fear how changes could impact the community’s character, demographics, aesthetic and so on.
Neighbours
When engaging with neighbours it’s important to keep in mind that they will be affected most by your new development. Things that seem insignificant in the scope of your whole project (for example shadowing), are likely to be incredibly important to your neighbours. It is also common for neighbours to have a misconception regarding affordable housing, as it is stigmatized and believe that it will have negative impacts on their community. Neighbours are also often very worried about how their property values will be affected, as for the majority of people have most of their savings tied to their home. When development applications are appealed by neighbours, it will typically be on the basis of parking, traffic density, or neighbourhood character, as complaints against affordable housing itself are not valid grounds for appeal.
Future Tenants
Engaging future tenants is essential, especially in affordable housing where tenants typically have more needs than those in market development. Future tenants can be reached in several ways such as open houses or through other organisations that are currently working with people in your community. If your organisation already has tenants in other buildings, you can also incorporate their feedback into your development plans.
City Councillors
It is very important to engage with city councillors as early in the process as possible. City councillors are the ones that will ultimately make the decision on approving or rejecting your development project and therefore it is essential to form a positive relationship. City Councillors should be engaged with as early as the concept stage, as you want to get the council of your ward to support your project, so that they can convince the other councils to vote in favour. A city councillor that feels involved in your project is more likely to put in the effort on your behalf to get your project off the ground.
City Planners
The role of city planners is to determine whether your development application is in line with the zoning, and official plans. Therefore, city planners should be engaged very early in the process, to make sure that your project is in line with the city’s goals. City planners are also the ones who provide professional advice to council to make a decision on your development, without their support, you will have a difficult time getting anything done. The better your relationship with city planners the more likely that you will be able to negotiate for minor variances such as parking requirements and height, without requiring an amendment to the Official Plan.