Establish an Advisory Committee

At the outset of a neighborhood planning process, the lead community organization should consider inviting experts from the community development and the real estate industry to join the planning effort. Their expertise can produce a stronger community plan and enable even a community organization without development experience to pursue and achieve real estate opportunities.

Community leaders, other non-profit organizations, residents and government officials can bring a deeper understanding of the community’s needs to the planning effort. The plan that emerges will attract broader support by addressing important community goals such as an improved food supply or better health care and prepare the community, through assistance to small business or workforce development, to take advantage of the economic development that a successful plan will ultimately deliver.     

If the lead planning entity has little or no development experience, it should consider asking a developer, realtor, land owner or other real estate professionals to join the community planning effort. Real estate experts can advise the lead community organization on how to approach the owner of a potential development site and position a property for development. Such members can also guide the planning organization on how to acquire land or finance and design a development project.

There are several ways to utilize this new talent. The community organization can create an advisory committee and invite those seeking to plan the development of vacant land and real estate professionals to join it. This can produce lively engagement in the advisory committee between community leaders and real estate interests, which can ultimately produce a balanced community plan with broad support. Alternatively, the lead planning organization can create a real estate subcommittee to the advisory committee that can pursue redevelopment of vacant property.

The challenge of inviting new parties to the planning effort is that all participants must agree on planning goals and how to achieve them.  Responsibilities of each member must be clearly understood and each member should be assigned a role to maintain their engagement. 

If multiple community organizations join the advisory committee, the planning effort can be best managed by independent staff that will not become entangled in the competing interests of advisory board members.