Engaging Stakeholders

Introduction

Intentional community and resident engagement is an essential aspect of preserving small to medium multifamily (SMMF) properties and can be an effective tool to increase social equity in the process. Engagement focuses on building relationships, trust and, ultimately, partnership with residents and community members, and organizations in the surrounding neighborhood. This brief discusses some considerations for planning and undertaking these engagement activities.

The housing industry is heavily influenced by historic policies and practices that marginalized lower income and BIPOC communities in development decisions and continue to shape housing options in neighborhoods. Effective engagement practices can play a part in repairing some of these past and ongoing harms.

Well planned and executed community and resident engagement can also bring substantial benefits to owners and developers in helping to identify and understand properties, reducing the negative impacts of rehabilitation, and improving property operation. These are discussed in more detail below.

Defining Your Engagement Approach

In planning your approach to engagement, you can use the principals set forth in the International Association for Public Participation’s spectrum of public participation. This spectrum highlights the goals and promises on a range of engagement types.

The goal of the IAP2 spectrum is to define the various ways that stakeholders can be engaged to participate in a process. The spectrum ranges from informing the public of what is happening with limited room for input, to empowering, in which stakeholders become leading partners in the process.While increased levels of engagement can be valuable and should be explored, they are not always feasible or appropriate for every development or process. However, even in situations with limited opportunities for collaboration and empowerment, the development team can still work to establish an information sharing approach that cultivates relationships and trust with impacted residents or those within vicinity of development activities. To learn more about the IAP2 body of work, explore the Public Participation Pillars brochure here.

Defining a communication approach should be your first step in planning engagement. It is important to consider the following:

• Transparency  –  Be as clear and forthcoming with stakeholders about the preservation process as possible. This assists with building trust and mitigating suspicions about your or others’ motivations and enables them to understand the implications and impacts the process may have on them.

• Inclusivity  –  Approaching engagement with the goal of being as inclusive and accessible as possible will impact the number of folks ultimately reached.

• Accessibility  –  This plan should ensure that the process is accessible to residents and community members by proactively addressing the needs of various populations that may not be readily apparent. Consider communication options for residents who may be differently abled, speak different languages or have limited access or knowledge of technology.

• Follow-through –  Ensure there is a plan to follow through on what is learned through engagement and/or that expectations are managed through engagement about what can be accomplished given the constraints in the process.

Engaging Residents for SMMF Preservation

Engaging existing residents of the property to be preserved is a key component of relationship and trust building. The preservation process can be a difficult time for residents, as they may be concerned about the future of their homes as well as the impact of construction on their lives.Developers and/or potential owners can foster a sense of stability and safety through thoughtful engagement. To effectively engage existing residents, clear messaging and ongoing communication will be critical, particularly for small-scale development focused on acquisition of at-risk properties. This includes unsubsidized affordable properties, which usually do not provide many opportunities for engagement.

Benefits of Resident Engagement

Engagement is the foundation for your relationship with the residents, providing the basis from which you will connect with one another both during the rehab process, as well as throughout ongoing building operations and management. As the new owner or developer, you can leverage the existing knowledge of residents to better understand your new property. Resident engagement prior to acquisition (where possible) helps a developer learn important information about current challenges, demographics, and priorities that impact the direction and feasibility of a project.While engagement prior to acquisition may not be possible unless working closely with local community organizers or other community stakeholders, after acquisition input can shape the project to be responsive to the current needs of the building’s residents, as well as to shape operations in a way that is responsive to their realities and addresses any previous challenges at improvements to consider.

Resident engagement also provides an opportunity to learn about otherwise unknown/unrecorded local, building and site history that could impact the project; including items such as environmental or health/safety concerns, operational concerns or successes with past owners, and broader community engagement history with the property.

Thoughtful engagement, and responsiveness to information learned, can also improve resident stewardship of the building. This stewardship supports a healthy and thriving home, creates an environment of quality affordable housing, and can have positive impacts on items such as maintenance issues for example. Key to this result, however, is acting upon information received from residents, and continuing two-way communication beyond acquisition and initial rehab. Strong relationship building also provides a foundation from which to respond to challenges, such as in the event of an emergency or disaster, which requires coordination with residents. For example, if emergency assistance is required, both the resident and owner must work together to apply. In the wake of an emergency, coordination with residents is crucial. Having an existing relationship with residents can ease the difficulties of that process. Resident partnership may also be needed for applications for public subsidies, or in the event of seeking public approvals.

Resident engagement can also minimize the negative impact on the community fabric, through supporting the strengthening and maintenance of social capital. Social Capital are the bonds of community that in myriad ways enrich the lives of its members. In preserving an affordable property with existing residents, care must be taken, especially when rehab requires relocation, to support relationships and support systems built. When social fabric starts to erode as a result of development and/or displacement, it puts a larger and increasing number of residents at risk. Residents not only loose access to reasonable housing, but also the social, economic and cultural institutions they rely on. Affordable housing can be one part of the stabilization of a community’s neighborhood and its members. Furthermore, thoughtful investment and/or partnership, can reinforce those existing systems that support residents.Preserving affordable housing, and stabilizing residents, can sustain the ecosystem of a place and the way it works. Through intentional resident engagement, you can gain insight and understand the larger impacts of your investment and provide residents a sense of control over their community.

Resident Engagement and Rehabilitation

As discussed in other sections of this toolkit, when acquiring and preserving an affordable, unsubsidized property, there is an increased likelihood that it will need rehabilitation. If a building does require rehab, the improvements can be as minor as finishes or as invasive as gut renovations. This level of work could require residents to be relocated for the duration of the work. Rehabilitation is an important aspect of Enterprise’s housing bundle framework, which captures the housing-related factors that impact residents. Quality improvements can make apartments not only aesthetically pleasing, but safer, healthier, and sustainable. It can also make apartments more suitable for aging in place for senior residents or ADA compatible.

Best practices for Rehabilitation

If your property needs rehabilitation here are a few things to consider:

When planning rehabilitation activities, think about ways to diminish impact on residents and neighbors. This can mean a rehabilitation plan that prioritizes stabilization, and therefore performs updates on a unit-by-unit basis to minimize disruption and relocation. Or perhaps a larger rehabilitation that is quicker and gets residents returned to their normal routine faster. Review the Rehabilitation brief for detailed guidance on these options and considerations.

Whichever route is chosen, the most important aspect of the rehabilitation process is communication with residents and community. Informing those impacted of the potential timeline and what to expect can help ease the tension around rehabilitation. It is also an opportunity to engage residents to understand their preferences and the potential impacts of the rehabilitation on their lives.

In addition to communicating with residents to keep them informed, another best practice is education.Educating residents regarding health and safety issues that rehab aims to address can assist in building trust through transparency. It is also an opportunity to inform residents of any signs they should be aware of, such as signs of mold or pest infestations, and when to report to management. As highlighted above, communication is a key aspect in helping residents feel supported. It is important to clearly communicate information around timelines and desired outcomes with rehabilitation. There are various approaches to communication with residents, and you must consider which approaches align with your project.

Resident Support during relocation

Critical during a relocation process is both minimizing impacts on residents’ lives, as well as providing support and access to services as needed throughout the process.Supporting residents in maintaining connection to their community may include schools, employment, food access, and other needed services.

Identifying alternate housing is a key aspect for resident relocation. There are various approaches to coordinating relocation. Whether you leverage units existing within your portfolio or coordinate with other owners, resident needs, and experience should be central to decision making. Once temporary housing is identified and secured, residents need support with moving and maintaining access to required services. While this may be the responsibility of the owner/ developer, partnering with an organization that specializes in this aspect may ensure the best outcome.

Under HUD’s Uniform Relocation Assistance law, residents displaced due to no fault of their own must be compensated and supported with moving. This law applies to most federally funded projects. Protections for residents include adequate notice, provision of relocation advisory services, reimbursement for moving expenses and providing payments for additional cost of replacement housing. To learn more about HUD’s requirements check out their overview located here. In addition to federal requirements, it is also important to understand the state and local policies that may require additional supports.

In some areas there may be opportunities to partner with the local government to set up a resident relocation fund.This option can further assist in easing the burden on the resident and may provide additional benefits including establishing trust and providing a sense of sovereignty.

If multiple housing options are available in the area, the owner should survey residents to understand their relocation needs and preferences. This will provide insight that will assist with placement for residents. It will also signal to residents that their needs and concerns are being considered.

Finally, leveraging your relationships in this process can be beneficial in numerous ways. First, it is an opportunity to build stronger bonds with other mission-minded affordable housing providers. Second, your organization can gain capacity through partnering and learn new approaches and best practices.

Resident engagement can be a nuanced process but is worth the investment of time and resources. If this is an area that your organization does not specialize in, it is an excellent opportunity to partner with a longstanding group that has ties within the community. Resident engagement is a pillar in creating equity in the preservation of affordable SMMF homes and should be considered essential to the process.

Engaging the Broader Community for SMMF Preservation

The stakeholders involved go beyond current and future residents of the development – they also include immediate neighbors and the broader community. These groups will be impacted by both the disruptions caused by construction and the benefits of the preserved SMMF property.

In addition, there have been many policy decisions and lending practices that have systemically neglected neighborhoods and led to disinvestment. Even today, the real estate development process often treats community engagement as an afterthought or checkbox item. Thoughtful community engagement practices in areas that show signs of institutional disinvestment allow mission-driven developers to gain a fuller understanding of needs, create a foundation for a positive relationship with neighborhood residents, and help build a reputation amongst community organizations and leaders. By leading with community engagement to guide investment, there is an opportunity to meaningfully support the community and ensure preservation advances racial and social equity.

Benefits and Risks of Community Engagement

Engagement can lead to many benefits in the preservation process including building trust with residents, learning unrecorded history that impacts the preservation site, and creating an inclusive vision for the site that aligns with the culture, values and aesthetics of the neighborhood. Through engagement you can:

• Identify the character-defining aspects of the neighborhood and buildings to help inform design choices for your project.

• Understand the relationship between local development standards [public and private enforcement] and their impacts on neighborhood conditions.

• Gain a preliminary assessment of building code, health and safety, and energy standard considerations for your project.

• Gain understanding of any past challenges related to the property that may need to be mitigated.

• Build relationships with owners of existing, nearby housing developments, that may either ultimately seek a development partner or plan to sell their property.

• Expand your network of local contractors and other building trades professionals that could become partners during construction and/or for ongoing maintenance needs. This can also help advance local and minority-owned contractor hiring goals.

• Gain assistance in procuring public funding sources that require a certain level of engagement or benefit from community partners.

• Build coalitions and support affordable preservation advocacy efforts. 

While community engagement is generally beneficial, it is important to understand the role it plays in your particular project.There are potential tradeoffs, or even obstacles, involving community engagement that should be understood in advance.

For example, if engaging residents of a nearby neighborhood about the preservation is likely to result in opposition to the preservation and you are not well equipped to build buy-in with this group, engaging this group may present significant risks. However, this kind of opposition is more common with new construction. When preserving SMMF properties, it is more likely that you will encounter vocal support from neighbors who look forward to the improvements you will make to an existing neighborhood asset.

Another challenge that is more commonly encountered in preservation is failure to manage expectations about what can be accomplished, given limited time and budget. Learning that there will be a new investment in the property may generate a wide range of ideas about what improvements and repairs will be made. Inevitably, only some of these will be feasible. Thus, care must be taken in engagement to help stakeholders understand what is feasible so that the result is excitement about what can be done rather than disappointment with what can’t.