Accurate political intelligence key to securing quick approval for retailer

After securing public approval by a 6-1 margin, the developer was told by one elected official that their project would have been denied if not for the massive show of support and pressure from regular citizens throughout the process.

Background

The developer of an upscale regional shopping center risked losing their key anchor tenant if they were unable to secure a quick and smooth public approval for their project. The key anchor tenant was prepared to join a rival development project if public approval was not secured by a specific date. For the developer, a delay in approval was death to the proposal. The developer and their team had been told by local elected officials that their proposal would sail through the approval process. However, a luke-warm reception by the adjacent neighborhood at a community forum gave the developer cause for concern.

Our Approach

We began by conducting a thorough analysis of the local political landscape and how it would impact the developers project. Our comprehensive Intelligence & Strategy Review revealed key findings for the developer, without anyone knowing that we were operating in the community.

Our on the ground research revealed that the local elected officials were not solidly behind the developers proposal, as initially thought. Our expertise gathering political intelligence revealed that, despite what the developer had heard from their local lobbyist, a majority of the decision making body actually had reservations about the proposal. The elected officials were fearful that when the size of the proposal and requested tax rebates for the developer became widely known, many of their constituents would not support the proposal and a public backlash could ensue.

Our intelligence gathering also uncovered a group of residents in the adjacent community that were preparing to fight the proposed development. The opponents were organized, smart and well funded. They had reasoned land use arguments against the proposed development, had begun conducting grassroots outreach to the neighborhood with a plan to contact the entire municipality and they were preparing to hire an attorney to help them fight the proposal. All of this was new information to the developer.

Land Use Experts developed a successful plan to secure a quick and smooth public approval of the shopping center. We began by organizing natural allies of the proposal and combining their support with that of regular citizens through grassroots outreach efforts. Turning these supporters into an organized community group in favor of the developers proposal, we were able to apply political pressure on decision makers at key points in the process. In addition, our supportive community group was able to provide political cover to decision makers by responding to opposition arguments without a press release directly from the developer.

Throughout the process, we maintained a relationship with the opponents that allowed us to know what they were going to do before they did it – this allowed us to advise the client on minor changes to their proposal that removed major arguments from the opposition arsenal.