Political approval analysis
Whether you are exploring your options, currently in due diligence or already have a site under contract, we will study the city council, city staff, community leadership and the surrounding neighborhood to develop a profile identifying the most important issues affecting community acceptance of your proposed project.
Community influence structure analysis
It’s no longer sufficient to know elected officials and city staff. People and groups in the community can have significant influence on the political approval process. A process that includes interviews and surveys with community leaders will uncover who is behind-the-scenes and has the power to influence the decision, and will help you understand their motivations and hot-button issues.
Project approval strategy
Project delays mean increased development costs. Change to allowable housing densities and mandated features can put a viable project under water. More costly are the impacts on your operations from constrained production and lost revenue opportunities. What will it take to reach the community effectively and mollify the opposition? Who needs to be involved, and what needs to happen by when? Skipping steps is risky, and can further prolong approval. We will work with you to develop and manage a thorough strategy and spot opportunities to remove neighborhood and community opposition as a barrier to smooth and expedient approval.
Develop the necessary relationships
Members of the city council, appointed commissioners, city staff, neighborhood and community leaders, or any other stakeholders—you need to know them all and be able to work with them effectively. We will make sure you know the key players, that you understand their perspectives, that you engage in constructive dialog leading to trust, and that you have a sustained positive presence in the community.
Neighborhood outreach and community meetings
Positive information can garner support, or at least overcome opposition, but when information is lacking, people will frequently fill the vacuum with worse-case scenarios. Whether it’s developing the strategy, organizing one on one meetings, knocking on doors, presentations to neighborhood groups, or hosting community meetings about your project, we will help you every step of the way to make sure you are covering the bases with factual messages that are mindful of community perspectives, resulting in greater trust and community acceptance of your project.
Endorsements
The broader the apparent support for a project, the easier it will be for the political decision makers to say “Yes”. We will identify organizations that are good targets for support, and drive the process to get endorsement letters, plus public testimony to counteract the opposition and NIMBY voices.
Public hearing turnout
We will turn out supporters who will increase the chances of an enthusiastic “thumbs up” for your project.
Public hearing messaging
We will help craft a winning message to get your project over the finish line at hearing time.
Written communication materials
Project descriptions, fact sheets, brochures, web site content, blog posts—you name it. You need a skilled communicator from KMTC to ensure your message gets through to your audiences and garners support for your project.
Media relations
It’s easy to squander good will with one bad quote in the news. Dealing with the media requires expertise. Look to us to support your project-related media and crisis communication needs so that media attention does not become a barrier to project approval.
