It’s no secret that new development and changes within neighborhoods are controversial. The latest wave of technology business growth in the Bay Area is leading to demand for new offices, homes, schools, and more—and this growth is creating tension. Some people view these changes as threatening the lifestyle to which they are accustomed. And yet, change is inevitable and exciting. The question is how to work with the community to move forward in a way that maintains both a strong economy and a high quality of life.

The key to success is to reach out, communicate, and move projects forward with the community in mind. It’s no longer just about access to decision-makers. The “win” is in authentic community engagement, developing trust, and making a positive difference in the communities where we live and work.

With KM Thibodeaux Consulting on your team, you will get to “Yes” faster with the right people on your side.

Practice Areas

Housing & Mixed-Use Development Approvals

With so much anti-development pressure in local communities, the challenges of housing development approval have become more difficult. Overcoming resistance and winning support for new housing developments requires skills that go beyond presenting the project at a community meeting or a hearing. Today’s developers must know the community and the neighborhood deeply, know what issues are truly important, and they must be as responsive and sensitive as possible in their approach to community engagement and building trust. Ability to deliver in these areas sets KMTC apart. Plus, this important work is hard to do yourself if you are based a long distance from the community in which you want to develop, face a particularly challenging situation, or have just plain too much on your plate. What we do…

Corporate Campus Approvals

Expanding companies need room to grow, and they need it yesterday. They can neither wait for local government policy to work in their favor, nor expect hesitant local officials to give them the keys to the city when neighbors are screaming “No”. Getting through that challenge requires skills that go well beyond acquiring or developing a new building. It’s about deeper community engagement and commitment than was needed in the past.  Bringing the local government & community relations expertise of KMTC to your team can make all the difference in a strategy for Getting to “Yes”. What we do…

Private & Charter School Site Approvals

Everyone talks about the need for high quality K-12 education, but when a charter or private school is proposed in a neighborhood, it often becomes “Yes, but not here”. Neighbors raise concerns about traffic, compatibility with surrounding uses, impacts on the local public schools and a host of other issues, and can delay or stop private and charter schools from finding new homes or expanding in new areas. The resistance frequently results from lack of information and poor or insufficient communication and community engagement and genuine trust-building. Schools seeking new sites need the local government and community relations expertise that KMTC provides. What we do…

Issue Advocacy

Whether it’s securing a contract for city services, getting the city to expand infrastructure, or fighting a regulatory proposal that could harm your business and be bad for the broader community, you need KM Thibodeaux Consulting on your team to help you achieve your desired result. What we do…