The City of Cleveland recognizes its unique role in ensuring that development projects directly benefit the communities in which they are built and that public dollars benefit the entire community, including historically underrepresented minorities, women, and small businesses. While the baseline for a CBA includes meeting the MBE/FBE/CSB and local workforce targets the City has required for years, we believe a strong CBA can build from that base and help impact our City in a myriad of other ways. Investing time to discuss community benefits early in the project can create a more meaningful and impactful project for the community, the developer, and the City.
The City of Cleveland has designated two types of Community Benefits Agreements - Standard CBA and Expanded CBA.
A Standard CBA is for all projects receiving $250,000 or more in City assistance and under $20 million in total cost (including residential tax abatements for projects under $75 million); the CBO outlines a set of mandatory community benefits.
An Expanded CBA is for all projects receiving $250,000 or more in City assistance with a project cost of over $20 million (including residential tax abatement projects over $75 million in total cost). An Expanded CBA consist of the mandatory community benefits listed in the Standard CBA; it must also be coupled with additional community benefits to be considered for legislative approval. The CBO provides a great deal of flexibility in determining the appropriate additional community benefits related to the project. The CBO offers categories, suggested considerations of additional community benefits, and associated requirements that must be met.
Based on the CBO, City Council will not approve any development project incentives, nor can the City close on any incentive agreements or contracts until all community benefits are agreed upon. Therefore, the preference is to begin the conversation about community benefits early in the process; however, the Administration will not engage in the process until the Developer has a firm development project that will move forward.
It is critical that The Developer does not begin construction on the project until both the project incentives and community benefits have been fully approved. Doing so may result in the City disapproving or pulling back the incentive.
The purpose of this document is to summarize the specific objectives the Applicant is committing to in its Community Benefits Plan (CBP) in quantifiable and/or measurable terms with S.M.A.R.T. milestones – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely – and timelines wherever possible. If the SMART method is not applied, the application may be rescinded. Applicants are strongly encouraged to clearly and concisely respond to each answer in the space provided.
For example, in response to your plan to provide internship opportunities to City of Cleveland residents, here's how you can answer using S.M.A.R.T. milestones:
"John Doe Development, Inc. plans to provide internship opportunities to two (2) City of Cleveland Residents who are currently enrolled as students at Tri-C (Specific) for a total of 50 workable hours at the pay rate of $20 per hour (Measurable). The goal is to have hired the intern by the start of construction (Achievable). The selected Interns will assist the Development team with fulfilling other required elements of the CBA, like planning and organizing Community Stakeholder Meetings and compliance reporting, while providing the Intern with the ability to enhance their soft skill set that is transferrable and can be valuable to them once they have completed their program and have entered into the workforce as professionals (Relevant). Once the Interns have successfully fulfilled their 50 workable hours, if the opportunity presents itself for future employment, we would like to give them first consideration to become official members of our team here at Neighborhood Family Practice. (Timely)."
** Before meeting with the Administration, the Developer should have: **
Thank you for your interest in developing the various communities of Cleveland!
The City of Cleveland understands that a strong and vibrant economy is crucial for a city's growth and prosperity. Therefore, the Mayor's Office of Equal Opportunity acknowledges its unique responsibility to ensure that development projects directly impact the communities where they are built. Additionally, it aims to ensure that public funds benefit the entire community and historically underrepresented minorities and women are given opportunities to participate in the City of Cleveland's economy through building and construction trades and professional services.
In order to initiate the development process, it is advised that the Developer arrange a meeting with either the Department of Economic Development or the Department of Community Development. The Developer needs to have a well-defined project proforma, site plan, and development timeline before requesting a meeting with the administration. Doing so will enable the Administration to make well-informed decisions and facilitate a seamless and successful development process. The proposed terms of the development project will be subject to a thorough review by the respective department staff, who will subsequently determine whether or not to proceed with the incentive allocation process.
Please contact the appropriate department before submitting your Community Benefits Plan to the Mayor's Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO). Adhering to this procedure will help ensure your submission is processed efficiently and eliminate additional unnecessary delays.
The Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity does not control the timing of your project.
Thank you for your attention on this matter. We are eager to hear from you to discuss growing the City of Cleveland in a fair, inclusive, and equitable way.