I’ve been working on one particular client project for nearly a decade and a half. The project is (obviously) long-term, the stakes are enormous, and so are the community challenges. The public/stakeholder group that I facilitate recently crafted and finalized a formal Good Neighbor Agreement that spells out enforceable ways that the proponent and community will work together and treat each other for the expected 60+ year life of the project.

This was a hard fought effort and the details and nuances of how we got here is a lengthier explanation than this little blog has space for. It’s a novel accomplishment and one that I think can serve as a model for how complex, controversial projects and communities will both get what they want and need in the future. Another somewhat similar example can be found in the following community benefit agreement (CBA).