Even with housing glut, developers flock to speech by consultant who gives tips on how to limit public opposition to growth

TAMPA — Amid record foreclosures and a glut of unsold homes in the Tampa Bay area, developers and public officials met Thursday to discuss a pressing issue.

What to do with public opposition to even more development?

That's right. More development.

Tampa Bay's chapter of the Urban Land Institute hosted a luncheon titled "America Loves Progress, But Americans Hate Change" that cast growth opponents as an enemy to economic recovery.

The speaker, Tallahassee development consultant Patrick Slevin, said these opponents cost the national economy "billions in lost investment" every year.

Slevin tagged this group with the popular putdown NIMBYs, which stands for "Not in My Back Yard." During the boom, they hardly mattered.

In Hillsborough, for instance, they couldn't stop more than 98,000 homes from getting built since 2000, or another 50,000 that were approved but have yet to break ground.

Bad times and a 2010 ballot measure that would shift major land use decisions from elected officials to voters have raised the profile of activists who oppose projects in the eyes of many developers left with little to do but wait for an economy to turn around. And when it does, Slevin had tips for dealing with the agitators.

First, he said, is communicate better with residents. That means doing stuff like taking them out for coffee to discuss the project.

It can be difficult, though. Slevin described growth opponents as homeowners or activists with a political agenda who want to protect the status quo. In a PowerPoint presentation, Slevin said NIMBYism is caused by a "lack of knowledge, lack of information, gossip/exaggerated fears, frustration with being ignored, negative publicity, misperceptions and a fear of change."

Later, he said they tend to be emotional.

When NIMBYism gets out of hand, political cover evaporates for elected officials stranded at public meetings that devolve into "Jerry Springer" episodes, said Slevin, who was Safety Harbor's mayor from 1995 to 1999 before becoming a consultant.

To avoid this scenario, developers must reach out to another group, he said. This group — the "silent majority" — is composed of middle-class or upper-middle-class homeowners who are often on advisory boards.

"Go to the chamber, Kiwanis Clubs," Slevin said. "These people are natural allies who look at logic and facts rather than the rhetoric you hear from the NIMBYs."

Slevin drew a bigger crowd than usual for the Urban Land Institute's monthly luncheons. Usually 40 to 50 attend. For Slevin, more than 70 showed.

Many were government employees who know all about community opposition.

Cathy Valdes, who is chief facilities officer for the Hillsborough County School District, said she thinks NIMBYism has been on the rise.

"As a society, we've moved away from asking what's good for the community to asking what's good for me," Valdes said.

Developers like W. Stewart Gibbons, president of Connerton, a 4,800-acre, mixed-use, master-planned community in central Pasco County. He said Slevin provided valuable advice on how to limit opposition with better communication.

"It was very topical," Gibbons said. "Communication is key. We have to engage people."

But others in the audience said Slevin went too far in caricaturing a concerned public.

"In a very negative way, you're describing people as NIMBYs who I describe as my constituents," said Tampa City Council member John Dingfelder told Slevin. "A lot of these problems have been caused by developers, lawyers and consultants."

And in the back was a table of residents whom everyone, including they themselves, describe as NIMBYs. They were slightly amused by all the attention.

"My tip to Mr. Slevin," said Kelly Cornelius, a Lithia resident, "is don't let NIMBYs come to your seminar about how to handle NIMBYs."

Michael Van Sickler can be reached at mvansickler@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3402.