Tools:
Community Benefits Agreements + Targeted / First-Source Hiring

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are complex multi-party contracts that result from negotiations triggered, often, by government or municipal requirements for developers. They often can fall within a project’s Equitable Development Plan. Usually, community-driven requirements in the agreement will include local hiring requirements including job training, living wages, and targeted / first-source hiring.

Targeted / First-Source Hiring stipulates that a project workforce should have a percentage of people from a defined population, often local and/or underrepresented in the workforce. If enforced, these can ensure that the job growth benefits of new construction are focused on surrounding communities through workforce contracts.

Both CBAs and hiring criteria vary based on municipal regulations and can be either mandatory or voluntary (e.g. voluntary agreements usually for smaller private development projects). Not all municipalities have requirements, and they can vary further in the types of project they are applied to as well as how they are enforced. However, CBAs have gained traction in many cities and Landscape Architects can incorporate CBAs into RFP responses and collaborate with local community development groups to utilize this tool and negotiate impactful terms.

 

Case Study

11th Street Bridge Park (Washington DC), Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR), + Skyland Workforce Center

In alignment with Washington DC regulations which state that all government funded contracts totaling $300k or must enter into a First Source Employment Agreement with the Department of Employment Services, BBAR relied on the Skyland Workforce Center to train and help hire local community members from Anacostia for construction and other related jobs to build the 11th Street Bridge Park. Furthermore, BBAR prioritized local hiring in its Equitable Development Plan which leveraged many community benefits with development of the park.

Building Bridges Across the River. Accessed 10 Apr. 2022. “11th Street Bridge Park’s Equitable Development Plan, 2018.”