NIMBY muscle grows

Community groups opposing development are gaining strength - and finding some unlikely allies.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writerOctober 22 2007: 3:50 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Opposition to development has become a growth industry.

First came the so-called NIMBYs (for "not in my backyard"), who are usually homeowners that oppose sprawling mega-malls and factories and plants near their residences.

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Now they've been joined by two other acronyms, according to Patrick Fox, president of Saint Consulting Group, which helps steer developers through the approval process. They are BANANAs ("build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone") and CAVE people ("citizens against virtually everything").

According to a new poll by Saint of a thousand people nationwide, 78 percent of Americans oppose any new development in their communities, up from 73 percent last year. One in four respondents said they actually took a part in some action against a project.

And many are succeeding. Ned Sullivan is president of Scenic Hudson, which was part of a community group coalition that spent many "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to fight a proposed cement plant on the Hudson River in Upstate New York.

The battle began in the late 1990s and did not conclude until the company, St. Lawrence Cement, withdrew its plant application in 2005. During those years "Stop the Plant" lawn signs sprouted all around the counties affected, countless hearings were attended, experts engaged, studies done, legal briefs filed and constant lobbying undertaken.

Ordinary citizens find that kind of effort exhausting. Sullivan said, "People can only put so much energy into it. [The developers] have huge resources and a long time horizon."

Fight gets easier

Recent factors have tipped the balance in favor of the NIMBYs. A solid economy takes away a prime reason communities court development - new jobs.

Lifestyle choices also factor in, especially attracting the elite, who may dislike their million-dollar views spoiled by smokestacks.

And past successes have mobilized the citizenry by encouraging them to feel they can fight city hall.

The Saint surveyreports that gambling casinos and landfills are the most unpopular developments with residents; 76 percent oppose them in their communities. Other no-nos include quarries (64 percent against), Wal-Mart (61 percent) and big malls (58 percent). Power plants draw less opposition (57 percent) as do department stores (52 percent).

Single family home development (approval rate, 83 percent) and grocery stores (69 percent) draw mostly thumbs up from residents.

But sometimes, Fox allows, even sound projects get derailed in the process. "Good projects are dying every day," Fox said. "I have even seen really dilapidated, blighted blocks where neighbors come out to oppose developments."

Leveling the field even more

And now a surprising ally for the opposition has emerged according to Fox: The financial, organizational and technical support for battling development often comes courtesy of...other developers.

Fox should know - he works both sides of the fence. "I'm stopping my clients' competitors from building down the road," Fox said. This is done clandestinely; the community groups don't know who is sponsoring their efforts.

He doesn't apologize on behalf of his clients for what some would judge as anti-competitive interference. Fox sees it as a necessary business practice. "They'd be crazy if they didn't do it," he said. 

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