Community benefit agreements can be utilized as a tool to help industries and communities work together for mutual benefit. Through a process that enhances engagement and aligns values, industries and communities can cultivate mutual support and strengthen their resiliency (Patterson et al., 2017; Gross, et al. 2005; Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity, 2024). These economic and community development tools can increase both industry sustainability and community capacity. Enhancing community capacity to host industries workforce and business support needs is paramount to existing and incoming economic development activities across Nevada.
This fact sheet pertains to community benefit agreements and explores how agencies, industries and communities can leverage this dynamic tool. It is the second fact sheet in this Economic and Community Development Education Series. For an introduction to these agreements, examples and best practices, see the first fact sheet of this series (Allen, 2025), as detailed in the “Extension” section of this publication.
Who Can Help
State Government Agencies
Nevada is a large and diverse state with a mix of urban, rural, frontier and tribal communities. Resources, subject matter experts, local skills and community capacity vary significantly across the state. Developing community capacity can be an important and valuable benefit from the agreement process; however, limited-capacity communities may require guidance and assistance in navigating and maximizing agreement development. The quality of the agreement matters (Cascadden et al. 2021); therefore, state level community benefit agreement resources and guidance could benefit Nevada’s underserved and reduce capacity communities. Such guidance could increase mutually sustainable communities and economies across the state.
California, Connecticut, Maine and Michigan provide examples of states that require community benefit agreements for specific projects (Sotolongo, 2024). States such as Nevada could consider mandating community benefit agreements for projects on public lands and/or those receiving tax abatements or other financial incentives. Alternatively, individual state offices and commissions could evaluate suitability of adoption of these agreements into their administrative policies and regulations. Examples in Nevada could include the Nevada Public Utility Commission for energy projects, Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources for mining projects, Governor’s Office of Economic Development for data centers receiving tax abatements, etc.
Local Government Agencies
Local jurisdictions can play a crucial role in the adoption of community benefit agreements by incorporating specific criteria that increases direct community benefit and public support of economic development projects. There are multiple potential pathways to incorporate the agreements into local processes, including mandatory and voluntary participation.
For voluntary community benefit agreements, one potential consideration is the creation of a permit application ranking process. Preference points might be awarded for projects incorporating voluntary agreements that demonstrate public support and direct community benefits.
Mandatory community benefit agreements could be developed within county, city or town processes, such as a policy or ordinance. These processes would ideally incorporate a multidepartment and interagency workgroup (Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity, 2024; Cascadden et al. 2021). Work group members could include multidisciplinary specialists representing permitting, building and planning, municipal attorneys, community development, economic development, public health, natural resources, sustainability, or other relevant experts to inform the collective efforts.
Many local governments utilize development agreements, which are contracts between a developer and the local government. These differ from community benefit agreements which include community groups and representatives in their creation. Development agreements and community benefit agreements can be utilized together, with community benefit agreements being embedded into development agreement (Jansen-Jansen & van der Veen, 2017). To ensure that the community benefit agreements would transfer with the future sale of the project, it would be important for municipalities to work with their legal department on desired language.
In addition to requiring community benefit agreements, local permitting agencies can also adopt requirements for content within the community benefit agreements. Learning from other municipalities can be useful. The City of Cleveland provides comprehensive online information, including examples and resources, for consideration. They had 10 years of community benefit agreements use prior to adopting their Community Benefit Ordinance (Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunities, 2024).
Jurisdictions can prioritize benefits within their agreement process, as the City of Cleveland has done (Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunities, 2024). However, it is important to base such priorities on a formal community needs assessment. Such an assessment can be conducted in partnership with local agencies (coalitions, Extension, etc.) to inform the efforts of the municipality and work group.
Community Agencies
In the absence of policies or ordinances, community agencies may initiate these agreements with incoming projects, or they may actively seek developers to bring specific projects offering priority benefits to their communities. Community groups can initiate and use an agreement to address concerns with project owners in a productive way (Stephan, 2022).
Developers and Project Owners
Like community agencies, developers and project owners can initiate community benefit agreements with impacted and host communities. Developers can seek project-friendly communities, with the offer of an agreement, prior to selecting their location, as was done with a natural gas project in Maine (Department of Energy, 2017). Developers can also voluntarily utilize the agreements prior to the permit process, garnering public support and the social license to operate, which may expedite approvals and improve project economics.
There are many benefits to developers and project owners initiating these agreements with impacted communities. They incorporate transparency, goodwill and collaboration, while acknowledging that projects and communities are interconnected. Development impacts the resilience and capacity of communities, which in turn impacts the project’s bottom line and sustainability.
Extension
University of Nevada, Reno Extension provides community education, frequently in the form of presentations, workshops and publications. However, collaborations with public and private agencies can result in research development and delivery of creative programs to meet the critical needs of Nevada’s industries, communities, counties, and state.
To begin, an introduction to basic concepts may be helpful for community benefit agreement work group representatives, including developers’ community representatives and government municipalities. A full-day, in-person, workshop could provide foundational information to launch the work group’s collective efforts, to include:
- Introduction to Community Benefit Agreements (University of Nevada, Reno Extension)
- Best Practices Criteria - includes creating sample provisions (University of Nevada, Reno Extension)
- Introduction to Permitting Processes (relevant government agency)
- Introduction to Development Agreements (relevant government agency)
- Small and Large Group Work for Solution Development (University of Nevada, Reno Extension + relevant government agency)
In addition to providing educational workshops, University of Nevada, Reno Extension also provides a library of resources addressing a range of topics relevant to Nevadans. Specifically, this Economic and Community Development Education Series offers multiple publications relevant to this topic. Three related publications may be of particular interest to the reader, providing additional resources on community benefit agreements, permit ranking, and energy development (i.e. agrivoltaics, ecovoltaics). They are searchable through the link below, by author name.
- Extension library
- Community Benefit Agreements: Enhancing Engagement and Aligning Values Between Nevada’s Communities and Industries (Economic and Community Development Education Series, No. 1) (Allen, 2025). This fact sheet is the first of the series, providing an overview of community benefit agreements and applications across private and public land projects. It includes agreement resources and examples of real world provisions.
- Community Benefit Agreements: Engaging Communities and Industries for Mutual Benefits (Economic and Community Development Education Series, No. 3) (Allen, 2025). This fact sheet is third in the series, providing an overview of these agreements in an easy to read two-page handout-style document that can be used as a companion resource in conjunction with the first and second fact sheets of this series.
- Pathways to Agrivoltaic and Ecovoltaic System Adoption in Nevada Counties (Economic and Community Development Education Series, No. 4) (Allen & Morris, 2025) This fact sheet is the fourth of the series, providing considerations for Nevada counties as they prioritize sustainable and responsible energy development through permitting processes. It includes concepts pertaining to co-priority solar projects, such as agrivoltaics and ecovoltaics, and community benefit agreements.
Additional Resources for Best Practices
Creating best practices for Nevada’s use of community benefit agreements can be guided by the vast array of previous research and literature. Here are a few resources to guide this collective work:
- Community Benefits Agreements Database: The Columbia Law School, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, hosts publicly available community benefit agreements for over 12 industry categories (Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, 2025).
- Community Benefits Resource Guide: The City of Cleveland, Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity, has comprehensive online documentation regarding their Community Benefits Ordinance, which includes their historical use of community benefit agreements, policy details and process. (Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity, 2024).
- Best Practices for Impact Benefit Agreements: a peer-reviewed journal article that incorporates community benefit agreements best practices and a checklist for parties to incorporate (Cascadden et al., 2021).
Challenges and Gaps
Several challenges can impede the successful implementation of community benefit agreements. One significant hurdle is ensuring that community representatives are truly representative of the diverse interests and needs within the community (Sotolongo, 2024). It is essential to establish clear and transparent processes for selecting community representatives to ensure that all voices are heard and that the agreement reflects the priorities of the broader community (Sotolongo, 2024). Another challenge lies in the potential for the agreements to become bogged down in specific issues, neglecting the overarching interests of stakeholders (Ho, 2007). To address this, these agreements should be designed with a broad scope, encompassing a range of potential benefits that address the community's diverse and changing needs.
Conflicts may arise between developers and community representatives during the negotiation process. Establishing clear communication channels and fostering a collaborative environment can help mitigate these conflicts and ensure that the agreements are mutually beneficial. There is a need for increased transparency and public sharing of agreement project reports and findings, so lessons can be learned and implementation improved (Piggott-McKellar et al., 2019).
From a local government and community perspective, the agreements serve as a negotiation tool to secure public benefits from development projects, particularly where traditional tax revenues are limited. These agreements prioritize local needs, such as affordable housing; local hiring; workforce development programs; living wage and benefits standards; and community-serving facilities such as medical clinics, childcare centers, public schools and grocery stores.
From a developer and project owner perspective, the agreements serve as a negotiation tool to earn support for the life of their project. Their investment helps them earn community support during the permit phase and contributes to the development of social and community infrastructure necessary for sustainable business operations. By investing in the impacted host community’s critical needs, the developer contributes to community capacity and resiliency that will contribute to the industry recruitment and retention of a qualified workforce.
From both perspectives, their success relies on transparency, accountability, ongoing monitoring, and clear objectives for inclusive economic and community growth. Effective community participation in negotiation and post-agreement monitoring requires addressing resource and expertise gaps, which impact community capacity. Negotiation and monitoring processes must be supported by adequate funding and dedicated personnel to sustain initiatives and support mutual accountability. Such strategies work to ensure equitable outcomes in communities shaped by socioeconomic and historical inequities.
Conclusion
Community benefit agreements are an important tool for communities, government jurisdictions, and industries. They help contribute to equitable economic development and community capacity building with projects on private and public lands. Agreement provisions can be codeveloped to align values between communities and the industries they host. Tangible benefits can address critical needs and contribute to mutual sustainability. Local stakeholder involvement, workgroup transparency and enforceability of the agreement require careful consideration and intentional implementation (Been, 2010; Ho, 2007). As a tool to organize and develop consensus (Ho, 2007), the process can result in a more engaged community that has autonomy and influence over their future development (Marantz, 2015).
References
Allen, M. (2025). Community Benefit Agreements: Engaging Communities and Industries for Mutual Benefits (Economic and Community Development Education Series, No. 3). University of Nevada, Reno Extension. https://extension.unr.edu/publications.aspx
Allen, M. (2025). Community Benefit Agreements: Enhancing Engagement and Aligning Values Between Nevada’s Communities and Industries (Economic and Community Development Education Series, No. 1). University of Nevada, Reno Extension. https://extension.unr.edu/publications.aspx
Allen, M. and Morris, L. (2025). Pathways to Agrivoltaic and Ecovoltaic System Adoption in Nevada Counties (Economic and Community Development Education Series, No. 4). University of Nevada, Reno Extension. https://extension.unr.edu/publications.aspx
Been, V. (2010). Community Benefits Agreements: A New Local Government Tool or Another Variation on the Exactions Theme? The University of Chicago Law Review, 77(1), 2. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5489&context=uclrev
Cascadden, M., Gunton, T., & Rutherford, M. (2021). Best practices for Impact Benefit Agreements. Resources Policy, 70, 101921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101921
Department of Energy. (2017). Guide to Advancing Opportunities for Community Benefits through Energy Project Development. U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved from: https://www.energy.gov/diversity/articles/community-benefit-agreement-cba-resource-guide
Gross, J., LeRoy, G., and Janis-Aparicio, M. (2005). Community Benefits Agreements: Making Development Projects Accountable. Good Jobs First and the California Partnership for Working Families.
Ho, W. (2007). Community Benefits Agreements: An Evolution in Public Benefits Negotiation Processes.
Janssen-Jansen, L., & van der Veen, M. (2016). Contracting communities: Conceptualizing Community Benefits Agreements to improve citizen involvement in urban development projects. Environment and Planning A Economy and Space, 49(1), 205. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518x16664730
Marantz, N. J. (2015). What Do Community Benefits Agreements Deliver? Evidence From Los Angeles. Journal of the American Planning Association, 81(4), 251–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2015.1092093
Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity. (2024). Community Benefits Resource Guide. Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity, City of Cleveland Ohio. https://www.clevelandohio.gov/sites/clevelandohio/files/oeo/CBA-Resource-Guide-101524.pdf
Patterson, K. L., Ranahan, M., Silverman, R. M., & Yin, L. (2017). Community benefits agreements (CBAs): a typology for shrinking cities. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 37, 231. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijssp-01-2016-0003
Piggott-McKellar, A., McNamara, K. E., Nunn, P. D., & Watson, J. E. M. (2019). What are the barriers to successful community-based climate change adaptation? A review of grey literature [Review of What are the barriers to successful community-based climate change adaptation? A review of grey literature]. Local Environment, 24(4), 374. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2019.1580688
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Community Benefits Agreements Database. Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Columbia Law School. Accessed 05/30/25: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/community-benefits-agreements-database
Sotolongo, M. (2024). Community Benefits Policy and Energy Justice. Initiative for Energy Justice. https://iejusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Community-Benefits-Policy-and-Energy-Justice-June-2024_060524-2-1.pdf
Stephan, H. P. (2022). Contracting with Communities: An Analysis of the Enforceability of Community Benefits Agreements. Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality, 40(2), 281. https://doi.org/10.24926/25730037.646
