Lessons from the D: Do community benefits ordinances allow cities to leverage their corporations to help (not hurt) vulnerable neighborhoods?
Join Aaron Goodman, Manager of the Community Benefits Ordinance for the City of Detroit, joins Meagan Niebler, Community Democracy Program Manager at Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, and Tsedey Betru, Director at Just Communities for a conversation on how to explore community benefits agreements and ordinances work in practice and what communities can learn from experiences on the ground today.
Drawing on perspectives from local government, community engagement, and environmental justice, this session will examine how communities move from reacting to decisions after they are made to building the relationships, leverage, and influence needed to help shape them from the beginning.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
- What CBAs and CBOs are and how they function
- The difference between Community Benefit Agreements, Community Benefit Ordinances, Community Benefit Plans, and Community Benefit Coalitions
- How communities can influence major development decisions
- How local government can build trust with community through community benefits
- Legal tips and lessons from community benefits work in Detroit, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
About the Speakers
Aaron Goodman, Manager, Community Benefits Ordinance
City of Detroit
Aaron Goodman serves as the Manager of the Community Benefits Ordinance for the City of Detroit, where he works at the intersection of community engagement, equitable development, and public policy. Since 2019, he has helped implement Detroit’s Community Benefits Ordinance, working with residents, developers, and city partners throughout the process.
Before joining the City of Detroit, Aaron worked with Community Development Advocates of Detroit, where he developed community engagement strategies, managed staff, organized community events, and supported neighborhood organizations. His experience also includes work in environmental justice, farmers’ markets, and higher education.
Drawing on years of experience building community connections and supporting equitable development, Aaron will share practical insights into how community benefits work in practice and the role collaboration plays in shaping stronger outcomes for communities.
Meagan Niebler, MPH
Community Democracy Program Manager
Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services
Meagan Niebler works as the Community Democracy Program Manager with Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services and is passionate about helping environmental justice communities identify and use the levers available to move their vision into action. For the past two years, she has supported communities across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia through community benefits, including facilitating community engagement, providing technical assistance to coalitions, and developing tools to support Community Benefit Agreements, Community Benefit Ordinances, Community Benefit Plans, and Community Benefit Coalitions. Her work focuses on changing who gets to participate in decision-making and how communities build power to shape outcomes.
Drawing from her experience supporting environmental justice communities across the region, Meagan will share practical lessons, challenges, and strategies for building community power through community benefits that lead to stronger protections and more equitable outcomes.
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