» Monthly Archives: July 2009

Saint Replay – Use political savvy to win over project foes in development
(Editor's note: These comments from P Michael Saint, chairman and CEO of The Saint Consulting Group, first appeared in Shopping Centers Today, May 5, 2008) "When you drill down into the heart of all this, people are afraid that new development will adversely affect them. That emotion overcomes any facts given to them,” says P. Michael ...
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Ever-changing landscape – erosion and its impact on development
(Editor's Note: Katie Lewis has written about stormwater runoff in The Saint Report and looks at the impact of erosion on development and developers)By Katie Lewis,Paralegal, The Saint Consulting GroupErosion and sediment control can prove to be difficult issues with the ever-changing landscape, natural habitat loss and for development sites, these two issues can make or ...
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The Saint Report gets a makeover — check it out
Social media are a moving feast -- new content, new design, new technology, new readers and comments. So it is with The Saint Report. After a year and nearly 300 posts, we have moved all of our content into a new home page at the corporate home of The Saint Consulting Group.  You can find us ...
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Overcome NIMBY opposition like a virus – limit the spread, treat the infection
By Jay Vincent Regional Vice President - Midwest, The Saint Consulting Group Opposition to well conceived development projects can be experienced as something similar to an untreated virus. Infections are inevitable. Everyone gets sick sometime throughout their life. The same goes for development. If a project is significant enough, it is certainly prone to the infection of NIMBY opposition. The goal should ...
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Saint Model Outcome – local group is key to winning support for theme park
By Jay Vincent Regional Vice President - Midwest, The Saint Consulting Group Today's Saint Model Outcome is a case study on developing a theme park. Our client wanted to construct a 275-acre, $175 million educational theme park on a site previously used as farmland.  The project required Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval by the County Commission. The developer ...
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Despite poor economy, opposition to development holds – Saint Index Executive Brief
The economic recession is giving Americas a reason to question their Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) attitudes about real estate development projects, but the 2009 Saint Index© results finds no significant softening of opposition to new development when it comes to a person's hometown. The Saint Consulting Group has produced an Executive Brief with ...
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Florida Guts Its Growth Management Law (Yes, It Did Have One)
By Taylor Davis The Saint Consulting Group Awash with 300,000 homes on the market and 500,000 others in various stages of foreclosure, Florida has enacted changes to its 25-year-old “Growth Management” law that make it much easier for developers to build even more. The changes exempt much of the state from Florida’s Development of Regional Impact approval process, ...
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NIMBY inertia stalls growth and cleaner energy future, says Michael Morris of AEP
By Jay Vincent, Senior Vice President, Energy, The Saint Consulting Group NIMBY's impact on the world's economic growth, major policy initiatives and culture continues to grow. When leaders of major power brokers (pardon the pun) in the energy sector name NIMBY as an obstacle to reaching US energy demands (both actual need for power and stipulation that it ...
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Unsightly clothes hang out to dry: zoning dispute over eco-friendly act or flags of poverty
The simple, nostalgic act of hanging clothes outside to dry, regaining popularity as an eco-friendly act, has become a full- blown political flap in Richmond, Va. On one side of the line, proponents of the right-to-dry movement say clotheslines are a green alternative to dryers, which are second only to refrigerators and air conditioners as ...
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Saint Model Outcome – video, local outreach win town board vote on retail move
By Saint Consulting Staff, The Saint Consulting Group Continuing our series of case studies to illustrate the politics of planning, this Saint Model Outcome looks at overcoming local opposition to a retail project. Our client wanted to close an existing 35,000-SF store and construct a new 50,000-SF store a half a mile away. The proposed project required the ...
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