» Monthly Archives: March 2010
California solar projects rush to beat deadline for federal subsidies
Time is running out on applications for solar power projects to qualify for federal stimulus funds worth 30 percent of the projects' costs. Regulators and environmentalists are rushing to beat the year-end deadline, especially in California, reports USA Today.
"It's a scene that's being played out all over the country," says Benjamin Kelahan, senior vice president ...
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Don’t leave out political due diligence in land use decisions
By Patrick Fox,
President, The Saint Consulting Group
Any company making decisions about a commercial real estate deal does a lot of due diligence. They study demographics, market share, infrastructure, and deal financials among other things. What too many still fail to do is a political due diligence. All land use decision are political and the question ...
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Land agents play vital role in energy development outreach, training
By Jay Vincent
Senior Vice President, The Saint Report
Land agents. Whether it’s acquiring the land necessary for a wind farm development or gas drilling operation, land agents serve a vital role for the energy industry to assemble the project footprint necessary to generate and produce the electricity and fuel we need to continually be powered up.
As ...
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Online social networking can impel action on development projects
By Patrick Fox,President, The Saint Consulting GroupSocial networking tools are impacting both sides of land use fights.The ability to organize like-minded fellow residents into a group to support or oppose a land use project is one of the great benefits of social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter and many others. Quickly identifying people who share ...
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People rarely say they are NIMBY, but look at their concerns
P. Michael Saint, Chairman and CEO, The Saint Consulting Group
Are you a NIMBY, or are you just worried about legitimate planning, environmental, or taxation issues? People who do not want something built near them almost never say that they are NIMBY’s and that is the reason for their opposition.
They almost always put forward a strong ...
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NIMBY Wars: organizing and managing citizen group for a project
(Editor’s Note: An effective citizen's group can rally like-minded people to pressure elected officials in favor of controversial projects. This excerpt discusses how to get them interested and enthused, how to select a leader and how to get them committed)
By P. Michael Saint, Robert J. Flavell and Patrick F. Fox
Once the consultant has identified natural friends ...
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NIMBY Wars: natural supporters and opponents in land use battles
(Editor’s Note: Natural supporters and opponents are people with innate or personal reasons for supporting or opposing a project. They don't need to be sold either way, but they might not come forward and take a position if the political manager doesn't reach out and encourage them)By P. Michael Saint, Robert J. Flavell and Patrick F. ...
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Massachusetts court weakens protections from SLAPP lawsuits
(Jeffrey Gould has written for The Saint Report about SLAPP suits and legal rights to protect public participation in the development process. Here he examines the impact of a Massachusetts court ruling that helps developers avoid the consequences of filing such claims.)By Jeffrey R. GouldVice President & General Counsel, The Saint Consulting GroupThe Massachusetts Appeals Court ...
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Prepare for UK NIMBY Government – big, radical, scary policies
By Nick Keable,Vice President, UK Operations, The Saint Consulting Group Assuming that the Tories do manage to come out of the General Election in control of the UK, and that is by no means certain at all, they have this week laid out their proposals for reform of the planning system. And it’s big. And radical. ...
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