Cleveland Officials Tout Promise of Community Benefits Ordinance's Impact on Underrepresented Groups

Cleveland City Hall – $25 Your attempt to get a construction permit takes longer than expected as the application must be made in-person, between the hours of 2 to 3:17 p.m. on a first or third Tuesday of the month, and completed in calligraphy. Lose a turn as a penalty. Credit: Scene Archives

Cleveland’s newly passed Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO) will use financial incentives and city support to encourage developers to work with minority-owned, women-owned and Cleveland-based businesses, city officials say. The CBO, which has been in the making for nearly a year, is a legally enforceable agreement between the city and developers.

“This renewed community benefits agreement commitment ensures building developers seeking the city’s financial support will provide real, tangible benefits for residents, emphasizing job training and placement,” said City Council President Blaine Griffin of Ward 6 Tuesday at a news conference outside City Hall. “We will clearly define the benefits outlined before building developers receive city financial support and all parties will know what will be expected of them. The Community Benefits Ordinance aims to provide more neighborhood resources, expand opportunities and increase job demand for Clevelanders.”

A review conducted by the city found that, in the past four years, minority and female-owned businesses lost out on roughly $14 million on development and city projects. It also noted that, between 2014 and 2018, less than five percent of Cuyahoga County prime contract spending was awarded to minority or women-owned businesses — less than $51 million out of $1.1 billion.

In crafting the CBO, city leaders say they took into account feedback from business leaders, developers, project owners, unions and residents.

“The Atlanta way helped create a whole new generation of black millionaires in Atlanta, when Atlanta was seeing its first great renaissance and 1970s and 1980s. Now you see Atlanta being called the capital of the South,” said Mayor Justin Bibb at the news conference. “I believe this legislation and this commitment by the city of Cleveland will allow Cleveland to be the capital of the Midwest in terms of seeing new minority developers and residents get their fair share.

Bibb also spoke for the first time about the reasons former Cleveland director of economic development Tessa Jackson, who was involved in the creation of the CBO, was dismissed.

“I decided I want to go in a different direction for the department, as we restructured the department to continue the hard work of inclusive economic growth, making sure we have the right processes and systems to be responsive to developers and our city,” Bibb said.

Last week, Bibb named Terri Hamilton Brown as interim director of economic development until the permanent position is filled.

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