Do voters have a lower opinion of real estate developers than they do used-car salesmen? A new poll suggests that for most U.S. residents, this might be the case.
According to an October poll commissioned by the Academy of Citizen Engagement, 58% of voters in central Florida, where the poll was conducted, said that they distrusted real estate developers even more than they distrusted used-car salesmen.
The poll conducted in partnership with the National Survey Research Group, charted the responses from 400 registered voters in Lake County, Florida, considered a not-in-my-backyard, or NIMBY, hotspot in the greater Orlando area.
In more bad news for developers, 70% of survey respondents said that they agreed with the statement that “The stereotype of greedy developers is based on the perception of them maximizing profits at the expense of the people and the environment.”
“The reality is that developers have a huge trust problem with not only anti-growth opponents, but with the ‘silent majority’ that sees itself as pro-growth,” said Patrick Slevin, founder of the Academy of Citizen Engagement.
A total of 64% of respondents said that the notice and hearing process favored developers at the expense of the community. The survey also found that 34% of respondents said that elected officials were too easily lobbied by developers while 32% said that developers didn’t care about their community.
The survey wasn’t all bad news, though. The Academy of Citizen Engagement reported that nearly 77% of respondents said that they were more likely to trust developers that were transparent and engaged the community to find a win-win consensus. A total of 37% of respondents said that they would support a controversial project opposed by a small group if it brought in new jobs and increased their property values.
“The research tells us that developers who decide to ‘fly under the radar’ can easily trigger negative perceptions and fan the flames of NIMBY opposition,” said Bill Lee, co-founder of the National Survey Research Group. “There’s good news for smart developers who want to earn support from local stakeholders. The data clearly suggests a pre-emptive, purposeful citizen engagement initiative can earn the trust of stakeholders and make the difference in securing social support, while achieving political approvals for their projects.”
