There are some assumptions in play in the public sector and community to various degrees that form the basis for the often antagonistic positioning a community or local government takes toward developers. In the next series of posts, I’ll explore some myths about developers and development held by the public sector.
The roles in the development process are often defined as those that look after the public interest (governments, community groups) and those that look after the private interest (a development company). While this dichotomy exists and is healthy when individual roles and public trust is involved, the depth of the polarity is actually based on how close the public and private objectives appear to those involved.
In situations where this discussion is tainted by extreme ideologies (eg: communism) the chasm can be so great as to alter or stall the economy. In situations where the two are too closely aligned, other problems can result – often those associated with corruption or breach of trust.
The reality in the development industry is that the two dimensions need to remain firmly separated in development approval roles but that because of the significant role the development industry plays in the economy and in building a community, that at a deep level, the goals of both are often the same or similar. The development industry is a major part of most communities’ economies, is responsible for most every building in the community, and is the source of a significant amount of the resources that provide community amenities.
In this context, responsible development is in principle fundamentally in the public interest and is a place where private and public interest very closely align.