Paradox of development

Warning to developers and builders: Any document you file with a municipality will be posted online and could be used against you.

Now that municipalities are increasingly posting documents such as zoning requests online, it's giving development opponents time to organize more effectively to lobby against projects.

Developers and builders need to be ready to counter any opposition if they file documents with a city or county. “They're totally transparent,” says Dennis Church, vice president of community development with Corbelis Management, speaking to a group of real estate executives in Bonita Springs recently.

Developers and builders may have become complacent because municipalities and residents welcomed them with open arms during the recession. But that attitude may change now that the economy is in recovery.

It's a paradox of development. “When the market is good, it's hard to get things done and when it's bad it's easier to get things done,” says Church.