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NIMBYs (Not in my Backyard). They're either coming to your community or already there -- the self-annointed protectors of (check one or more) their neighborhoods, the community, the public good, or their own self-interest. Many areas suffer from the added infestation of NIMEYs -- timid public officials who are heard to say, usually privately, "Not in my Election Year." Faced with a potentially controversial issue such as multi-family housing, what's a conscientious planning commission to do? First, try not to panic. Second, consider these strategies.

Move decisively to defuse fiction, gossip, and innuendo. Be aware of issues that may inflame your particular community and take the initiative to provide the facts frankly and clearly before the ugly rumors get around. Why is the planning board considering multi-family housing? Is there really a need? Just who are "those people" who will live there? What will the development look like?

In most cases, when the facts are known, people will find that the likely inhabitants are not the terrible creatures they may have envisioned, but friends and neighbors more like themselves who cannot afford or do not want single residences. Fears about what the project will look like can be allayed by good renderings or sketches. This assumes, of course, that you have a supportable project.

Know the opposition. Who are the leaders? What are their concerns? Are they the traditional naysayers to all planning or people opposed just to this project? By knowing who they are and what they want you can seek possible areas of mutual agreement and isolate the few issues on which there are truly opposite views.

Be frank and open at all times. Many good projects go down in blazing defeat because the proponents are so frightened of the opposition that they fall into the trap of holding closed-door meetings or making "secret" deals. As a planning commission, it is especially inappropriate to engage in such behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

Make sure all reports and notices are in easy-to-understand words and phrases. Citizens are rightly suspicious of technical reports heavily laden with jargon only a planner or engineer can understand. Likewise, too many notices of public meetings or actions meet all the legal qualifications but do not describe the issues simply and clearly. Put them to the citizen-on-the-street test. Would you have understood them before you became such an involved planning commissioner? Would your mother-in-law understand them now? And provide translations if you have non-English speaking populations.

Offer various opportunities for public input and comment. Relatively few people are comfortable making speeches or giving oral testimony. Moreover, meetings can easily deteriorate into shouting matches if that is the only avenue by which people can express themselves. Design your public meetings creatively so that participants can look at exhibits; talk in small groups to each other, staff, and planning commissioners; and provide written comment. Avoid any opportunity for a few to grandstand.

Keep a perspective. After a barrage of angry phone calls and letters, it may seem that the project is opposed by everyone in the community. This is seldom the case and more often, the work of a vocal and clever minority. In the case of multi-family housing, there should be many people who will support a well-conceived plan. Some may be influenced by the idea of fairness, others by the need for diversity. Singles ... empty-nesters ... business people. If you provide adequate information to a broad spectrum of the citizenry, leaders willing to look at all sides of the issue are likely to emerge.

Be willing to compromise. Opponents are seldom all wrong. Perhaps the scale of development really is not appropriate for the neighborhood, or it may cause an unwanted level of traffic congestion. Find ways to meet reasonable objections and you not only are likely to have a better final project, but you will isolate the few true NIMBYs who are never satisfied.

Reach your final decision fairly and stick with it. If you have followed a reasonable and open process, there may still be people who disagree with your final determination, but they will know how you got there and respect you for it. They can always appeal your decision, but neither planning nor the planning commission will have been tarnished by the process.