A FOUR-STEP PROGRAM FOR POLICIES

For every new idea there can be a new controversy. Often, it is not the policy choice itself — which is usually well-intentioned — but the way it is introduced and "marketed" that makes a difference. What steps can you take to avoid the big blow-up?

1) Look at the necessity

Poll the residents to learn what issues concern them. "Have a sense of the shareholders' wishes," says attorney Arthur Weinstein. But don't slavishly follow the polls. You may know of issues with the building infrastructure, for instance, or its finances that are unknown to the shareholders/unit-owners. "It really depends on whether you see the board as simply responding to the needs of the shareholders or whether it should be coming out in front of an issue," says attorney Stuart Saft. "Sometimes, the board has to say, ‘This is important to a vast majority of residents. We have to deal with it.'"

2) Communicate

Often a project sinks because the owners are unaware of its urgency or importance. A multi-step education process is crucial. "If you sense that the idea is going to be controversial, then you can test the waters," says Herb Cooper-Levy, former executive director of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives and now director of a nonprofit housing group. One way to sense controversy is to ask yourself if you infringing on an individual's rights, or saying "no" to someone.

If a fight seems to be in the offing, short-circuit it by educating the residents about your rationale. Cooper-Levy adds that doing this also forestalls rumors that can work against you.

Saft, who is president of his Upper East Side co-op board, recalls how they took that approach in dealing with a lobby redesign, one of the most controversial actions a board can take. "We had several meetings with the shareholders telling them, ‘Look, we think the lobby is really rundown, and it's starting to detract from the overall value of the building," he says. "We hired an architect and designer and went back to the shareholders and said, ‘This is what we want to do, it's going to cost half-a-million dollars, and we don't consider it a luxury but a necessity.'" Thanks to that education process, a vast majority of the shareholders voted for the project.

3) Find common ground

Compromise when necessary. Cooper-Levy suggests the board set up a "task force" or committee open to "absolutely everyone," even those against the policy, so that you find common ground. He says you should encourage other voices, even those of opponents. "That way, even if the policy doesn't go forward, you've gotten others involved in the process. That's a side benefit." And they may ultimately see it your way.

4) Know your constituents

If 90 percent of the building consists of smokers, it is probably not a good idea to impose a smoking ban.

"It is important at the end of the process that there be consensus, a meeting of the minds," Cooper-Levy argues. "In the best of all possible worlds, through an open process, you seek to find common ground so no one feels they've lost." It is not about eliminating conflict, he adds, but reducing it: "Any time you do something controversial, it's going to be intrusive. The question is one of degree."

— Tom Soter