Chestnut Drive Negotiation

CHESTNUT VILLAGE ROLE PLAY

Chesnut Drive is a short, dead-end residential street in Bunyonville.  Many Families live in Chestnut Drive. Few weeks ago, a construction of a 77-unit condominium complex on an eight-acre plot at the end of Chestnut Drive started. The only access to the construction site is by Chestnut Drive. The problem is that there were some accidents involving kids. Moreover, employees drive fast in this street, there is a lot of noise and the street is full of dirt. The neighborhood representatives finally succeeded in obtaining a meeting with the general counsel and members of Bunyon Construction.


My role during this negotation :
I am the Shopkeeper of the Chesnut Village. I am a small businessperson owner of a clothing store on Off Broadway and of two-family house on Chesnut Drive.
Actually, I am quite pleased with this construction project but it is not possible to tell it to my neighbors. I had to use manipulations technics to avoid them knowing it.
I want to sell my home soon. The dirt and the debris caused by the construction may constitute a disruption in the sale process. Last but not least, the trucks have cracked my house's foundation.



Getting prepared for the negotiation :
We were of a group of four persons. We had to negotiate as one. Unity is strength.
We established an agenda:
- safety for our citizens, our kids
- cleaness
- the side effects of our construction, noise and behavior of the workers. For example, we asked for financial compensation.
Safety: ask for fences and lights at night, examples of the kids. For the vibration, we can negotiate to work in the morning/the afternoon, to adapt schedules. We ask how long will the construction last. We will warn them to make their employees stop their sexual harassment because they don’t want another scandal. About parking, we allow them to park in the street but no in our driveways. We will ask for a monthly meeting.


The negotiation :
The negotiation was very complicated. It's very difficult negotiate and be listened when 8 person are speaking at the same. In addition to the noise of our group, we had to support the noise of the negotiation which was taking place in the other side of the room.
Quickly, I took the position of the leader of Chestnut citizens group. The representatives for the Bunyon company were not clear in their proposal, they tried to evade our questions. I showed myself rather violent and did not hesitate to look for the direct confrontation and the clash. Looking back, I recognize that I have been a little bit arrogant at times. The problem of my strategy hinges on the fact that I was taken to task by all the members of the opposite team and I was extremely in the middle. Some members of my group did not aprove my behavior too.
Then, we consulted and the second part of the negotiation took place with more serenity.


The result of the negotiation :
- Fence construction, with lights 1500 $ within two weeks the City council will talk to other people from the village to calm them
- More control when the construction company hires people
- Meeting within three weeks
- The company commits to organize meetings with the workers and drivers that don’t behave well (and sometimes fire them)
- The Village people don’t have the right to access the swimming pool Anthony’s will be contacted by a specialist for the crack


After the negotiation we had a debrief. The members of the company told us that they were prepared to offer us more but that our agenda was not well-organized enough. I actually felt incomplete after this negotiation.