Local opposition to new suburban development is practically a given in most developers’ minds, particularly when it involves large-scale projects. But that process doesn’t have to be as adversarial — and full of delays — as it is now, experts say. And in Montgomery County, which is in the middle of a massive redevelopment of its major traffic corridors, that smoother process starts with wooing residents.

“Public education and civic engagement is usually treated last … but I can’t emphasize enough that it needs to become front and center,” Stuart Sirota, owner of the land-use consulting firm TND Planning Group, said at the Makeover Montgomery conference held in Silver Spring last week. “Without the public buying in, it can’t really happen.”