CITY OF ENCINITAS

CITY COUNCILAGENDA REPORT

Meeting Date August 22 2007

TO Mayor and City Council

VIA Phil Cotton City Manager

FROM Richard Phillips Assistant to the City Manager

SUBJECT Review and Presentation of Results of Encinitas Community Survey

BACKGROUND

On February 28 2007 Council approved awarding a contract to Moore Information Inc to

conduct a multiyear community opinion survey The purpose of a community opinion survey is

to obtain residents opinions regarding overall sentiment of the quality of life in Encinitas and

satisfaction with City services A similar survey was conducted in December 2005 which was

used as a basis for the development of the 2007 survey questions

Deputy Mayor Stocks and Councilmember Barth were appointed to serve on the community

survey oversight committee to work with the survey firm and City staff on the survey designThe survey questions were presented and approved by the Council at the June 27 2007 meeting

ANALYSIS

The telephone survey was conducted over the twoday period July l 0a and 11 2007 A total of

300 interviews were utilized for the survey sample with contacts made utilizing a random digitdialing household telephone number method and probability sampling within those contacted

households to ensure a representative sample of adults age 18 and older were interviewed The

sampling error associated with the survey is plus or minus 6 at the 95 confidence level

Attached are the July 2007 questionnaire comparing the 2007 to the December 2005 results and

the Executive Summary Representatives from Moore Information Inc will present an overview

of the 2007 survey results

FISCAL IMPACT

The Encinitas Community Survey was funded from CIP Project WMC95K at a cost of10450

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RECOMMENDATION

Receive information regarding the 2007 Encinitas Community Survey

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MOORE INFORMATIONOPINION RESEARCH STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

CITY OF ENCINITAS RESIDENTSN300JuIY 1011 2007

Hello this is FIRST AND LAST NAME We are conducting a survey on behalf of the City of

EncinitasENSINEETASS regarding community opinions about city services and would

like to include your views in our study I assure you we are only seeking opinions and there

will be no attempt to sell you anything or solicit a donation

Could I speak to a member of the house who is age 18 or older

IF YES Could you spend a few minutes with me on the phone to discuss your impressions of

City of EncinitasENSINEETASS services

IF YES First can I please verify that I have reached PHONE NUMBER IF NO TERMINATE

Do you currently live inside or outside the city limits of EncinitasENSINEETASS

1 inside CONTINUE

2 outside THANK AND TERMINATE

1 Next in your opinion are things in the City of EncinitasENSINEETASS going in

the right direction or notDEC JULY

2005 2007

1 yes right direction 66 58

2 DONT READ dont know 12 16

3 no not right direction 22 26

2 In general how would you rate theCity of EncinitasENSINEETASS as a place to

live Would you rate it as an excellent good average below average or poor placeto live

1 excellent 58 55

2 good 92 34 37 92

3 average 7 6

4 below average 1 2 3

5 poor 1 1

6 DONT READ dont know

less than onehalf of one percent3 Overall how satisfied are you with the services provided by the City of Encinitas EN

SINEETASS Would you say you are very satisfied somewhat satisfied not too

satisfied or not satisfied at all

43

DEC JULY

2005 2007

1 very satisfied 42 382 somewhat satisfied 87 45 50 883 not too satisfied 10 8 6 104 not satisfied at all 2 4

5 DONT READ dont know 3 3

Next I would like to ask you to rate your level of satisfaction with the services the City of

EncinitasENSINEETASS provides to its residents For each please tell me if you wouldsay you are very satisfied somewhat sat isfied not too satisfied or not satisfied at all with

that service or program ROTATE 411

Very Somewha t Not too Not satisfied Dont

satisfied satisfied satisfied at all know

9 trash collection services 93 5December 2005 71 22 4 2 2

92 4July 2007 67 25 4 1 4

8 beaches 93 4December 2005 59 34 3 1 3

91 6July 2007 54 37 5 2 3

7 parks park facilities and

trails 90 7December 2005 56 34 6 1 3

89 9July 2007 55 34 6 2 2

4 fire protection servicesemergency medical

response and lifeguardservices 83 1December 2005 66 17 1 16

88 1July 2007 67 21 1 1 10

10 water district services 90 6December 2005 57 33 4 2 4

87 7July 2007 53 34 5 3 6

slight change to wording from 2005 results not directly comparable

44

Very Somewhat Not too Not satisfied Dont

satisfied satisfied satisfied at all know

5 law enforcement services 83 11December 2005 49 34 8 3 6

84 11

July 2007 48 35 7 4 5

11 litter and graffiti removalDecember 2005 NA

83 7

July 2007 45 39 5 3 9

6 condition of roads and

streets 75 24December 2005 23 52 18 7 1

70 30

July 2007 19 50 23 7

12 And thinking about these services provided by the city have you had a personal

experience with either fire protection services emergency medical response

and lifeguard services OR law enforcement servicesDEC JULY

2005 2007

1 yes fire protection services emergency medical

response and lifeguard services NA 21

2 yes law enforcement services 25

3 yes both 17

4 no neither 37

5 DONT READ dont know

13 If there were one thing the City of EncinitasINSINEETASS could do to improve

your quality of life what would that be RECORD RESPONSE VERBATIM ACCEPT

ONE REPONSE

Reducingmanaging trafficcongestion 8 10

Stopcontrol growthdevelopment 11 10

Repairwidenmaintain streetsroads 8 8

Cut taxes 1 3

Immigration issues 3

More parkingon street parking 1 3

Morebetter parksmaintain parks 3 3

Less government controlintrusion 1 2

Maintainingcleaning up beaches 2

More affordable housing 2 2

More bike lanes 2

Moreimproved public transportation 1 2

More open spacegreen space 1 2

Ban smoking in beach areas 1

Better communication 1

less than onehalf of one percent

DEC JULY

2005 2007

45

Better housing regulations 1

Cleanup litter 1

Control population growth 1

Encourage businesseconomic development 1

Enforce traffic lawsreduce speeding 2 1

Enforce zoningzoning regulations 2 1

Enforcement of nuisance ordinances 1 1

Environmental protection 1

Finish Hall property 1

Increase policesheriffs presence 2 1

Listen more to public 1

Lower cost of services 1

Maintainimprove city areas 1

Maintainreduce housing density 1 1More artsculture 1

More theaterstheater in downtown 1 1

More traffic lightssigns 1 1

More walking trails 1

Need library 1 1

Newbetter train crossings 1 1

Newexpanded medical services 1

Reduce cost of living 1

Reevaluate city leadership 1

Supply more services 1

Underground utilitiesbury power lines 1 1

A better night life

Accountability of city services

Allow people to develop their landAlternative energy sourcesBetter beach access

Community schools

Encourage recyclingEnforce housing policesFewer traffic patrolsofficersremove red light cameras 2

Get rid of Sheriff departmentImprove water quality 2

Improved educationpublic education 1

Improved senior servicesIncreased social services

Live entertainment downtown

More adult classes

More youthteen activitiesNeed a public pool 1

Put more restrooms in beaches

Reducecontrol pollution 1

Solidify electricenergy capabilitiesSpeed bumpsin streets 1

less than onehalf of one percentDEC JULY

2005 2007

Spend more money in LeucadiaStreamline permit process

46

Synchronize traffic lights 2

Take better care of current residents

Water conservation

Nonenothing 4 3

Dont know 15 14

Thinking now about personal safety14 In general how safe do you feel living in the City of EncinitasENSINEETASS

very safe somewhat safe somewhat unsafe or very unsafe

1 very safe 67 65

2 somewhat safe 96 29 32 973 DONT READ dont know

4 somewhat unsafe 4 4 3 35 very unsafe 1

Thinking now about events and classes offered by the Parks and Recreation Department15 Do you now attend or have you ever taken a recreation class or been to a recreation

event offered by the City

1 yes 40 44

2 DONT READ dont know 1 2

3 no 59 55

16 IF RESPONSE 1 IN Q15 How would you rate the quality of the class or event

you attended as excellent good average below average or poor

1 excellent 44 43

2 good 90 46 44 863 average 8 11

4 below average 1 1 1 25 poor 1

6 DON READ dont know 1 1

17 Turning to city communications how would you rate the job the city does in

providing you with information that is important to you as excellent good average

below average or poor

1 excellent 20 12

2 good 62 42 39 513 average 24 31

4 below average 12 7 8 155 poor 5 7

6 DONT READ dont know 2 3

less than onehalf of one percent18 In the past year what sources have you relied on for information i

its programs READ 17 ACCEPT UP TO THREE RESPONSESDEC

2005

1 city website 23

2 City Recreation Guide 26

3 mail notifications 43

4 calling the city 11

about the city and

JULY

2007

28

30

40

10

47

5 city council meetings 9 10

6 local newspapers 60 52

7 local cable channel 12 10

Other SPECIFY8 internet general 1 1

9 neighbors 1

10 magazines11 YMCA

12 family member

13 poster14 chamber of Commerce

15 community Services Department16 nonenothing 1

17 dont know 6 4

19 Have you visited the citys website

1 nodont know 59 56

IF YES How would you rate the overall usability of the site and the quality of the

information provided

2 excellent 6 63 good 27 21 17 234 average 10 17

5 below average 1 1 2 36 poor 1

Changing the subject20 Are you aware that there is a household hazardous waste pickup service available to

city residents

1 yes GO TO Q21 NA 47

2 no GO TO Q22 533 DONTREAD dont know GO TO Q22

less than onehalf of one percent

21 IF RESPONSE 1 IN Q20 Have you used the household hazardouswaste pickup service

DEC JULY

2005 2007

1 no NA 72

IF YES How would you rate the quality of the household hazardous waste

pickup service

48

2 excellent

3 good4 average5 below average6 poor7 DONT READ dont know

Now a few questions for statistical purposes

22 What is your approximate age please

1 1834

2 3544

3 4554

4 5559

5 6064

6 65

7 NA

23 What is your ethnic origin ROTATE 14

1 Caucasian

2 AfricanAmerican

3 Hispanic or Latino

4 Asian

5 DONTREAD other6 DONTREAD refused

7 DONT READ dontknow

24 How many years have you lived in EncinitasENSINEETASS

1 04 years2 59 years3 1014 years4 1519 years

5 20 years or more

25 Do you own or rent or your home

1 own2 rent

3 NA

less than onehalf of one percent26 Do you have children under the age of 18 in your household

1 yes2 no

27 What is the last grade of education you completed

1 high school or less 0122 some collegetrade school 13153 college graduate 16

13

11 242

1 11

1

12

16

24

19

1117

1

89

3

1

3

3

19

1413

11

44

83

16

1

JULY2007

30

70

1019

36

49

4 post graduate 17 34

28 Do you currently have Internet access at home or at work or both

1 yes home 262 yes work 2

3 yes both 64 924 no 8

29 Please tell me when I reach the category that best describes your households annualincome

1 under 25000 3

2 2500034999 4

3 3500049999 8

4 5000074999 10

5 7500099999 136 100000124999 13

7 125000149999 8

8 150000174999 5

9 175000 or more 13

10 NA 22

30 Gender BY OBSERVATION

1 male 45

2 female 55

31 Please tell me in which community you live READ 15

1 New EncinitasENSINEETASS 26

2 Old EncinitasENSINEETASS 23

3 CardiffbytheSea 19

4 OlivenhainOLEEVEEHANE 6

5 Leucadia LEWLADEEEAH 21

6 DONT READ dont knownot sure 5

410

4 MOORE INFORMATIONOPINION RESEARCH STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

July 20 2007

TO Richard Phillips

FROM Hans Kaiser

RE City of Encinitas Residents Survey Results

This memo contains results of a Moore Information Inc telephone survey conducted among a representative

sample ofadult residents of the City ofEncinitas California A total of300 interviews were conducted July 10112007 The potential sampling error is plus or minus 6 at the 95 confidence level

Overview

Results of our recent survey show that residents of the City of Encinitas continue to be very satisfied with the qualityof life in Encinitas and with the services provided by the city the city is maintaining its appeal

A majority 58 of residents feel the city is headed in the right direction

Most 55 rate Encinitas as an excellent place to live

Almost all residents 97 feel the city is a safe

Participants in Parks and Rec programs rate them as excellentgoo 861o

Nearly9in10 88 are satisfied overall with city services

When asked specifically about eight services provided by the city we find wide majorities satisfied with all eight

The city trash collection service receives the highest rating 92 total satisfied67 very satisfied4 not

satisfied and the lowest rated service condition of streets and roads still receives a widely positive rating of70 of

satisfied and 30 not satisfied although only 19 are very satisfied In addition to these eight services we also

tested awareness and satisfaction with the citys hazardous waste removal service We find that 47 of residents are

aware the city provides a hazardous waste removal service although only 28 of those aware have used the service

However among those who have used the service 13 of all respondents hazardous waste removal gets high marks

with87ratingthe service as excellent or good

Finally when it comes to city communication efforts residents give the city excellentgood marks 51 with most

relying on their local paper for important information about the city and city programs

From a historical perspective our survey shows a slight decline in residents mood and the quality of city

communications specifically the city website since December of 2005

More detailed findings of the survey follow

City of Encinitas Residents 11

Moore Information 411

Life in Encinitas

Residents continue to be optimistic about the direction of the city Indeed 58 feel the city is headed in the rightdirection and only 26 say it is not The remaining 16 do not have an opinion This reveals a slight shift in

sentiment since December 2005 when 66 felt the city was off in the right direction and 22 felt it was not Bycommunity we see majorities in all five neighborhoods content with the citys direction The community of

Olivehain is most impressed by where the city is headed

Residents Mood

right direction

Occember 200 July 007

All residents 66 58

New Encinitas 76 65

Old Encinitas 67 53

Cardiff by the Sea 61 55

Olivenhain 75 74Leucadia 51 55

When asked in general how they feel about Encinitas as a place to live the city receives an impressive 92 above

average rating For 55 of residents Encinitas is an excellent place to live 370 rate it as good 6 call it

average but only 3 would say the city is a below average place to call home All major subgroups agree living in

Encinitas is above par

Continuing with this positive image is sentiment that the city is a very safe place to live Just about all residents

97 feel safe living in Encinitas 65 feel very safe and 32 feel somewhat safe Only 3 of our

respondents did not get a sense of security living in Encinitas This attitude is unchanged since December 2005when 96 of city residents felt very or somewhat safe in the city

Today there is no consensus on what might improve the quality of life in Encinitas Responses to what one thingcould improve life in the city include 10 say either controlling growth and development or reducing congestionwould help 8 say improving streets and roads by repairing or widening them would be an improvement and 3cite better parks more street parkingmore parking in general cutting taxes or dealing with immigration issues as

ways to make the city a better place to live Interestingly these responses are almost identical to suggestions givenin December 2005 It is also important to note that the top three answers all relate to growthtransportation issues

This is also reflected in residents attitudes toward how the city is handling streets and roads the service receivingthe lowest satisfaction rating ofall services tested

Satisfaction with City ServicesIn general residents are quite satisfied with the services the city provides We find most 88 report they are

satisfied including 38 who are very satisfied and 50 who are somewhat satisfied Only oneinten reports

being dissatisfied and the remaining 3 arent sure Looking at subgroups older women age 55 are most

impressed as are newer residents lived in Encinitas less than 10 years wealthier households 100K or more

annually and those in the New Encinitas and Olivehain communities

Our survey tested satisfaction ratings on specific services all of which received high marks

The following table summaries how residents rate these services

Perceptions of City Services

x vcrN atisiicd Sotirthat 10TAL satisfie x Iiot Kati tied

s4tis ied

Trash collection services 67 25 92 4

City of Encinitas Residents 124 12 Moore Information

Beaches 54 37 91 6

Parks park facilities and trails 55 34 89 9

Fire protection services emergencymedical response and lifeguard 67 21 88 1

services

Water district services 53 34 87 7

Law enforcement services 48 35 84 11

Litter and graffiti removal 45 39 83 7

Condition of roads and streets 19 50 70 30

As this table shows majorities are very satisfied with trash collection beaches parkstrails fireEMRlifeguardand water district services Additionally almost half of residents say they are very satisfied with law enforcement

and littergraffiti removal This is not the case when residents are asked about their satisfaction level with the

condition of streets and roads We find that only 19 of city residents are very satisfied with this service and half

50 say they are only somewhatsatisfied

There have not been any significant shifts in sentiment regarding these city services since December 2005

When we look further into how city dwellers perceive either fire protection emergency medical response and

lifeguard services or law enforcement services we find that 21 have personal experience withfiremedicallifeguard

services 25 have personal experience with law enforcement services and 17o have personal experience with both

The remaining 37 have not had personal experience with either type of service For those who have used fire

protection emergency medical response or lifeguard services 95 say they are satisfied with the service theyreceived Law enforcement services receive an 85 satisfaction rating from residents who have personal experiencewith the service Women age 1854 are more likely than other major subgroups to have had a personal experiencewith law enforcement services and they give the service high marks 81 satisfied12 not satisfied For residents

who have used both services 94 say they are satisfied with thefireEMlifeguard service and 75 are satisfied

with law enforcement services

We also asked residents about the citys hazardous waste removal service Today 47 of our respondents are aware

the city provides this service but 53 are not By community residents in Olivehain are the most likely to have

heard of the service and residents in Leucadia are the least likely Women are more likely than men to be aware of

the service as are the citys older 65 residents Among those familiar with the service 28 say they have used it

but 72 say they have not Those who have used the service are quite satisfied Indeed 49 would rate the service

as excellent 38 rate it as good 8 rate it as average and only 3 give it a below average or poor rating

City of Encinitas Residents 13Moore Information 413

Participation in Parks and Recreation Classes and Events

Roughly twoinfive have participated in a Parks and Recreation class or event This is statistically unchanged since

December 2005 In looking how class or event participants feel about their experience we find a wide majority

86 give the experience a good or excellentrating 11 rate their experience as average and the remaining2 feel their experience was below average

Those most likely to participate in Parks and Rec programs include women those living in Encinitas from 10 to 19

years college grads residents in the Old Encinitas community and households with children under the age of 18

Least likely to participate are men especially older men age 55 seniors those who describe their ethnic

background asnonCaucasian and residents in the Cardiff by the Sea community

City CommunicationsMost city residents give Encinitas high marks for its communications efforts Specifically 51 say the city does an

excellent or good job communicating with residents Another 31 say the city does an average job and 15 say the

city does a below average or poor job communicating with residents The following table shows some slight changesin how city residents feel about the job the city does getting information out to residents

City Communication Ratings

lhcetnber 2OQ5 July 2007

Excellent 20 12

Good 42 39

Average 24 31

Below average 7 8

Poor 5 7

When asked what source is most useful when looking for information about the city or city programs and services

we find local newspapers as the number one choice Fully 52 say the local paper is their major source another

40 rely on mail notifications 30 use the citys Recreation Guide 28 the city website and 10 use the local

cable channel call the city or go to city council meetings There are 4 who arent sure of their main source of

news about the city

Notable differences in sources of information by subgroup are that women are much more likely than men to use the

Recreation Guide and as age increases and income decreases more traditional sources paper mail are used than is

the website

When it comes to the citys website we find that 44 of city dwellers have visited the site 56 have not Most

likely to have visited the site include younger residents 1854 newer residents lived in Encinitas less than 10

years households with children under the age of 18 college graduates and household with incomes in excess of

100000 annually

Among those who have visited the website a majority 52 rate the overall usability and quality of the site as

excellent or good 38 give the site an average rating but only 6 would rate the site as below average or

poor

City of Encinitas Residents 14

414Moore Information

Shifts in impressions of the website are

Quality of Website

Dccembcr 20105 JUIV 2007 Nct hilt

Excellent 15 13 2

Good 52 39 13

TOTAL excellentgood 67 52 15

Average 25 38 13

TOTAL below averagepoor 2 6 4

These numbers do indicate a slight downward shift in the perceived quality of the citys website but additional data

would be necessary before this could be described as a trend

City of Encinitas Residents

Moore Information15

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