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Home My WebLink About01-26-2013 pc saunders•January 24, 2013 RECEIVE D JAN 25201 3 SLO CITY CLER K • COUNCIL MEETING :`12 '/ 1,3 ITEM NO .:pk (Se-1-Ftnq Re : Maintaining and acquiring Open Space ... top goal of City residents J Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council , The attached January 4, 2013 letter to your City Council summarizes more than 2,10 0 survey responses from city residents and business owners . Specifically the City's 201 2 survey asked city residents and business owners what services the city should provid e less, about the same, or more of, and for which they at they were willing to pay more . This is at the heart of the goal setting/budget process .(attachment #1 ) The letter is from the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club and it also asked that staf f not exclude these 2,100 responses from the city's goal setting process, but rather ad d them to the 430 responses from the "Community Priorities Survey" and the input fro m the 170 people who attended the community forum . Unfortunately, Staff's "updated", 360 page, January 26, 2013 "Goal Setting Packet " again excludes any mention of these 2,100+ responses from city residents and busines s owners. It refers repeatedly only to the many fewer responses from the "Community Priorities Survey" and the community forum . (attachment #2) I strongly support the Sierra Club, Santa Lucia Chapter's request that the City Counci l actively include in your public goal setting process, the more than 2,100 responses yo u have received from residents and business owners telling you that theirtop priority i s maintaining and acquiring natural open space . Hopefully, the top priority of City residents will be reflected in the major city goals o f their elected representatives . Respectfully submitted , e"'mot ..6t`u'4J1C> Carla Saunders •-.SIERRACLUB ~~} 1~AC~I VVI~431 5 FOUNDED 1892 Santa Lucia Chapter P.O .Box 1575 5 San Luis Obispo, CA 9340 6 (805)543-873 7 ww'w .santalucia.sierraclub .or g • January 4, 201 3 Re : Goal Setting and the 2013-2015 Financial Pla n Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council , a-a The Santa Lacia Chapter of the Sierra Club and its members who reside in the City of San Leis Obispo hav e supported the City's Open Space program for decades_ it was therefore with gnat interest; that we read of the mor e than 2,100 responses to the detailed survey the City sent to 25,000 city residents and business owners as part of its LUCE update process . Respondents were asked this question, which is also at the heart of your goal settingfbudge t process : On a scale off to 5 with I being less and 5 being more, do you think the city should provide less,about the same, or more ofeach of the following services?fyou think the coy should provide more or less ofa certain sent indicate whether you would be wilting to pay more for it or whether you would divert funds from that use to other services. When staff collated the more than 2,000 responses received, they found that just four service areas were supporte d by a majority of respondents who approved of seeking additional facilities and services : 58% support acquiring and maintaining open space for peals and hillsides, 54% support acquir ing and mai=ntaining more open space land for the city's greenbelt, 53% support more open space 'sand for creeks and marshes, and 50% wou l d like more bike lanes. —Funnel: "Despite support for some servites, only a slight majority of respondents said they would support paying more for just Iowa; 54% for open space for peaks and hillsides, and 52% for open space for the City's Greenbelt ." "-T fo a survey question seeking input on the most and least important aspects of `quality of life," respondent s overwhelmingly rated the natural environment (air quality, open space) as having the highest impact on quality o f life (71 .1%j. This was hue for all categories of respondents, including the employed (74 .7%),retired (69 .2%), students (69%), and ownersof businesses in the city (73 .4%). The "runner up" was "crime levels," at a significantl y lower 62 .9%. Even "lob opportunities" rated o-niy 38 .2%, and "hor=sing opportuities" 35 .3%. At the bottom of the list were "Shopping opportunities," rated a mere 15 .7 %; and `entertainment opportunities, at 16 .9%. That's what we call a mandate . Natural open space is clearly the top priority of city residents, and the role th e results of this survey should play in your Goal tang proree-s is obvious . '1Ttus we were more than a little pi ed to hear mat Staff proposes that these 2,100 responses from residents an d business owners be excluded from the Goal Settling process.1 ms woula be disrespectml to the thousands of residents and business owners who responded to this survey at the City's request, and would represent an obvious waste of city funds at a tune of pauifii3 budget care. We support Staff's proposal to use the 279 responses it received from the separate Community Priorities Surve y (SLO City 2013 Financial Plan, Goal-Setting Agenda Packet). in addition to these responses,we shams's,urge that the CamCouncil not exclude the 2.106- LUCE Update survey responses fram residents and business owners. the »,..,sec to the .isestion of which services the city should increase or decrease,and for whic h residents and business own ..ssarewilling to naymore . Thank you for your Wet—Mon to this matter, .4.-c,c,,—to sk Andrew Christie Chapter Director C Ak-k-ae.Am i RESULTS OF COMMUNITY BUDGET BULLETIN SURVE Y BACKGROUND Since these are "open-ended" responses, it is no t possible to provide a simple, analytical summary o f the results . Nonetheless, clear themes emerged . Th e sidebar charts summarize "Top Themes," presente d in order of the most common responses . In addition to encouraging participation in th e budget workshops, the community survey asks th e City's residents to share their priorities and the mos t important things for the City to accomplish over the next two years . Additionally it asks for feedback o n possible program and service adjustment in order t o accomplish the goals . SURVEY DISTRIBUTIO N In order to reach as many residents as possible, the City utilizes several outreach methods . They range from : •Online & Facebook availability •Utility Invoice inserts •City public counters and the Senior Center , • Swim Center, the Golf Course, and th e Public Librar y •Newspaper ad s .Outreach to 200 community group s SURVEY PARTICIPATIO N By December 14, 2012, 279 online and hard cop y individual surveys were received . This is especiall y notable since the survey is an "open-ende d"templat e (it did not provide pre-determined "check-off ' answers) and requires thought and effort on the par t of respondents . As surveys continue to be received , the Council will receive an updated summary o n January 18, 2013 . SURVEY RESULT S It is important to point out that this is not a "scientific survey" and as such caution should b e used when interpreting the results . Nonetheless , staff believe the results are useful—especially whe n viewed in conjunction with the other forms of feedback the Council will receive in this process—i n gaining additional insight into the wishes, views, an d concerns of the community . How Does this Compare with Other Surveys ? Two Years Ago .The same survey on priorities wa s conducted two years ago as part of the 2011-1 3 Financial Plan . The results are similar for both , community priorities and related progra m adjustments . Although the importance of priorities have changed over time, the themes have bee n consistent over the past four years . TOP 10 THEMES : PRIORITIE S Based on 279 Responses `~i to r*A S°80 oc dasr*, Qa ~`ie a``OO Qua°a e`'~'Aso es a $o°a Oa' P+*p t `s,ru°k TOP 5 THEMES : ADJUSTMENTS Reduce sal aariesservice DeliveryScale back non- Public Transit, Raise taxes / & benefits Method essential bike,&fees (contract,services pedestrian volunteers) Page 1 Citizen feedback and input is a cornerstone of the City's budget process and an integral part to th e decision making on Major City Goals . • • ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY BUDGET BULLETIN SURVEY RESPONSE S January 17, 201 3 For the Community Forum on January 8, 2013, we forwarded to Council the results of the communit y survey for all submittals received by December 14, 2012 . Since that time, we continued to receiv e survey submittals and this report serves as an update of the information provided . SURVEY PARTICIPATIO N By December 14, 2012, we received 279 responses . By January 11, 2013, 151 additional submittal s were received for a total of 430 surveys responses . For the second tally, we saw an increase of onlin e submittals as it appears that many interest groups directed their members to the online tool . ADDITIONAL RESPONSES RECEIVE D Below is a summary chart for the top 10 priority themes based on the responses received sinc e December 14, 2012 . All the surveys submitted provided input on priorities for consideration as the Cit y Council develops the 2013-15 budget . Not all surveys addressed possible adjustments to programs, bu t several themes emerged from those listing suggestions for consideration . Though they did not enter the top 10 themes overall, Laguna Lake and the Santa Rosa Skatepark were frequent topics found in the surveys during this time period . (I TOP 10 THEMES : RESPONSES RECEIVED DEC 14 TH to JAN 11 TH 30 28 25 21 20 i 1 4 `as) a(' cc'5 ec`Q1111-!~a`\ mac 97'c`'~ oQ c P e,'Je' awe .Fe zQo ewe Od Lo000 `e °a~Rt`' `g e %\fe .9 t o °ae 4, a\a, o a \V F° L2) S ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY BUDGET BULLETIN SURVEY RESPONSE S TOP 10 THEMES : COMBINED RESULTS 0 Though the ranks of individual topics changed between the two data sets, the themes largely remaine d the same . The chart below combines the information from both survey data sets . RANKING COMPARISON BETWEEN THE DATA SET S In order to provide an overview as to the changes within the ranking of the individual topics, below is a ranking chart that compares the responses from the two survey dates with the topics emerging from th e Community Forum. >;'" 4511-e5s ,o.ao ¢ ~ c era 42 OQ e < 5¢ Ei .\O <r° owe 55 ~roo o1 48- O~e 4<a~ 4' 4' came Leo° ~e~Oos< ~O Priority Survey Ran k 12/14/12 Survey I Community Rank 1 Forum 1/11/13 Homeless (Issues & Care) 1 1 7 Infrastructure Maint . Incl . Road Repairs 2 2 ] - Fiscal Health / Responsibility 3 3 6 i Open Spac e Preservation 4 5 3 Traffic Congestion 5 6 - Increase Bike Paths 6 4 2 LOVR Overpass 7 10 i - Neighborhood Wellness 8 8 4 Downtown Preservation 9 9 Economic Development 10 7 8 Skate Park -14 5 Public Transportation _j -- 10 C3 D PUBLIC COMMENT S 170 members of the community participated at the Community Forum held on January 8 , 2013 at the Ludwick Community Center . The members were provided three key ways for participants to share their ideas with the Council and each other : 1.Public Comments . All participants were provided an opportunity to share with th e Council what they were proposing, why it is important and how it might b e accomplished . 2.Voting with "Dots ."Using the public comments recorded on flip charts and poste d on the walls as the "ballot," participants were provided with 12 "dot stickers" (6 green and 6 orange) to place on the sheets to "vote" for ideas that they felt should b e the top priorities for 2013-15 . The green dots indicate a vote for overall goa l priorities and the orange dots indicate a vote for Measure Y priorities . Th e information provided in this report reflects the number of dot "votes" received, no t necessarily the number of individuals voting on the idea . 3.Supplemental Comments . Participants were also provided with half-page "stick y notes" to provide supplemental comments to the public comments . This provide d community members uncomfortable with public speaking an opportunity for input . RESULTS SUMMAR Y The following pages summarize the results of each of these participation opportunities : public comments ; "voting with dots ;" and supplemental comments . Wherever practical , staff added the votes per topic areas to provide a summary of the top priorities emergin g from the forum to create the chart below . Is Regula r Measure Y s`O~\~tia Qa~,°yecyQa~~e\\ceSZ~'ae8o~s \-`~~`e 2o^e~oc 804 S eDeSt oQ ooa ~o co \QQSQ ees Oe ,,`ace Q 5 .` °mac 68 ir Fuse -z,o °cc o~O\`oyc O F ?e ~~o Q Page 1