Residents who responded to a comprehensive survey earlier this year say the City is a highly desirable and safe place to live, giving positive ratings to Coronado as a place to live and for its overall quality of life.
The National Community Survey, a joint effort between Polco/National Research Center and the International City/County Management Association, helps cities conduct a statistically valid and cost-effective citizen-satisfaction survey. Results for Coronado are measured against those cities that have participated in the survey within the past few years, as well as a subset of peer cities who also want to measure performance. Coronado has commissioned the survey in 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2021.
The City Council received a presentation on the survey results at its meeting Sept. 7.
“With about 9 in 10 residents responding they would recommend living in Coronado to someone who asked and that they planned to remain for the next five years speaks to the overall satisfaction residents have about their lives here,” said Acting City Manager Dominique Albrecht.
The exceptional quality-of-life ratings were higher than those given in other communities across the nation and higher than Coronado’s peer communities, more than 30 cities with similar populations and other characteristics. Ratings for local government performance, the economy and for health and wellness have improved since 2018. However, growth issues continue to be a concern in the community.
Those who took part in the comprehensive survey rated more than 140 features of the community within 10 facets of community livability: Economic Health; Mobility; Built Environment; Infrastructure; Safety; Natural Environment; Parks and Recreation; Health and Wellness; Education and Enrichment; and Community Engagement.
All but one of the facet rankings were higher or much higher than national benchmarks and were among some of the highest ratings in National Research Center’s benchmarking database. Only Utility Infrastructure (overall quality of water, sewer, storm water, etc.) ranked “similar to” other national benchmark cities.
Residents also gave good or excellent ratings to parks and recreation opportunities, public library services, as well as arts and cultural opportunities. The City did not fare as well in the areas of traffic and public parking. However, the number of people who walked or biked instead of driving was much higher than the national benchmark cities.
When specifically asked whether they support the status quo in terms of several City policies, residents said they supported the City’s current position on items such as its short-term rental policy; its existing limits on bulk, mass and scale of residential development; library offerings including programming, meeting rooms and high-speed Wi-Fi; and public art, providing venue spaces and festivals and community events. When asked to name the single most important thing Coronado could do to improve their quality of life, most cited mobility and traffic-related issues, followed by limiting growth, development and tourism.
“It’s important to watch for meaningful differences between surveys so we can see where we are strong and also where we can improve,” Albrecht said.
Cities send out the National Community Survey to residents whose perspectives on local government services and quality of community life are evaluated. Of the 2,478 households in Coronado that received an invitation to participate, 594 completed the survey. The response rate was 24 percent. Scientific surveys are carefully built with an eye towards validity and reliability via questionnaire design, sampling, data collection and analysis. Results are statistically weighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community. The survey has standardized questions with a few customized questions.
When compared strictly against peer communities — including cities such as Sedona, Arizona, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and Park City, Utah — Coronado ranked in the Top 5 in 82 of 115 measures (or Top 3 in 66 of 115 measures), which included 25 No. 1 rankings. Some of the areas in which Coronado ranked No. 1 against peer communities included sense of community, neighborliness, recreation programs, library services and overall customer service. Nationally, Coronado ranked high in the following categories:
- 1 of 274 communities in overall health and wellness opportunities
- 2 of 400 communities in the overall quality of life
- 3 of 275 communities in recreation centers or facilities
- 3 of 302 communities in library services
- 4 of 338 communities in fire services
The 2021 Coronado Community Survey can be found on the Coronado website by clicking here or by typing in: https://bit.ly/NCSSatisfactionSurvey.
