Coronado to Evaluate Satisfaction Levels, Use Results to Help Guide Policy
The City of Coronado has once again reached out to residents to assess their satisfaction with the City’s performance using a comprehensive, scientifically valid survey sent out to the community earlier this year.
Those who took part in the National Citizen Survey rated the coastal community a highly desirable and safe place to live, raise children and retire. They also gave high marks to Coronado’s overall image and reputation, and its overall appearance.
In addition to a performance assessment, the survey also polled residents with several policy-oriented questions. The City plans to use the results to help guide policy decisions, for example, to maintain what residents enjoy about Coronado and improve those areas residents say are lacking.
Coronado commissioned the survey, a joint effort between the National Research Center and the International City/County Management Association, in 2011, 2014 and this year. Results for Coronado are measured against other cities that have participated in the survey within the past two years.
Coronado’s livability ratings are all higher or much higher than national benchmarks and were among some of the highest ratings in the National Research Center’s benchmarking database, and they have remained stable over time.
“I am gratified that Coronado residents perceive Coronado as a safe, beautiful City with many amenities,” said City Manager Blair King. “However, we pore over the results looking for trends between surveys, so we know our strengths and weaknesses.”
Those who took part in the survey rated more than 40 features of the community with eight facets of community livability: Safety; Mobility; Natural Environment; Built Environment; Economy; Recreation and Wellness; Education and Enrichment; and Community Engagement.
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. Public parking and traveling by car ranked lower than national benchmarks. However, the proportion of residents who had walked or biked instead of driving was higher than rates in other comparison communities. In recent years, the City has initiated several projects to help with mobility and plans to consider proposals to improve areas such as parking.
“We will take the time to review the survey,” King said. “Each City department, as well as our boards, committees and commissions, will review the survey results and try to find ways to improve the City within their areas of expertise.”
The City also did not fare as well in the areas of affordable housing availability and cost of living. The lack of available affordable housing and the ever-increasing cost of living may be inevitable impacts of living in a desirable coastal resort community.
Although significant trends in some categories are at a similar or higher level as compared to other surveyed communities, decreases greater than 10 percent in other areas — quality of new development; quality of businesses and services; animal control; emergency preparedness; and land use, planning and zoning – will be examined so the City can act where appropriate to reverse these trends.
Coronado residents also gave excellent or good ratings to social events and activities, opportunities to participate in community matters, volunteering and public information. When compared to residents in other communities across the nation, more Coronado residents had attended a local public meeting and volunteered in the last 12 months.
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, public art, street banners, historic preservation and Library hours.
Cities send out the National Citizen Survey to residents whose perspectives on local government services and quality of community life are evaluated. The survey had a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
Click to access the 2018 Coronado Citizen Survey reports on the City of Coronado website.
Source: City of Coronado
