Focus on Cary :Survey Results

 

Number of responses: 1015

Male	63%	639
Female	36%	373

Age Group

Under 18	0%	2
18-25	1%	20
26-35	18%	191
36-45	33%	342
46-55	23%	239
56-65	12%	126
66-75	7%	75
Over 75	1%	17

Residency

inside Cary	97%	985
outside Cary but in Wake County	2%	21
outside Wake County	0%	7

Race

Caucasian	91%	911
African-American	2%	24
Native-American	0%	3
Asian	2%	29
Hispanic	0%	9
Other	2%	25

Are you a member of the development community-builder,land developer,construction/trade worker, real estate agent ?

Yes	3%	36
No	96%	976

In general, when you hear that Cary is considering adding a new subdivision or shopping center, who do you think is proposing the new development?

An individual or group of private business people	85%	860
The person that owns the land	10%	103
Town of Cary Government	4%	48

In general, when you see undeveloped property in Cary, who do you think has the legal right to develop it?

An individual or group of private business people	9%	99
The person who owns the land	83%	841
Town of Cary Government	6%	68

Public hearings before the Town Council

Yes	96%	967
No	3%	35

Review by a Council appointed citizens’ board

Yes	68%	677
No	31%	306

Community open houses

Yes	66%	638
No	33%	327

Speakers’ Bureau that provides Town staff to make presentations to neighborhood and civic groups.

Yes	64%	614
No	35%	343

One-on-one meetings with the Town

Yes	44%	421
No	55%	531

Email, postal mail, and telephone communication with the Town

Yes	82%	800
No	17%	173

Advertising in The Cary News (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	12%	129
2	10%	106
3	16%	160
4	10%	100
5	15%	151
6	7%	74
7	10%	109
8	7%	76
9	5%	59
NA	2%	29

Advertising in The News & Observer (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	8%	87
2	10%	102
3	13%	130
4	8%	88
5	19%	189
6	10%	106
7	13%	135
8	10%	105
9	3%	37
NA	1%	15

Postings on the Town’s Web site (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	7%	79
2	15%	157
3	17%	174
4	11%	117
5	15%	155
6	11%	117
7	6%	69
8	5%	57
9	5%	51
NA	1%	14

Sending out Internet e-mails (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	7%	78
2	6%	62
3	8%	86
4	5%	58
5	11%	115
6	8%	79
7	12%	122
8	18%	187
9	17%	169
NA	3%	31

Recorded messages on the Town’s 24-hour Town Hall Phone Service (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	24%	245
2	24%	247
3	18%	179
4	7%	71
5	10%	99
6	3%	33
7	3%	30
8	1%	15
9	2%	26
NA	4%	44

Postings on the Town’s Cable TV electronic bulletin board (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	14%	139
2	18%	180
3	17%	173
4	8%	86
5	11%	114
6	11%	110
7	9%	96
8	3%	36
9	2%	22
NA	3%	32

Carrying a story in BUD, the Town’s utility bill newsletter (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	2%	25
2	5%	50
3	4%	49
4	5%	57
5	9%	95
6	9%	98
7	20%	204
8	19%	191
9	21%	213
NA	1%	12

Carrying a story on BUD-TV (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	19%	189
2	19%	190
3	16%	160
4	8%	79
5	12%	128
6	6%	66
7	6%	60
8	3%	35
9	1%	19
NA	6%	61

Sending letters via US Postal Mail (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	1%	10
2	1%	12
3	3%	31
4	3%	34
5	5%	58
6	7%	75
7	19%	192
8	26%	261
9	31%	308
NA	0%	2

Placing signs on the property of the proposed action (1: never effective; 9: always effective)

1	2%	28
2	6%	63
3	7%	69
4	9%	93
5	15%	152
6	12%	119
7	21%	207
8	13%	134
9	11%	112
NA	0%	3

Southwest Gateway Plan

Yes	25%	251
No	74%	722

Walnut Street Corridor Plan

Yes	73%	733
No	26%	262

Open Space and Historic Resources Plan

Yes	34%	335
No	65%	642

Town Center Area Plan

Yes	59%	586
No	40%	393

Northwest Area Plan

Yes	25%	246
No	74%	732

Land Use Development Ordinance

Yes	34%	338
No	65%	637

Parks, Greenways, Cultural Resources Master Plan

Yes	59%	587
No	40%	400

Please rate your overall level of satisfaction with how citizen involvement is incorporated into the Town’s planning or development process using a scale of 1-9 with 9 indicating that you are extremely satisfied and 1 being that you’re extremely dissatisfied. (1, extremely dissatisfied; 9, extremely satisfied)

1	5%	52
2	5%	49
3	10%	100
4	9%	90
5	16%	165
6	25%	247
7	18%	181
8	6%	65
9	3%	30

If given the opportunity by the Town, I would personally participate more regularly in Cary’s planning and development processes as opposed to participating only when a planning or development activity is proposed near my residence. Do you:

strongly agree	12%	124
agree	45%	444
disagree, or	39%	393
strongly disagree with this statement?	2%	24

While I would like to participate more regularly in Cary’s planning and development processes, my schedule only allows me to participate when a planning or development activity is proposed that could directly affect me. Do you:

strongly agree	20%	206
agree	50%	505
disagree, or	24%	241
strongly disagree with this statement?	4%	43

Have you been specifically affected by a planning or development activity in the past year?

Yes	44%	441
No	55%	556

Which of the following planning or development activities have you been affected by in the last year (check all that apply):

Rezoning of nearby property	26%	169
Submittal of a site or development plan on nearby property	29%	184
Development of a long range plan, such as TCAP or the northwest area plan	17%	107
Involuntary annexation	3%	21
Other	23%	146

Thinking about the outcome of the planning or development activities that affected you, would you say you feel:

Very happy with the outcome	7%	35
Somewhat happy with the outcome	21%	95
Mixed or neutral with the outcome	37%	163
Unhappy with the outcome, or	18%	79
Very unhappy with the outcome ?	15%	66

Did you or a member of your household participate in one of these formal opportunities?

Yes	42%	190
No	57%	252

Which of the following best describes your feelings on the number of formal opportunities you had. Would you say there were:

Too few opportunities	41%	173
About the right number of opportunities, or	55%	229
Too many opportunities for you ?	2%	10

What about the timing of those opportunities relative to the planning or development activity—would you say they were held:

Too early in the process to be beneficial	7%	29
Too late in the process tobe beneficial, or	47%	187
About the right time within the planning or development process for you?	45%	178

The meeting place of the formal citizen participation opportunities

1	3%	13
2	5%	21
3	6%	26
4	5%	23
5	26%	106
6	10%	40
7	24%	96
8	11%	45
9	6%	25

The time of day of the formal citizen participation opportunities

1	5%	22
2	6%	25
3	6%	26
4	7%	28
5	21%	80
6	14%	54
7	20%	79
8	13%	52
9	3%	14

The day of the week of the formal citizen participation opportunities

1	4%	17
2	6%	25
3	3%	14
4	4%	19
5	26%	100
6	15%	60
7	19%	74
8	15%	58
9	3%	15

Did you or a member of your household use one of these informal opportunities?

Yes	45%	201
No	54%	237

(FOR ANYONE THAT ANSWERS YES)Please rate your overall level of satisfaction with your informal contacts with the Town about the planning or development activity using a scale of 1-9 with 9 indicating that you are extremely satisfied and 1 being that you’re extremely dissatisfied.

1	10%	22
2	9%	19
3	4%	10
4	9%	20
5	16%	35
6	15%	32
7	12%	25
8	11%	23
9	9%	20

Did you have contact with Town staff at any point in the process?

Yes	46%	166
No	53%	193

IF NO, SKIP TO NEXT Q, If YES, how well were your interests or concerns addressed using a scale of 1-9 with 9 indicating that you are extremely satisfied and 1 being that you’re extremely dissatisfied.

1	12%	21
2	9%	16
3	7%	12
4	3%	6
5	18%	31
6	6%	11
7	13%	22
8	13%	23
9	13%	23

Did you have contact with Town Council members at any point in the process?

Yes	31%	104
No	68%	227

IF NO, SKIP TO NEXT Q, If YES, how well were your interests or concerns addressed using a scale of 1-9 with 9 indicating that you are extremely satisfied and 1 being that you’re extremely dissatisfied.

1	12%	14
2	19%	22
3	11%	13
4	7%	8
5	6%	7
6	2%	3
7	18%	20
8	13%	15
9	8%	9

What kind of impact do you feel your involvement in the process had on the proposed activity’s outcome—would you say your involvement:

Significantly impacted the outcome,	3%	14
Somewhat impacted the outcome,	9%	32
Slightly impacted the outcome, or	17%	60
Had no impact at all on the outcome ?	42%	151
NA	26%	95

What if we included in our notice letters a pamphlet summarizing the proposed planning or development process, including citizen involvement opportunities? Would that be:

an extremely effective improvement,	53%	527
a somewhat effective improvement,	34%	336
a slightly effective improvement, or	11%	110
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	0%	9

What if Town of Cary Planning staff met annually with every homeowners association to talk about proposed projects as well as answer questions

an extremely effective improvement,	39%	391
a somewhat effective improvement,	32%	323
a slightly effective improvement, or	19%	188
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	8%	79

What if Town of Cary Planning staff organized meetings with affected neighborhoods to talk about planning or development projects when they are proposed

an extremely effective improvement,	65%	644
a somewhat effective improvement,	26%	266
a slightly effective improvement, or	7%	70
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	0%	8

What if we worked with property owners to develop and keep updated neighborhood plans that identified desired general improvements to the area, such as what might be done with undeveloped land as well as future service and facility needs—would that be:

an extremely effective improvement,	51%	502
a somewhat effective improvement,	39%	385
a slightly effective improvement, or	7%	75
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	1%	16

What if we designated a Town staff ombudsman or neighborhood liaison that would be assigned to work specifically with citizens during the planning and development process? Would that be:

an extremely effective improvement,	44%	438
a somewhat effective improvement,	36%	357
a slightly effective improvement, or	15%	154
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	3%	32

What if the Town required developers to meet with affected property owners regularly during the months immediately prior to initiating a planning or development activity? Would that be:

an extremely effective improvement,	56%	553
a somewhat effective improvement,	26%	255
a slightly effective improvement, or	12%	118
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	4%	48

What if we changed how citizens are appointed to the Town’s Planning and Zoning Board by assigning seats on that board based on geography to ensure that every area of Cary was represented. Would that be:

an extremely effective improvement,	44%	433
a somewhat effective improvement,	37%	363
a slightly effective improvement, or	13%	132
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	4%	43

What if we created a new Town Council appointed citizen advisory board that would develop and implement a structured communications effort between citizens and developers before a development activity could be initiated? Would that be:

an extremely effective improvement,	32%	315
a somewhat effective improvement,	35%	348
a slightly effective improvement, or	23%	227
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	8%	79

What if the Town created a number of Citizens Advisory Councils? These CAC’s are groups of citizen volunteers responsible for reviewing issues of interest to their own neighborhoods or geographic areas and expressing concerns of the group to the Town Council. Items such as rezonings or development plans could be discussed at the meetings, with the results of any votes taken at CAC meetings being presented to the Town Council. Would CAC’s be:

an extremely effective improvement,	35%	339
a somewhat effective improvement,	40%	387
a slightly effective improvement, or	16%	159
not at all an effective improvement for citizens involved in a planning or development activity	8%	81

If the Town did establish CAC’s, which of the following would best characterize your likely involvement with them—do you think you’d likely:

Regularly attend meetings, perhaps monthly	18%	179
Attend meetings now and then	35%	342
Attend meetings only when there was an issue directly affecting you, or	38%	375
Not attend meetings at all?	7%	72

Thinking about future formal citizen participation opportunities that we currently have, such as open houses and public input sessions, would you prefer that we schedule them:

on week nights	42%	402
on weekends	8%	82
a combination of both	49%	471

And would you prefer that we schedule them:

right after work, say from 4 p.m.-7 p.m.	28%	268
after dinner, say from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.	71%	687

Finally, it’s possible that implementing some of these ideas could require committing significant financial resources. Using a scale of 1-9 with 9 indicating that you are extremely supportive and 1 indicating that you are not at all supportive, please rate your level of support for the Town allocating additional resources to citizen involvement in the planning and development process.

1	5%	51
2	5%	50
3	12%	119
4	6%	61
5	18%	175
6	14%	137
7	19%	185
8	10%	103
9	8%	85