City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2016 07 12

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City of Louisville Citizen Survey June 2016 Executive Summary Survey Background and Methods The Louisville Citizen Survey gives residents the opportunity to rate their satisfaction with the quality of life in the city, the community's amenities and satisfaction with local government. The survey gathers community- wide feedback on what is working well and what is not and helps map out residents' priorities for community planning and resource allocation. It serves as a consumer report card for Louisville; providing a check-in with residents to make sure the City policies and services are on course. This is the fourth time National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) conducted the Louisville Citizen Survey and the seventh iteration in a series of citizen survey projects completed by the City of Louisville since 1990. The Louisville Citizen Survey was administered by mail to 2,000 randomly selected households within the city. Of those households receiving the survey, 790 residents responded to the mailed questionnaire, giving a high response rate of 40%. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points around any given percentage for all survey respondents. Survey results were weighted so that the characteristics of gender, age, tenure (rent versus own), housing unit type (attached versus detached) and Council Ward are represented in proportions reflective of the entire city. Comparisons are made between 2016 responses and those from prior years, when possible. Louisville's results also are compared to those of other jurisdictions around the nation as well as to those of other Front Range jurisdictions. These comparisons were made possible through NRC's national benchmark database. This database contains resident perspectives gathered in citizen surveys from approximately 500 jurisdictions. Key Findings Louisville residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life. • Almost all respondents felt that the overall quality of life in Louisville was excellent or good (97%), which was similar to previous years. Compared to other jurisdictions across the nation and in Colorado's Front Range, Louisville's overall quality of life ratings were much higher than both benchmarks. • Over 9 in 10 participants gave high marks to Louisville as a place to live and to raise children and three-quarters or more rated the community as a place to retire and to work as excellent or good. Evaluations of Louisville as place to retire decreased from 2012 to 2016, while all other ratings remained stable over time. • Ratings for aspects of quality of life were much higher in Louisville than in national and Front Range comparison communities. • Regarding community characteristics of Louisville, at least 9 in 10 respondents rated the overall image or reputation of Louisville, ease of walking, quality of overall natural environment and Louisville's overall appearance as excellent or good. Additionally, 8 in 10 highly rated opportunities to participate in special events, ease of bike travel, the sense of community, recreational opportunities, opportunities to participate in community matters and ease of car travel in the city. N cc • While most evaluations of characteristics of the community remained stable from 2012 to 2016, several changes were observed. Lower ratings were given in 2016 compared to 2012 to recreational opportunities, ease of car travel, openness and acceptance of the community, traffic flow on major streets, ease of bus travel, variety of housing options and availability of affordable quality housing. Opportunities to participate in community matters increased from 2012 to 2016. ° Report of Results 1