Results of Business and Residential Surveys for City of Mandeville

Transcription

1 Results of Business and Residential Surveys for City of Mandeville by 347 Girod St. Mandeville, LA (985) FAX: (985) January 28, 2015

2 Introduction The City of Mandeville hired Taimerica Management Company to conduct surveys with business owners and homeowners. The surveys were conducted from November 18, 2014 to December 29, Homeowners were asked what they liked about Mandeville and what they thought could be improved. Business owners were asked what the advantages were of having their business in Mandeville, how satisfied they were with City Services, and what types of new businesses in Mandeville would be beneficial to their own business. Results from the homeowners survey showed that over 60% of respondents had lived in Mandeville for more than 10 years. Nearly 60% of respondents lived in zip code while 40% lived in zip code The median age of businesses completing the survey was 6.8 years. Half of businesses were providing professional services and 40% were in retail and entertainment. Methodology Two surveys were sent out; one was an occupational license group survey of 1570 companies and the other was a residential group survey. An was sent out to separate lists inviting people to participate in the surveys. The residential group survey invitation was sent to the Mandeville Homeowners Association, which had 48 people, who then forwarded the survey to their members. This list was supplemented with a notice of the survey mailed with all city utility customers. The links for the survey were placed on the City of Mandeville website. The questions on the survey were pretested with city staff. There were 98 responses to the Mandeville Residential Group Survey and 67 responses to the Mandeville Occupational License Group Survey. These samples were large enough to warrant statistical inferences. Differences of 8.5% on the residential survey and 10% on the business survey are statistically significant. To aid in interpretation, the responses were divided into tiers of responses; the responses within each tier are not statistically different but responses between tiers are. The questions for the Mandeville Residential Group Survey and Mandeville Occupational License Group Surveys are shown below. Results of Residential Survey Question 1 Attractions of the City as a Place to Live Nearly 90% responded positively to the general quality of life as the most attractive attribute of living in Mandeville, followed by specifics such as trees and greenery, waterfront, and trailhead events (see Chart 1). Question 2 Suggestions for Improvement Responses fell into four tiers; nearly half cited waterfront amenities and more entertainment venues as needed improvements. The second tier respondents cited more public parks and recreation and a venue for higher education courses. Other improvements were identified by less than a fourth of respondents (see Chart 2). 1

3 Question 3 City Services Respondents are most satisfied with water and sewer services. Even the second tier answers represent a high level of satisfaction. Roads were found to be the services that residents are least satisfied with (see Chart 3). Question 4 How Mandeville Residents feel about Growth and Change Despite press reports and public statements of citizens, residents in general favor growth in Mandeville by a two to one margin. There is no statistical difference in response between the feelings about commercial and residential growth (see Chart 4). Question 5 What Mandeville Residents Would Preserve if anything? Seventy-seven of 98 respondents gave specific answers to this open-ended question. The most common responses can be grouped into 2 tiers of responses. Tier 1 items were mentioned by a fourth of participants, Tier 2 items by an eighth of participants. Most common features to preserve: Tier 1: (number of responses) Green space (21) Trees (19) Lakefront (18) Tier 2: (number of responses) Small town feeling (10) Old Mandeville/historic district (8) Safe living (4) Question 6 If Mandeville Residents Could Change Anything, What Would It Be? Seventy-one of 98 respondents gave specific answers to this open-ended question. Many responses were specific to individuals, such as car lines at OLL or capture the idiots that roar around the parking area at the harbor every night. Common patterns emerged among the 71 tangible responses, which are grouped into two statistically different tiers. Tier 1: (number of responses) Highway 190 construction (10) Slower commercial growth (9) Tier 2: (number of responses) Slower residential growth (5) Traffic congestion (5) Girod Street growth (2) Faster commercial growth (2) Six specific projects were mentioned to improve the quality of life in Mandeville, but only one project was mentioned more than once: More bike paths (2) 2

4 Big hotel and lifestyle retailing Golf driving range More businesses in Old Mandeville Fall concerts on Fridays to avoid conflicts with LSU games Allow picnics on lakefront Mandeville Residential Group Survey Questions Chart 1 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All responses within a tier fall within the same margin of error. 3

5 Chart 2 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All fall within the same margin of error. 4

6 Chart 3 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All fall within the same margin of error. Lower scores represent higher satisfaction levels. Tier 1 responses are rated higher than Tier 2 responses. 5

7 Chart 4 These 3 responses are not statistically different. All are within the same margin of error. 6

8 Chart 5 7

9 Chart 6 8

10 Results of Occupational Group Survey In addition to the residential group survey, a survey was sent out to business owners. This survey consisted of seven questions. The results for each question are shown in the charts below. Question 1 Advantages of Mandeville as a Business Location There were four tiers of responses; the most common responses, which more than half of participants mentioned, was that the principal advantages of a Mandeville location are short commutes and proximity to customers. The second tier responses are ambiance for entertaining customers and good highway access to customers or home. The balance of responses in Tiers 3 and 4 were mentioned by less than 20% of respondents (see Chart 7). Question 2 Why Business Owners Chose to Locate Their Business in Mandeville There were three tiers of responses but only one tier was mentioned by more than half of respondents business located in Mandeville to be near the owner s home. Tier 2 responses, which were mentioned by more than one-third of businesses, were proximity to customers and desirable space to lease (see Chart 8). Question 3 What Term Describes Owners Businesses? There were three tiers of responses; the only thing in Tier 1 was professional office. 50% of business owners described their line of business as professional office. Tier 2 responses were retail except for entertainment and entertainment (restaurant or bar). Tier 3 responses were consumer service such as dry cleaning and hospitality (see Chart 9). Question 4 What Types of New Businesses in Mandeville Would be Beneficial to Owners Own Businesses? As to what types of new businesses in Mandeville would be beneficial to your own business, there were six responses within the margin of error for Tier 1; the responses suggest that a bigger concentration of professional and medical offices, restaurants, and entertainment businesses would be beneficial. One business mentioned frequently that is not current located in Mandeville is a hotel with meeting space (see Chart 10). Question 5 City Services These responses were parallel to the residential responses; the highest level of satisfaction is with water, sewage, and police. There were six city services in Tier 2. Respondents were slightly less satisfied with Tier 2 services but there were twice as many positive as negative ratings. The only answer in Tier 3, which represents most dissatisfaction, was roads (see Chart 11). Question 6 How Easy or Difficult is the Planning and Business Permitting Process for the City of Mandeville? This question dealt with the difficulty of planning and business permitting. Twice as many responses rated the process as easy compared to those that rated it difficult (see Chart 12). 9

11 Question 7 Is the City Supportive and Business-Friendly? This question showed overwhelming satisfaction with the business climate in Mandeville, with four times the responses stating that Mandeville is business-friendly with those that rated it negatively (see Chart 13). Conclusion These surveys provide feedback for city leaders on the desires and preferences of Mandeville citizens and business owners alike. Residents value the green space, trees, waterfront and trail events. Suggestions for improvement of the quality of life in the city centered on having more trees and waterfront venues. Citizens are broadly satisfied with all of the city services enumerated in the survey. Despite press reports and public statements by vocal citizens, the survey results suggest that citizens in general are in favor of more commercial and residential growth. Traffic and road conditions are the issues that are of the least satisfaction to residents of Mandeville. Highway appearance was also mentioned by many residents as an issue, but many of the examples used to illustrate the problem were commercial facilities on Florida Ave. that are on the side of the highway that is outside of city jurisdiction. Business respondents identified the locational advantages of short commutes and proximity to customers as reasons for their presence in Mandeville. Respondents felt that additional professional offices and retail and entertainment venues would be desirable targets to welcome to Mandeville. In parallel to citizens, businesses were quite satisfied with the array of services offered by the City of Mandeville. This included the planning and business permitting process in the city. Of significance, business respondents were four times as likely to rate Mandeville as business-friendly compared to those that rated it as unfriendly to business. 10

12 Mandeville Occupational Group Survey Questions Chart 7 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All fall within the same margin of error. 11

13 Chart 8 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All fall within the same margin of error. 12

14 Chart 9 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All fall within the same margin of error. 13

15 Chart 10 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All fall within the same margin of error. 14

16 Chart 11 Note: Responses within a tier are not different statistically from each other. All fall within the same margin of error. Lower scores represent higher satisfaction levels. 15

17 Chart 12 On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being easy and 5 being difficult, how would you rate the planning and business permitting process in the City of Mandeville? 1 (easy) 2 (easy) 3 (neutral) 4 (difficult) 5 (difficult) 0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% 16

18 Chart 13 17

19 Chart 14 18