What Do NW District 1 Residents Want? Part I

Residents of the NW District 1 area-represented by precincts 5, 68, and 43 (indicated on the map above) have spoken via a survey that was just completed.  The responses give an interesting look into what folks from this section of Escambia County want to see as it pertains to growth and development..

The Northwest District 1 Advisory Committee developed a list of questions to help guide the intelligent management of growth out in the NW portion of District 1, the greater Beulah area.

Last June, the BCC voted to support my request to engage UWF's Haas Center to send out the questions and conduct the study.

This week, we received the study results and we heard clearly and unambiguously what the residents want. From the report:

"Our methodology was multi-modal, including direct emails to registered voters, an anonymous link shared online, and a link shared on a postcard to direct households.  In total, 530 people completed the core content questions.  That corresponds to roughly a margin of error of 4.2% at a confidence level of 95%.  The results have been weighted to reflect the age and gender distributions of the residents of the Northwest District 1 region"

Here are some highlights from the report:

1.   Do you favor impact fees?   

Yes  76%    No   24%  (521 total votes received)

2.  Do you prefer minimum lot sizes for new residential construction?

Yes  79%    No   21%  (528 total votes received)

3.  Would you be interested in having an organized town center in the Beulah area?

Yes   71%   No   29%    (478 total votes received)

4.  Do you favor an overlay zone in this area?

Yes   85%   No   15%


Additional interesting details about the survey participants:

---96% Answered "Yes" when asked if they own a home in the Beulah area





---48% of respondents were male, 51% were female, and 1% didn't choose to respond

---80%  of respondents were age 35 or older, with 19% aged 18-34 and 1% unwilling to identify their age

---82% of respondents were Caucasian

NEXT STEPS

The NW District 1 Advisory Committee members have each been given copies of the complete survey results, and this information will help guide the committee's next steps in planning for intelligent growth in this portion of District 1.  The committee's tentative next meeting date will be in September.  Read more about the NW District 1 Advisory Committee, this area of District 1, and the work we are doing to intelligently plan for growth in this area here