Strengths, Weaknesses Found in Survey : Oceanside Gets Word on How to Improve Image

On a scale from one to 10, this seaside city is a 6.1, a San Diego public relations firm has decided after a three-month survey. Not exactly a Bo Derek, but not a dog either.

Traffic congestion, an unattractive downtown and its reputation as a “rowdy military town” are some of the reasons behind the city’s image problem, the survey released Thursday said. Despite those findings, city officials believe the survey will help Oceanside solve its problems and “emerge as a leader in North County.”

The results of the $15,000 survey were compiled from 60 interviews with community and business leaders, members of the news media, elected officials and military personnel. Information was also gathered from a three-page questionnaire completed by 762 Oceanside residents selected at random. The survey was conducted by The Stoorza Co., a San Diego public relations firm.

The interviews revealed that the city’s strengths include its location, its harbor, the economic benefits of Camp Pendleton, climate, affordable land and housing, and an abundant labor pool, the survey said.

The city’s weaknesses include an unattractive downtown, a lack of political stability, lack of cooperation within city government, traffic congestion, poor planning, and its reputation as a “rowdy military town” with a high crime rate, the survey said.

One opinion voiced by nearly 50% of the interviewees was that Marines are exploited at some downtown businesses.

The survey was conducted not only to find out what Oceanside’s image is, explained Marva Bledsoe Chriss, chairwoman of the Oceanside Image Improvement Task Force, “but also to provide us with some strategy to impact some of the perceptions people have about our community.”

Task force members are reviewing the survey, Bledsoe Chriss said. They will meet next week to consider recommendations to present at a Chamber of Commerce leadership retreat that will be held Feb. 25. The survey was financed by the harbor district, the chamber of commerce, the city’ redevelopment district and the city.

To combat the perception that Oceanside has a high crime rate, the survey recommends that the police chief report to the City Council quarterly on the department’s progress in crime prevention.

The city should also establish a “round table” group of Oceanside business people to encourage greater involvement and solicit feedback on redevelopment from the business community, the survey said.

The survey also recommends that the city create a growth and transportation task force to examine neighborhood concerns of low-quality housing and unplanned growth.

“The recommendations offer us the potential for changing the way the city answers the phone to coming up with a complete overview of the city’s structure and everything in between,” Bledsoe Chriss said.

Oceanside has had a “very painful adolescence,” but the results of the survey will help the city “spring forward and be a true leader in North County, “ Bledsoe Chriss said.