YORBA LINDA : Survey of Residents to Target City Needs

About 600 residents will be getting phone calls sometime in the next two months from a research group hired by the city to find out what residents think of their community.

The residents will be queried in two groups of 300. One group will be asked about the city’s recreational needs, and the other will be surveyed about overall city needs.

The surveys, which will be conducted by Fairfax Research Group for $18,500, will consist of 15-minute phone interviews of residents representing a cross-section of the city.

According to City Manager Arthur C. Simonian, the surveys will be used by the council as a guide when setting priorities for projects and will have a margin of error of about 6%.

The last time the city conducted a survey was in 1988. Some of the issues covered then will be addressed in the upcoming survey, but several new topics will be discussed.

The list of proposed topics for the overall survey includes: satisfaction with the city; the No. 1 problem facing the city; the perception of the need for additional schools, including a high school, and the willingness to commit city money to fund school construction and operation; the level of satisfaction with police services and the need for the city to have its own department. (The city contracts with Brea for police service).

Other topics are: banning smoking in public places; special taxes and assessments for programs and services; the need for child-care services, and the level of satisfaction with traffic conditions, street maintenance and library service.

Simonian said the city should have the results of the surveys about 30 days after they are completed.