Laguna Hills Poll Shows 97% Like It

Nearly 97% of Laguna Hills residents say their city is a good or excellent place to live, according to a survey conducted by the Survey Research Center of the University of North Texas.

That and other findings from a telephone poll of 400 residents were reviewed by the City Council this week.

The city paid $10,800 for the survey to find out what people think about services provided by the city, which incorporated in 1991 and has a population of about 25,000.

The survey was overwhelmingly positive, but among some concerns expressed by residents were traffic congestion and sports fields.

More than half the residents queried said that traffic congestion was a problem or a serious problem in the city, and 32% said that they were not satisfied with the availability of sports fields. Most of those respondents were from households with children.

City Council members have been divided over the need for such a survey.

Councilwoman Melody Carruth said that the same type of information was probably available by word of mouth because the city is small. She also suggested that the survey might influence council policy.

But Councilman R. Craig Scott and two others said they wouldn’t be swayed by the survey results when making decisions.

“I remain convinced that we’ve got a product of value,” Scott said.