Agenda - Council Work Session - 04/08/2014

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Community Characteristics What makes a community livable, attractive and a place where people want to be? Overall quality of community life represents the natural ambience, services and amenities that make for an attractive community. How residents rate their overall quality of life is an indicator of the overall health of a community. In the case of Carlton, 80% of residents rated their overall quality of life as "excellent" or "good" while only 3% of respondents felt they had a "poor" quality of life. Respondents' ratings of quality of life in Carlton were similar to ratings in other communities across the nation (see Appendix B of the Technical Appendices provided under separate cover). In addition to rating their overall quality of life, respondents rated several aspects of community quality including Carlton as a place to live, raise children and retire, as well as their neighborhood as a place to live, the overall image or reputation of Carlton and its overall appearance. Carlton as a place to live was rated the most positively with 85% of respondents rating this aspect of the community as "excellent" or "good;" these ratings were similar to other communities in the U.S. While slightly fewer respondents in Carlton rated the overall image or reputation of Carlton and the overall appearance of Carlton positively (about 70% "excellent" or "good "), these aspects of the community were higher in Carlton than in other communities across the nation. Delving deeper into Community Quality, survey respondents rated over 4o features of the community within the eight dimensions of Community Livability. Carlton performed strongly in the areas of the Natural Environment and Education and Enrichment. For example, aspects of the Natural Environment (including the overall natural environment, air quality and cleanliness) were rated as "excellent" or "good" by at least 7 in 10 respondents and all three aspects received Excellent ratings higher than the national benchmark. 34% Poor 2% Fair 13% Place to Live Percent rating positively (e.g., excellent /good) 72% Overall image or reputation Good 51% Challenges for Carlton may lie in the areas of Safety and the Built Environment. About two- thirds of respondents rated the overall feeling of safety in Carlton as "excellent" or "good," which was lower than the national benchmark. While the majority of respondents felt "very" or "somewhat" safe in their neighborhood (78 %), these ratings were lower in Carlton than in other communities in the U.S. 78% Comparison to national benchmark •Higher Similar Lower Not available 66% 70% Neighborhood Place to raise children Place to retire Overall appearance