SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL PARKS NEIGHBOR SURVEY MAY 1997
SONOMA COUNTY REGIONAL PARKS NEIGHBOR SURVEY, MAY 1997 INTRODUCTION In May 1997, Sonoma County Regional Parks mailed out 489 surveys to park neighbors at eight park facilities to determine attitudes, opinions and concerns about the adjacent county park or trail facility. These facilities were selected because they were "open space" parks with a diverse group of neighbors and, in the case of the West County/Rodota Trail, were a unique facility. The West County/Rodota Trail is a five mile long trail between Highway 116 in west Sebastopol to Merced Avenue just west of Santa Rosa with almost 190 individual properties within 300 feet of it. Facilities selected have been in operation for more than five years. In terms of acreage, the facilities surveyed constitute almost 3,000 acres, or three fifths of the County Regional Parks system. In terms of park visitors, they represent a total of 951,450 park visitors a year (Source: Regional Parks 1996/97 Workload Estimates). Although the number of completed surveys received varied by facility, a total of two hundred and two surveys were returned (41% of total). Ten surveys were returned as undeliverable or where absentee owners did not have any opinion. The highest proportion of returned surveys was from Ragle Park with almost half of all property owners surveyed having returned their surveys. The largest number of surveys received was from neighbors of the West County/Rodota Trail.
A copy of the Survey Instrument is attached as Attachment A. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS 1. YEARS AS PARK/TRAIL NEIGHBOR Over 23% of respondents said they had been park neighbors for over 15 years. 64% had been neighbors for more than five years. 2. USE OF PARK/TRAIL 92% of respondents said that they used the park/trail. Approximately half of those (46%) used on a weekly and in many cases a daily basis. 3. PROBLEMS An important part of the survey was to determine the types and extent of any problems and annoyances that landowners might have experienced as a result of living near or next to the park/trail in the past twelve months. Of the 202 surveys returned, 88 of those surveyed filled out information in response to this question. The other 114 surveys indicated that they had experienced no problems. The number of responses per survey varied considerably from a single problem or incident to multiple problems and number of occurrences. A breakdown of the problems of those surveyed is as follows:
Although the percent of respondents who indicate that they have experienced a problem in the past twelve months is high, the average number of occurrences per year is relatively small. In addition the average problem occurrence per 1,000 park visitors is also small. The response to the question whether they were satisfied as a park/trail neighbor for the eighty eight respondents who had experienced a problem, averaged as a "3" on the 7 point Very Satisfied to Very Unsatisfied scale. 4. SATISFACTION AS PARK/TRAIL NEIGHBOR. Overall, the responses indicated that respondents generally are very satisfied with being a park or trail neighbor. On a scale of 1 to 7 with "1" being the most satisfied and "7" being the most dissatisfied, 73% were satisfied as a park or trail neighbor and 10% felt there were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
5. COMPARE REACTIONS TO IDEA OF LIVING NEAR A PARK/TRAIL BEFORE AND TODAY. The majority of people surveyed said that their reaction to living next to a trail or park is much better than expected. On a scale of 1 to 7 with "1" being much better and "7" being much worse, 64% believed that their reactions today were better than before about living near a park or trail and 19% felt that there was no change.
6. HAS THE PARK/TRAIL IMPROVED OR WORSENED THE NEIGHBORHOOD? In response to the question how has the park or trail affected the quality of the neighborhood, the majority believed that the park or trail had improved the quality of the neighborhood. On a scale of 1 to 7 with "1" being improved and "7" being worsened, 67% believe that the trail or park had improved the neighborhood and 18% believe there was no change.
7. EXPERIENCE WITH TRESPASSERS. A major concern of all existing and potential park/trail neighbors is trespass. This question was asked to determine what levels of trespass were occurring on private property adjacent to the existing park or trail at the facilities surveyed and what actions were taken by the private property owner. Please note, that this question was misunderstood by several respondents. Several checked the "No" boxes in response to question 7 believing that they were saying they had ''No" experience of trespass. Example:
This anomaly was discovered when verifying property locations on maps and comparing the answers to trespassing under Question #3. Staff made ten telephone calls to those individuals that were listed in the telephone directory. Of those individuals all said that they had made an error and had no trespass on their properties. Eight individuals were not listed and those questionable surveys are included as an N/A category (4% of total). 54 respondents stated that they had some trespass on their properties, of these 15 stated that they had contacted the Sheriff, Police or Regional Parks staff. Although the number of those answering "Yes" to trespass was higher than expected at 27% of the surveys received, it was clear in follow up interviews that what constitutes actual trespass on a person's property and what constitutes "visual trespass" or nuisance from persons using the trail or park such as loitering is interpreted differently by individuals, hence the low number of reports to the Sheriff/Police or Park Staff (7%) of those surveyed. We analyzed the 54 respondents who had
indicated experience with trespass against their The results of this sub group survey indicated that the attitudes of those who had experienced some trespass on their property were: SATISFACTION AS PARK/TRAIL NEIGHBOR THOSE RESPONDING YES TO TRESPASS. On a scale of 1 to 7 with "1" being the most satisfied and "7" being the most dissatisfied, 51% were satisfied as a park or trail neighbor and 20% felt there were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
COMPARE REACTIONS TO IDEA OF LIVING NEAR A PARK/TRAIL BEFORE AND TODAY THOSE RESPONDING YES TO TRESPASS. On a scale of 1 to 7 with "1" being much better and "7" being much worse, 43% believed that their reactions today were better than before about living near a park or trail and 22% felt that there was no change.
HAS THE PARK/TRAIL. IMPROVED OR WORSENED THE NEIGHBORHOOD? THOSE RESPONDING YES TO TRESPASS. On a scale of 1 to 7 with "1" being improved and "7, being worsened, 47% believe that the trail or park had improved the neighborhood and 30% believe there was no change.
These percentage results although lower
than the total of all surveys show a strong level of TRESPASS: Follow Up Case Study. One "hot spot" of trespass was
discovered on the West County/Rodota Trail through this
survey. This area is between DuFranc Avenue and Hurlbut
Avenue in Sebastopol. At this general location a cluster
of seven property owners reported trespass, including two
Sheriff's reports. (12.5% of all trespass reports and
12.5% of all Sheriffs reports). Two of the affected
properties were on the north side of the trail and five
on the south side. One of the property owners on the
north side had recently fenced his property and placed No
Trespass signs. The five property owners on the south
side had not fenced off their properties and had in fact
created a private trail across one of the properties to
access the trail. There was one dilapidated "No
Trespass" sign on a tree that was not readily
visible from the trail. Their properties are served by a
common but not public driveway which did not have a
"Private Driveway" sign. Staff met with one of
the property owners and offered to construct a fence. The
property owner explained that this would inconvenience
her and her neighbors from accessing the trail. She also
stated that in this area the High School students often
take the private trail to cut over to the private
driveway on their way 8. AWARENESS OF FIRES ON PARK/TRAIL PROPERTY. Twenty eight of the respondents stated that they knew of fires on the facilities surveyed. Several respondents referred to the same fire. There were 15 separate fires. Almost every one was close to the parking lot area/trail head and was quickly dealt with. None of the fires were larger than six acres. Hood Mountain is closed during fire season, but has been affected by fires from a neighbor's properties caused by power lines. 9. HAVE YOU HAD CONTACT WITH REGIONAL PARKS STAFF ABOUT THE CONDITION OF OR ACTIVITY ON PARK/TRAIL PROPERTY CAUSED BY PARK/TRAIL VISITORS? 21% of neighbors have contacted the Regional Parks staff concerning conditions of or activities on Park/Trail property. It should be noted that as a result of this survey, now over 40% of neighbors have been able to provide input on conditions. 10. EXPERIENCE WITH REGIONAL PARKS STAFF This question was asked to determine whether trail neighbors were satisfied with Staff as part of the ongoing survey of customer service.
CONCLUSIONS The survey was an opportunity for many adjacent park and trail property owners to vent their frustrations, and several did so. Sonoma County Regional Parks has learned a great deal from the survey about neighbor's concerns. However, the survey also shows a strong level of satisfaction with being a park or trail neighbor (73%). The survey also indicates that people's reaction to living next to or near a park or trail is better today than when the park or trail was proposed (64%). In addition the majority (67%) believe that the park or trail has improved their neighborhood and the majority of neighbors (92%) use the park or trail. An analysis of two years of Trespass statistics obtained from Sheriff's reports (over five hundred separate reports for 1995 and 1996), show no correlation between trespass incident report locations and State and Regional Park facilities. Trespass reports are often filed in conjunction with other crimes such as burglary, vandalism etc. Sonoma County Regional Parks will be following up on this survey to address many of the issues that were raised by neighbors in the survey. A letter will be sent to each respondent who indicated that they had experienced a problem. Dear Park/Trail Neighbor: Sonoma County Regional Parks Department Would like to hear from you on how we are doing as your neighbor. Every year residents of and visitors to Sonoma County use our Regional Parks as a way of discovering the beauty and tranquility of Sonoma County. We are asking you to let us know about any positive or negative experiences that you have had from park visitors. Please fill out the questionnaire below and return in the stamped addressed envelope by June 15, 1997 and you will be eligible to particioate in a drawing for three Annual Parking Passes to Sonoma County Regional Parks. We will use this information to help us improve our customer service and be a better neighbor. 1. Years as a park/trail neighbor (Circle one)
2. Do you use the park/trail
3. How many times have you experienced each of the following problems as a result of the park/trail and its users during the past twelve months? (Please indicate the number of times after each statement. If no such problem in last twelve months use a "0".)
4. Overall, how satisfied are you with having the park/trail as a neighbor?
5. Compare your initial reaction to the idea of living near the park/trail to how you feel about living near the park/trail today. Would you say that living near the park/trail is better or worse than you expected it to be?
6. How do you feel the park/trail has affected the quality of your neighborhood?
7. If you have experienced any trespassing on your property by park/trail visitors, did:
8. Are you aware of any incidents of fire on park/trail property caused by park/trail visitors?
9. Have you ever had to contact Regional Park staff about the condition of or an activity on park/trail property caused by park/trail visitors (e.g. trash, noise)?
10. How Would you describe your overall experience with Sonoma County Regional Park staff?
Thank you for your time in filling out this questionnaire. Sincerely, Philip Sales |
