Survey responses give Marin leaders food for thought

If it was up to them, housing, homelessness and climate change would top the county's agenda.

At least that's what more than 800 Marin households told pollsters in the county's latest community survey.

It's been five years since that last survey, in which residents' concerns about traffic and transportation was placed among the top issues on the “to do” list they summed up for county leaders.

In the new survey, residents were queried between April 21 and June 9.

Transportation's slip may be a reflection that traffic these days is lighter, thanks to a shift — brought on by COVID-19 restrictions — allowing employees to work remotely.

The results certainly are food for thought.

The past five years have brought a historic pandemic, a growing visibility of local homelessness, a national reckoning over racism and our nation's economic divide, increased awareness and concern about global warming and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Change in attitudes is not unexpected.

Still, county staff advised that the results are more of a reflection of “general trends and resident perceptions,” not necessarily public marching orders.

Just about 18% of those asked to participate actually took time to complete the survey, either online or hard copy.

Still, some of the strong consensus reflects those local matters that many Marin residents, both those living in towns and cities, as well as those in unincorporated county areas, want to see county leaders tackle.

Respondents' ranking of local priorities — in terms of investing government attention and funds — were disaster preparedness (listed by 90% of respondents); public infrastructure (84%); developing workforce housing (82%); reducing homelessness (80%); and adapting to sea level rise (77%).

Here's a sampling of some of the most interesting results:

• 86% agreed that Marin is a good place to raise a family, but only 54% said our county is a good place to retire.

• The county's handling of the pandemic got high marks, with 82% grading it as good or excellent.

• When asked to assess the value of services for the taxes they pay, whether they feel they are getting the money's worth, local residents gave a 44% positive rating.

• 86% of those who responded said they feel safe living in

Marin. While less worried about crime, their top concern is fire, flood and other natural disasters.

• As a community taking care of vulnerable elderly, disabled or homeless people, respondents agreed there's a lot of room for improvement. Only 41% gave a mark of “good/excellent.”

• Residents who participated in the survey are not happy with the cost of living in Marin, with only 7% rating it as “excellent” or “good.”

• Not surprisingly, the availability of affordable housing got low marks with only 9% giving it a “good” ranking. Meanwhile, residents' view of the quality of new development was also low — 29%.

• Likely reflecting the recent focus regarding racism across our nation, when it came to valuing or respecting residents from diverse backgrounds, respondents gave Marin a 49% positive grade.

• Of course, we found it interesting that when it came to getting information about the county, 70% said they mostly relied on newspaper coverage, topping television (35%), radio (28%), social media (58%) and the county's website (40%).

• Public transportation in Marin got poor grades — with only 24% grading it “easy” to use.

• Only 47% gave top marks to the availability of affordable quality health care in our county. The result was worse for affordable mental health care — 32%.

• The availability of affordable child care also got a low response with only 34% citing it as “good” or “excellent.”

• 87% said Marin is doing a good job of preserving open space, farmlands and greenbelt areas.

That's a sampling of the excellent, good, bad and ugly of a variety of issues facing our county and its government. The responses may not drive future decisions, but it is a healthy helping of food for thought, not only for county decision-makers, but for the public, who may or may not agree with the results.