The city of Thousand Oaks’ Community Attitude Survey was published last week, monitoring the concerns of residents and their rate of satisfaction with city services.

Included on the survey were questions regarding the desire of residents to have buildings five stories or taller on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Previously city staff and City Council members had denied that such high-rises were possible.

“With the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Association submitting its draft Specific Plan for T.O. Boulevard, this was an opportunity for the city to gauge resident sentiment on some of the concepts discussed in their plan,” said city spokesperson Andrew Powers.

Sixty-six percent of those questioned opposed tall buildings for T.O. Boulevard, the city’s main east-west connector route.

According to a disclaimer in the report, the statements and conclusions in the report are those of the authors Timothy McLarney and Richard Sarles at True North Research Inc., a survey research firm, and not necessarily those of Thousand Oaks.

The city paid $29,806 for the survey. Assistant City Manager Candis Hong, public information officer Andrew Powers and city department heads provided the survey company with topics the city wanted to hear about.

According to the survey report, the purpose of the study was to provide the city with a statistically reliable understanding of residents’ preferences, priorities and concerns. Ultimately, the survey results and analyses in the document will provide council members and staff with information on which to make decisions. Subjects in the survey include services that need improvement, the performance of city employees, budgeting, policy and planning.

The study was supposed to identify residents’ concerns, measure their satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with city services and monitor public opinion on topics such as the Civic Arts Plaza, redevelopment, economic development, and parks and recreation.

The survey also tried to determine the effectiveness of the city’s communication with its residents.

What’s called “the main sample” was a survey taken from 400 households representing a cross-section of adults in Thousand Oaks. The city’s population was said to be 128,564. Those who were interviewed for the main sample were contacted by phone from July 9 through July 13. An identical survey was also made available online to all adult residents between Aug. 27 and Sept. 25.

The supplemental sample isn’t considered a scientific sample, so the two surveys were analyzed separately, Powers said.

Ninety-seven percent of residents surveyed have favorable opinions regarding the quality of life in Thousand Oaks, with 66 percent saying it’s excellent and 31 percent reporting it as good. Less than 3 percent said the quality of life is fair, poor or very poor.

Most respondents said there weren’t any improvements the government could make to the quality of life, but 14 percent mentioned limiting growth/preserving open space, 5 percent said redeveloping downtown areas and 5 percent said reducing traffic congestion.

Ninety-three percent of Thousand Oaks residents who completed the survey indicated they were satisfied with the city’s efforts to provide municipal services, with 53 percent stating that they were “very satisfied.” Only 2 percent said they were dissatisfied with the city’s overall performance. Five percent were unsure or unwilling to share their opinion.

Residents rated 15 services the city provides in order of importance. Public safety services were cited as most important, with 96 percent saying fire protection services are extremely or very important; emergency medical services were at 90 percent and police services 86 percent.

Providing cultural and performing arts was important to 37 percent; maintaining public landscapes was cited by 53 percent, and providing recreation programs for all ages came in at 59 percent.

Residents asked about satisfaction with 16 city services responded with 99 percent saying they were most satisfied with the city’s fire protection, 98 percent with the city’s maintaining of parks and recreation areas, 98 percent with the providing of library services and 97 percent with police service.

Seventy-two percent rated the quality of events and shows at the Civic Arts Plaza (CAP) as excellent or good, 67 percent rated the variety of events and shows as excellent or good and 68 percent described overall entertainment of value for a show as excellent or good.

Forty-four percent indicated that they didn’t desire additional shows or events at the Civic Arts Plaza. Eleven percent of those who said they’d like to have more shows and events offered couldn’t think of a specific show or event they wanted. Of those who could think of specific suggestions, 14 percent wanted musical shows, 7 percent preferred plays/theatrical productions, 6 percent cited rock/ pop concerts, 5 percent wanted children’s events and 4 percent said they wanted more classical/jazz/folk music concerts.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said somebody in their family goes out of town for retail stores and restaurants that they wish were here. Twenty-seven percent said they’d like more family restaurants such as Olive Garden or Red Lobster, 17 percent would like large discount stores such as Costco or Big Lots, 15 percent wanted discount stores such as Target or Walmart and 11 percent would like specialty goods retailers, including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Babies “R” Us.

Seventy percent of those surveyed said—with the information they had—they favored redeveloping portions of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, but 19 percent oppose redeveloping the area, 8 percent indicated they’re waiting on additional details, and 3 percent were either unsure or unwilling to share an opinion.

Ninety-one percent said they or someone in their family had visited a park or recreation facility in Thousand Oaks in the past year with 36 percent saying they’d like to see improvements. Of those who wanted renovations, 14 percent would like to see more landscaping, 10 percent wanted improvements to play areas, 9 percent preferred better restrooms, 6 percent cited more maintenance, and 5 percent wanted more paths and trails.

Attracting new employers and jobs to Thousand Oaks was assigned the highest priority, with 86 percent of those surveyed prioritizing future city projects and programs. This was followed by improving fire protection at 82 percent, improving road maintenance at 81 percent, acquiring and preserving open space at 80 percent and increasing the use of solar power at 75 percent.

Of the 32 percent of those surveyed who had contacted city staff within the last 12 months, 97 percent said they were accessible, 96 percent said they were treated professionally and 94 percent said city staff was helpful.

Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said they were satisfied with the city’s efforts to communicate.

The research firm concluded, “The top priority for the city should thus be to do what it takes to maintain the high quality of services that it currently provides.”

Research experts also said, “The top candidates for improvement are: promoting economic development, managing growth and development, preserving natural open space and managing traffic congestion.”