King County Land Conservation and Preservation November 2016 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

King County Land Conservation and Preservation

November 2016

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Methodology

• Live telephone survey of registered voters in King County

including landlines and cell phones

• Conducted December 6th – 11th, 2016
• 500 total interviews, margin of error: + 4.4 percentage points
• verall at the 95% confidence interval
• Interviewing conducted using trained, professional interviewers
• Data weighted to be demographically representative of a voter

population.

• This poll is of the voter population. The voting population is

whiter, older, more likely to speak English, and is more affluent than the King County population at large.

Please note that due to rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

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The Most Important Priority in King County

Unprompted, the environment is not a pressing concern.

• Q4. In your opinion, what is the most important priority in the area today?

26% 10% 10% 10% 8% 5% 4% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 10% 5% 1% Transportation/traffic Education Homelessness Housing prices Safety/crime Economy/jobs Environment Politics Taxes Healthcare/human services Poverty Budget/city spending Nothing/no problems Other Don't know Refuse

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Top Land Conservation Priorities

52% 46% 36% 36% 38% 34% 31% 19% 15% 22% 22% 19% 22% 22%

Protecting water from polluted stormwater runoff Lessening the impact of climate change Helping restore natural salmon runs Protecting habitats critical for biodiversity Protecting agricultural lands and urban farms Protecting recreational lands and parks Protecting urban and rural forest lands

7 - Very High Priority to Fund 6

While everything is considered a priority, water is by far the top priority, both overall and in intensity. Mitigating against climate change, salmon, and habitat are also top priorities.

Q5-17. Please indicate how high of a priority it is to you to use public funding for each of the environmental issues using a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 means not at all a priority and 7 means a very high priority.

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Other Land Conservation Priorities

33% 33% 28% 20% 20% 17% 20% 17% 18% 23% 19% 17%

Improving air quality Protecting open space from development Ensuring equal share in our environmental progress Restoring habitat and improving access on publicly owned lands Creating access to green spaces in urban areas Expanding and enhancing trails

7 - Very High Priority to Fund 6

The following are still high priorities, but the intensity begins to wane. Less than 2 in 5 think trails are a very high priority.

Q5-17. Please indicate how high of a priority it is to you to use public funding for each of the environmental issues using a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 means not at all a priority and 7 means a very high priority.

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Plan Support

Strongly 51% 6% Somewhat 34% 6%

Support 85% Oppose 13% Don't Know/ Refused 2%

Without any context of other priorities or the cost of implementing the plan, there is near universal support for the plan initially, with more than 50% saying they strongly support it.

• Q18. Would you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or

strongly oppose this plan?

“King County, with cities, is developing a plan to fund the conservation and preservation of all of the remaining high community and conservation value open spaces in both rural and urban spaces in King County. This plan would protect, improve and provide access to natural lands, parks, river corridors, urban green space, forests and farmland to ensure clean air, healthy water, sustainable forests, biodiversity, recreation, and to ensure our region is more resilient in the face of climate change.”

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Benefits About Plan – Overall

While all of the information about the benefits of the plan is considered important to know, the big picture statement about how healthy forests sustains much about what makes the region special resonates the most, both

• verall and in intensity. Information about human health, healthy waters and healthy salmon. While not rated a

top piece of information overall, mitigation against climate change is considered very important to more than half.

Q19 – Q35. Now I’m going to read you some information about this land conservation plan. After each statement please tell me if that information is very important, somewhat important, or not important to you. If it makes no difference, please just say so.

71% 57% 57% 57% 54% 58% 58% 52% 43% 49% 35% 55% 23% 34% 33% 33% 34% 30% 30% 32% 40% 33% 45% 23% 94% 91% 91% 90% 89% 88% 88% 84% 83% 81% 80% 78% (HEALTHY FORESTS) (HUMAN HEALTH) (NATURAL RIVERS, SALMON, PUGET SOUND) (PROTECT HABITAT AND BIODIVERSITY) (PROTECT FOOD SOURCES) (COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE) (GROW SMART/PROTECT GREENSPACE) (ACCESS GREEN SPACE IN CITIES) (PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP) (SOCIAL EQUITY) (TRAILS) (PROTECT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE) Very Important Somewhat Important Total Important

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Drawbacks About the Plan – Overall

Drawbacks of the plan are considered less important than benefits. That the plan would be ill-planned in facilitating growth and that it would have a cost are considered the biggest drawbacks overall. There is a minority that also react poorly to the idea of government being involved in preserving open space.

Q19 – Q35. Now I’m going to read you some information about this land conservation plan. After each statement please tell me if that information is very important, somewhat important, or not important to you. If it makes no difference, please just say so.

27% 27% 31% 18% 18% 35% 34% 25% 24% 24% 62% 61% 55% 42% 41% (DIRECTING GROWTH TO ALL THE WRONG PLACES) (TOO EXPENSIVE) (ANTI-GOVERNMENT CONTROL) (NOT KING COUNTY’S JOB) (ALREADY HAVE PLENTY OF LAND CONSERVED)

Very Important Somewhat Important Total Important

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Key Findings

• There is wide and strong voter support for the concept

initially; but this initial test does not include costs or drawbacks.

• While the environment is not top of mind, elements of the

plans were tested and widely supported. The highest support is for elements relating to water quality, protecting forests, and restoring salmon runs; and support for these items is noticeable higher than others.

• The biggest potential concerns among voters are that this

proposal might not facilitate smart growth and may come with a cost; a majority of voters express some degree of concern about both of these issues.

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Contacts

Ian Stewart Ian@EMCresearch.com 206.204.8032 Riley Jones Riley@EMCresearch.com 206.204.8042