Tuesday, October 20, 2009

What Hillsdale County Residents Want: Online Survey Results

Download the complete ‘Picture Hillsdale County Survey Report' or download the 'Survey Summary'.

The Picture Hillsdale County Online survey is the first phase of an extensive community engagement process. The main objective of this survey was to develop and deploy a strategic community development survey online that would allow the residents of Hillsdale to voice their vision for the county. The above reports present the results of the online survey for responses provided by residents from March 26, 2008 to November 1, 2008. The survey represents the concerns and opinions of 463 residents (1% of the total population) who took the time to complete the online survey.

A majority of respondents prefer a rural/farm area as a place of residence and most stated that the rural character of Hillsdale County is important and worthwhile to preserve. Availability of good schools, high speed Internet access, parks and natural areas, slower pace of rural life and recycling/garbage collection were the five most important aspects that residents seek in Hillsdale County.

Residents would like to see the community add more small-scale retail, light industry, health care facilities and expand countywide public services. They would also like to see the county pursue some asset-based economic development strategies by promoting tourism and outdoor recreational opportunities and expanding the county’s large agricultural base to promote agri-business and an alternative energy industry. Sixty (60%) of the respondents stated that they would be willing to pay an additional assessment for recreational facilities like parks, nature preserves and greenways.
New industrial development should be placed in existing industrial parks close to cities and villages in order to share services. New businesses and commercial development should utilize an alternative pattern of development like Brownfield and infill development where businesses are grouped together with shared parking allowing people to walk to businesses.

With regards to present land-use regulations, respondents agree that division of farmland into smaller residential tracts will be detrimental to the county’s agricultural base and quality of life and unregulated growth will cost the taxpayers more in Hillsdale County for public services. They voiced support for organized and balanced growth, for the implementation of development controls to improve the quality of life, for the enforcement of laws to regulate junkyards and other nuisances in Hillsdale County and for making use of programs like community and housing revitalization programs and purchase of development rights programs to preserve farmland and improve communities in Hillsdale County.

1 comment:

  1. “Next to the right of liberty, the right of property is the most important individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and the one which, united with that of personal liberty, has contributed more to the growth of civilization than any other institution established by the human race.”
    "No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent.”

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