Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel are affluent, family-oriented cities with strong public safety, upscale homes and neighborhoods, excellent schools, and quality parks and recreation offerings.
Parents work hard to maintain their homes, homeowners associations mostly take care of neighborhoods, and public school districts provide perhaps the best education in the state. Abundant parks and recreation centers were mostly built by private, planned development in both communities, and in part by the County of Orange.
But the City Halls in Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel take credit for making the two communities great places to live.
Both cities for the past few years have used taxpayer dollars for True North Research to conduct biennial surveys that show that residents are overwhelmingly pleased with the quality of life in their communities–99 percent in Mission Viejo and 98 percent in Laguna Niguel rated city life as excellent or good.
True North Research, in a presentation early January before the Laguna Niguel City Council, heaped praise on the leadership of the council and staff for the scores. The city, it would seem takes credit for parents’ hard work to provide their children with quality lives and education. [Happiest In Laguna Niguel].
“These are amazing scores, some of the best I’ve ever seen,” True North’s Timothy McLarney remarked at the Jan. 11 Laguna Niguel City Council meeting. This gives the illusion that Laguna Niguel stands out, rather than producing similar scores to neighboring, upscale communities like Mission Viejo.
True North made similar, glowing comments at previous Mission Viejo City Council meetings on survey results.
But McLarney went even further in praising the City of Laguna Niguel: The high scores “don’t happen by accident. They are earned,” he was quoted in the Register. This would be like A.C. Neilsen Co. in reporting American Idol as the top-rated TV show: “These ratings don’t just happen, they’re earned–Stephen Tyler, you are one, smokin’ dude!”
True North isn’t the only survey company pumping out glowing survey results for cities. The Dispatch reported in Oct. 2008 that a different survey company revealed 98 percent satisfaction with community life in Tustin.
Satisfaction with public safety directly corresponds to the affluence of Saddleback Valley cities and Irvine, which are perennial among the safest communities in the nation. They share the honor with affluent cities in other parts of the country.
Ironically, the City of Mission Viejo’s push for high-density housing will challenge quality of life standards with overcrowding schools, more traffic congestion and more crime, starting with un-patrolled apartment parking garages.
In a Dispatch comment on self-serving surveys by government and business, following a city-sponsored survey in Mission Viejo, I noted:
“…last night Jay Leno mused on his Tonight Show how the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition reported a study showing that chocolate is a “super food” more nutritious than fresh fruit. That got a chuckle, but Jay got a big laugh when he said, the study was done by “HER SHEY.” Duh.:
At least Hershey put its own name on the research center.
Allan Pilger
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
More taxpayer dollars down the “Rat Hole.”
Instead of these “phony surveys”, how about fixing the slopes along Alicica from Margaruite Prky to the I-5, along most of Jeranimo, Trabuco, and Los Alisos– just to name a few slopes.
Joe and I have consistently called for improved care of streets and slopes.
Ironically, in an April citizen survey authorized by the City of Mission Viejo, the city used a push-pull question to justify neglecting streets and slopes. Two citizens and one other resident who were called told the Dispatch they were asked to rank in importance maintenance of parks, streets and slopes. Both said all three are important, but were only allowed to pick one. [Manipulated Survey]
The question started off with the interviewer noting that the city has more than 52 parks and green areas, intended to coax the reader into picking parks. Sure enough, parks were #1.
Are the results a surprise to anyone??
If there isn’t an answer that works for you and you have to pick something…..the results are phony and/or self serving!
Why indeed did they waste money on such baloney? The cities have specific tasks – roads, police, parks, and a building department. All the rest should be cut out, so that they can focus on top quality in those areas.