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CLAY COUNTY APPEARANCE
SURVEY RESULTS
PARTNERS FOR AN ATTRACTIVE
CLAY COUNTY
APRIL 2007
Partners for an Attractive Clay County, the survey sponsor, reports that
1,303 surveys were completed by Clay County residents. Approximately
8,000 surveys were distributed with January utility bills county-wide
and an online version of the survey was available through the Hiwassee
River Watershed Coalition website. The survey response rate was about
16% of those distributed.
The
purpose of the survey was to ask Clay County residents what they felt
were the most important features of the county’s appearance, and whether
they felt these features were being adequately preserved for the
future. Of the 15 items presented in the survey, more than 70% of
respondents marked that they were “very concerned” about the following
six issues:
|
Survey Item |
Very
Concerned |
|
Clean Streams - Water |
89% |
|
Ridge Top Development |
86% |
|
Scenic Views |
85% |
|
Clear Cutting for New Homes |
85% |
|
Woodlands |
84% |
|
Pastures - Farmland |
74% |
Notable in these results is that more than 70% of respondents were very
concerned about all four survey items listed under the “Natural Beauty”
section of the survey.
In
addition, more than 70% of respondents marked (c) “very concerned/could
do a lot better” or “a little concerned/could do better” when it
came to the following four survey items:
|
Survey Item |
“very” or
“a little”
concerned |
|
Lakeside Development |
89% |
|
Trash Removal |
83% |
|
Litter Control |
78% |
|
Existing Buildings |
77% |
In
addition to the multiple choice section of the survey, participants were
asked to identify in an open-ended format, their favorite aspect of Clay
County’s appearance as well as their biggest concern. A large majority
(90%) responded to these questions also. The majority of the written
comments addressed the same topics borne out in the results presented
above, with natural beauty and changes in residential building practices
among the most often mentioned. Copies of all surveys are available for
public review at the Moss Public Library in Hayesville.
Click here for a more
detailed summary of the survey results. |
