James City County Comprehensive Plan Survey 2019
This 2019 survey was conducted on behalf of the James City County Board of Supervisors to gather public opinion as the County began the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan. Surveys were mailed out to 3,000 residents on April 12, 2019, and 1060 completed surveys were received, yielding a response rate of 35.3%.
From a full list of county services, those with the highest level of importance to the public were roads and highways, parks and recreation services, public schools, parks, and library services.
Lower levels of importance were assigned to development of a field house, public access to waterways for swimming and boating, availability of bike lanes and sidewalks, and housing opportunities for citizens generally.
Overall, respondents were satisfied with the services provided, with the highest ratings going to the parks, parks and recreation services, recreation centers, and regional library services. There were significant gaps in some services that were ranked as highly important but received low levels of satisfaction. A notable example is affordable housing opportunities which was ranked important by 82.9% of respondents, but only 50.3% were satisfied with the service, resulting in a “gap” of over 30%.
When asked how they would rate the value of services in relation to taxes paid, 17.4% said the value was excellent, and more than half (53.6%) said the value was good. Importantly, perceptions of safety have decreased since the last survey in 2014. In 2014, 85.3% of respondents said they felt very safe, while in 2019, 77.2% said they felt very safe during daylight hours, with the change being more dramatic during nighttime hours. In 2014, 66.5% said they felt very safe at night, while in 2019, that figure dropped to 46%.
For the full report and related material, download the file below.