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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 2212-0456CITY OF PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting Monday, January 23, 2023 Council Chambers & Hybrid 5:00 PM AGENDA ITEM COVER PAGE 3.Presentation of the Annual Community Survey Results 3 8 0 CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT From: City Manager Report Type: STUDY SESSION Lead Department: City Manager Meeting Date: January 23, 2023 TITLE Presentation of the 2022 City of Palo Alto Community Survey Results RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council receive the Report of Results for the 2022 City of Palo Alto Community Survey by Polco/National Research Center, Inc. (Polco). BACKGROUND The City has annually or biennially conducted a community survey to gain insights into residents’ perspectives about the community, including local amenities, services, public trust, resident participation, and other aspects of the community. Survey information is used to support budgeting, land use and strategic planning, and communication efforts with the community. Palo Alto has been surveying residents since 2003. This report was conducted starting October 2022 through December 2022. ANALYSIS Polco will present and discuss the survey results to the City Council, offering years of benchmarking and other city comparisons to explain information received. The City values community feedback and the information will be used by to evaluate programs and services, as well as inform performance metrics through the annual budget process. Palo Alto residents will continue to be surveyed annually, with the next survey to be completed in 2023. The National Community Survey is one method of many ways used to engage the community and to assess the quality of City services. This year, the response rate was lower than previous years (with a total of 398 surveys returned compared to 768 responses in 2021). On average, the total number of survey responses is about 750. Though lower, this year’s response rate of 12% is still statistically significant and tracks with the average range observed in other jurisdictions (of between 12%-20% response rate). One way staff hopes to increase response 3 8 0 rates in the 2023 survey is to conduct the survey earlier in the fall around August/September after the summer recess. A few highlights in the Key Findings section based on respondent perspectives of the report include: •Residents rate the quality of life in Palo Alto highly. Residents continue to give high marks to their neighborhood as a place to live, raise children, and overall quality of life. About 9 in 10 residents rated each of these items positively. About 4 in 5 residents gave favorable ratings to Palo Alto as a place to work, which was higher than the national benchmark. •While residents value City services and events, civic participation has decreased. Palo Alto’s data reflects national trends that show more frequent use of City services and decreased resident involvement over time. In 2022, residents reported more frequent use of a number of City services in the last 12 months such as 72% reporting use of public libraries and their services. Nearly 3 in 5 residents indicated they contacted the City in the last 12 months. Though decreased, 6 out of 10 responding residents reported excellent or good opportunities to learn about City services through social media such as Facebook or Twitter. Similar to national benchmarks, perceptions of Palo Alto government welcoming resident involvement continue to decrease over time. •Residents value Palo Alto’s natural environment. Nearly 9 in 10 residents rated the overall quality of the natural environment in Palo Alto as excellent or good. Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, greenbelts, etc.) was rated positively by over 4 in 5 residents, higher than the national average. •Affordability and cost of living continue to be community concerns. Affordability- related measures such as cost of living and availability of affordable housing were much lower than the benchmark comparisons. The variety of housing options, rated positively by 1 in 5 residents was lower than the national average. •Residents are supportive of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. When asked to rate how important it is for Palo Alto to focus on reducing community greenhouse gas emissions in the coming two years, 7 in 10 residents indicated it to be essential or very important. Residents were also likely to make changes in their home, 3 in 5 residents indicated they were somewhat likely to replace their gas water heater with a heat pump water heater, and gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system. The attached report includes information on trends over time, geographic and demographic comparisons, national benchmark comparisons, and verbatim responses to open-ended questions. FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT 3 8 0 Funding for the Polco contract was approved in the FY 2023 budget. No additional funding is requested at this time. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT The National Community Survey is one method of many ways used to engage the community and to assess the quality of City services. The 2022 Palo Alto Community Survey process is a community feedback tool that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. Staff continues to implement the existing community engagement workplan as discussed with Council in March 2022. In March 2023 staff plans to review, with Council, planned community engagement efforts implementing the Council priority workplans. In the coming year, staff will also work to gain additional input from the community on some of the civic participation options described in the Polco survey report. This could help inform future Council discussions on community engagement. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW Council action on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because the Community Survey is a continuing administrative or maintenance activity. CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(2). ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Palo Alto Community Survey 2022 Report of Results APPROVED BY: Ed Shikada, City Manager Report #: 2212-0456 City of Palo Alto Resident Survey June 2022 8001 Terrace Ave Middleton, WI 53562 info.polco.us • 608-709-8683 CITY OF PALO ALTO COMMUNITY SURVEY 2022 Report of Results January 2023 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Contents Detailed Survey Methods ............................................................................................................................ 3 Survey Information ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Survey Validity ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Selecting Survey Recipients ......................................................................................................................... 4 Survey Administration and Response ......................................................................................................... 7 Confidence Intervals ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Survey Processing (Data Entry) ................................................................................................................... 8 Survey Data Weighting ............................................................................................................................. 8 Survey Data Analysis and Reporting ......................................................................................................... 10 Trends Over Time ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Geographic and Demographic Comparisons ........................................................................................... 11 National Benchmark Comparisons ........................................................................................................... 11 Comparison Data .................................................................................................................................... 11 Interpreting the Results .......................................................................................................................... 11 Key Findings .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Appendix A: Results Tables ...................................................................................................................... 15 Appendix B: Verbatim Responses to Open-ended Questions from Probability Survey ........................... 87 Appendix C: Results to Open Participation Survey ................................................................................. 107 Appendix D: Verbatim Responses to Open-ended Questions from Open Participation Survey ............ 131 Appendix E: Communities Included in National Benchmark Comparisons ........................................... 138 Appendix F: Survey Materials ................................................................................................................. 141 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 3 Detailed Survey Methods Survey Information The 2022 Palo Alto Community Survey was conducted by Polco/National Research Center, Inc. (NRC). Results offer insight into residents’ perspectives about the community as a whole, including local amenities, services, public trust, resident participation, and other aspects of the community in order to support budgeting, land use and strategic planning, and communication with residents. Resident demographic characteristics permit comparison to the Census and American Community Survey estimates, and geographic location allows comparison of results for different subgroups of residents. The City of Palo Alto funded this research. Please contact Chantal Cotton Gaines, Deputy City Manager, City of Palo Alto, at chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org, if you have any questions about the survey. Survey Validity The question of survey validity has two parts: 1) how can a community be confident that the results from those who completed the questionnaire are representative of the results that would have been obtained had the survey been administered to the entire population? and 2) how closely do the perspectives recorded on the survey reflect what residents really believe or do? To answer the first question, the best survey research practices were used for the resources spent to ensure that the results from the survey respondents reflect the opinions of residents in the entire community. These practices include: • Using a mail-out/mail-back methodology, which typically gets a higher response rate than phone for the same dollars spent. A higher response rate lessens the worry that those who did not respond are different than those who did respond. • Selecting households at random within the community to receive the survey to ensure that the households selected to receive the survey are representative of the larger community. • Over-sampling multi-family housing units to improve response from hard-to-reach respondents. • Selecting the respondent within the household using an unbiased sampling procedure; in this case, the “birthday method.” The cover letter included an instruction requesting that the respondent in the household be the adult (18 years old or older) who most recently had a birthday, irrespective of year of birth. • Contacting potential respondents three times to encourage response from people who may have different opinions or habits than those who would respond with only a single prompt. • Inviting response in a compelling manner (using appropriate letterhead/logos and a signature of a visible leader) to appeal to recipients’ sense of civic responsibility. • Providing a pre-addressed, postage-paid return envelope. • Weighting the results to reflect the demographics of the population. The answer to the second question about how closely the perspectives recorded on the survey reflect what residents really believe or do is more complex. Resident responses to surveys are influenced by a variety of factors. For questions about service quality, residents’ expectations for service quality play a role as well as the “objective” quality of the service provided, the way the resident perceives the entire community (that is, the context in which the service is provided), the scale on which the resident is asked to record his or her opinion and, of course, the opinion, itself, that a resident holds about the service. Similarly a resident’s report of certain behaviors is colored by what he or she believes is the socially desirable response (e.g., reporting tolerant behaviors toward “oppressed groups,” likelihood of voting for a tax increase for services to poor people, use of alternative modes of travel to work besides City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 4 the single occupancy vehicle), his or her memory of the actual behavior (if it is not a question speculating about future actions, like a vote), his or her confidence that he or she can be honest without suffering any negative consequences (thus the need for anonymity) as well as the actual behavior itself. How closely survey results come to recording the way a person really feels or behaves often is measured by the coincidence of reported behavior with observed current behavior (e.g., driving habits), reported intentions to behave with observed future behavior (e.g., voting choices) or reported opinions about current community quality with objective characteristics of the community (e.g., feelings of safety correlated with rates of crime). There is a body of scientific literature that has investigated the relationship between reported behaviors and actual behaviors. Well-conducted surveys, by and large, do capture true respondent behaviors or intentions to act with great accuracy. Predictions of voting outcomes tend to be quite accurate using survey research, as do reported behaviors that are not about highly sensitive issues (e.g., family abuse or other illegal or morally sanctioned activities). For self-reports about highly sensitive issues, statistical adjustments can be made to correct for the respondents’ tendency to report what they think the “correct” response should be. Research on the correlation of resident opinion about service quality and “objective” ratings of service quality vary, with some showing stronger relationships than others. NRC’s own research has demonstrated that residents who report the lowest ratings of street repair live in communities with objectively worse street conditions than those who report high ratings of street repair (based on road quality, delay in street repair, number of road repair employees). Similarly, the lowest rated fire services appear to be “objectively” worse than the highest rated fire services (expenditures per capita, response time, “professional” status of firefighters, breadth of services and training provided). Resident opinion commonly reflects objective performance data but is an important measure on its own. NRC principals have written, “If you collect trash three times a day but residents think that your trash haul is lousy, you still have a problem.” Selecting Survey Recipients “Sampling” refers to the method by which households were chosen to receive the survey. All households within the City of Palo Alto were eligible to participate in the survey. A list of all households within the zip codes serving Palo Alto was purchased from Go-Dog Direct based on updated listings from the United States Postal Service. Since some of the zip codes that serve Palo Alto households may also serve addresses that lie outside of the community, the exact geographic location of each housing unit was compared to community boundaries using the most current municipal boundary file (updated on a quarterly basis) and addresses located outside of Palo Alto boundaries were removed from consideration. Each address identified as being within City boundaries was further identified as being within one of six areas. To choose the 3,600 survey recipients, a systematic sampling method was applied to the list of households previously screened for geographic location. Systematic sampling is a procedure whereby a complete list of all possible households is culled, selecting every Nth one, giving each eligible household a known probability of selection, until the appropriate number of households is selected. Multi-family housing units were selected at a higher rate as residents of this type of housing typically respond at lower rates to surveys than do those in single-family housing units. Figure 1 displays a map of the households selected to receive the survey. In general, because of the random sampling techniques used, the displayed sampling density will closely mirror the overall housing unit density (which may be different from the population density). While the theory of probability assumes no bias in selection, there may be some minor variations in practice (meaning, an area with only 15% of the housing units might be selected at an actual rate that is slightly above or below that). City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 5 An individual within each household was selected using the birthday method. The birthday method selects a person within the household by asking the “person whose birthday has most recently passed” to complete the questionnaire. The underlying assumption in this method is that day of birth has no relationship to the way people respond to surveys. This instruction was contained in the cover letter accompanying the questionnaire. In addition to the scientific, random selection of households, a link to an online open participation survey was publicized and posted to the City of Palo Alto website. This opt-in survey was identical to the scientific survey and open to all City residents. Results from the open participation survey are separate from the address-based survey and can be found in Appendix C: Results to Open Participation Survey. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 6 Figure 1: Location of Survey Recipients by Area City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 7 Survey Administration and Response Selected households received mailings beginning on October 26, 2022. For 1,800 households, the first mailing was a postcard announcing the upcoming survey with a link to complete the survey online. The next mailing contained a letter from the City Manager inviting the household to participate, a questionnaire, and a postage-paid return envelope. For the remaining 1,800 households, the first mailing was a postcard with a link to complete the survey online, followed one week later by a reminder postcard with a link to the survey. The second postcard also asked respondents not to complete the survey a second time. The survey was available in English. All mailings included a URL through which the residents could choose to respond online. Completed surveys were collected over seven weeks. The online open participation survey was available to residents beginning November 16, 2022 and remained open through December 19, 2022. About 7% of the 3,600 surveys mailed were returned because the housing unit was vacant or the postal service was unable to deliver the survey as addressed. Of the remaining 3,357 households that received the survey, 398 completed the survey, providing an overall response rate of 12%. Of the 398 completed surveys, 282 were completed online. Additionally, responses were tracked by geographic subarea; response rates by area ranged from 10% to 14%. The response rates were/was calculated using AAPOR’s response rate #21 for mailed surveys of unnamed persons. Additionally, 116 residents completed the online opt-in survey. Confidence Intervals It is customary to describe the precision of estimates made from surveys by a “level of confidence” and accompanying “confidence interval” (or margin of error). A traditional level of confidence, and the one used here, is 95 percent. The 95 percent level of confidence can be any size and quantifies the sampling error or imprecision of the survey results because some residents’ opinions are relied on to estimate all residents’ opinions.2 The margin of error or confidence interval for the City of Palo Alto survey is no greater than plus or minus five percentage points around any given percent reported for the entire sample (398 completed surveys). For subgroups of responses, the margin of error increases because the number of responses for the subgroup is smaller. For subgroups of approximately 100 respondents, the margin of error is plus or minus 10 percentage points. For each of the six areas within Palo Alto, the margin of error rises to approximately plus or minus 15 percentage points since number of responses were 55 for Area 1, 76 for Area 2, 58 for Area 3, 64 for Area 4, 40 for Area 5 and 105 for Area 6. The margin of error for the six areas within Palo Alto is based off the smallest number of returned surveys per area; thus margin of error was calculated using the number of returned surveys from Area 5 (40). 1 See AAPOR’s Standard Definitions for more information: http://www.aapor.org/Standards-Ethics/Standard-Definitions-(1).aspx 2 A 95 percent level of confidence indicates that for every 100 random samples of this many residents, 95 of the confidence intervals created will include the “true” population response. This theory is applied in practice to mean that the “true” perspective of the target population lies within the confidence interval created for a single survey. For example, if 75 percent of residents rate a service as “excellent” or “good,” then the 4 percent margin of error (for the 95 percent level of confidence) indicates that the range of likely responses for the entire community is between 71 percent and 79 percent. This source of uncertainty is called sampling error. In addition to sampling error, other sources of error may affect any survey, including the nonresponse of residents with opinions different from survey responders. Differences in question wording, order, translation and data entry, as examples, can lead to somewhat varying results. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 8 Table 1: Survey Response Rates Number mailed Undeliverable Eligible Returned Response rate Area 1 412 18 394 55 14% Area 2 618 15 603 76 13% Area 3 438 14 424 58 14% Area 4 663 42 621 64 10% Area 5 389 19 370 40 11% Area 6 1080 135 945 105 11% Overall 3,600 243 3,357 398 12% Survey Processing (Data Entry) Upon receipt, completed surveys were assigned a unique identification number. Additionally, each survey was reviewed and “cleaned” as necessary. For example, a question may have asked a respondent to pick two items out of a list of five, but the respondent checked three; in this case, NRC would use protocols to randomly choose two of the three selected items for inclusion in the dataset. All surveys then were entered twice into an electronic dataset; any discrepancies were resolved in comparison to the original survey form. Range checks as well as other forms of quality control were also performed. NRC uses Polco, an online public engagement tool designed primarily for local governments, to collect online survey data. The Polco platform includes many features of online survey tools, but also includes elements tailored to the civic environment. For example, like NRC’s mailed surveys, surveys on Polco are presented with the City name, logo (or other image) and a description, so residents understand who is asking for input and why. Optionally, Polco can also verify respondents with local public data to ensure respondents are residents or voters. More generally, an advantage of online programming and data gathering is that it allows for more rigid control of the data format, making extensive data cleaning unnecessary. Survey Data Weighting Upon completion of data collection for both the scientific (probability) and nonscientific open participation online opt-in (non-probability) surveys, the demographics of each dataset were separately compared to those found in the 2010 Census and 2019 American Community Survey estimates for adults in the City of Palo Alto. The primary objective of weighting survey data is to make the survey respondents reflective of the larger population of the community. Both survey datasets were weighted independently to best match the Census. The characteristics used for weighting were housing tenure (rent or own), housing unit type (attached or detached), sex, and age. No adjustments were made for design effects. Results for the opt-in survey can be found in Appendix C: Results from Open Participation Survey. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 9 Table 2: Palo Alto, CA 2022 Weighting Table Characteristic Population Norm Unweighted Data Weighted Data Housing Rent home 45% 26% 44% Own home 55% 74% 56% Detached unit* 58% 68% 58% Attached unit* 42% 32% 42% Race and Ethnicity White 68% 69% 61% Not white 32% 31% 39% Not Hispanic 95% 95% 94% Hispanic 5% 5% 6% Sex and Age Female 52% 49% 51% Male 48% 51% 49% 18-34 years of age 22% 7% 21% 35-54 years of age 41% 25% 41% 55+ years of age 37% 68% 38% Females 18-34 10% 3% 10% Females 35-54 21% 13% 21% Females 55+ 20% 33% 20% Males 18-34 12% 4% 12% Males 35-54 20% 11% 20% Males 55+ 17% 35% 18% Area Area 1 13% 17% 14% Area 2 19% 17% 19% Area 3 13% 16% 15% Area 4 19% 15% 16% Area 5 9% 10% 10% Area 6 27% 25% 26% * U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2019 5-year estimates City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 10 Survey Data Analysis and Reporting The survey dataset was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). For the most part, the percentages presented in the reports represent the “percent positive.” The percent positive is the combination of the top two most positive response options (i.e., “excellent” and “good,” “very safe” and “somewhat safe,” “essential” and “very important,” etc.), or, in the case of resident behaviors/participation, the percent positive represents the proportion of respondents indicating “yes” or participating in an activity at least once a month. On many of the questions in the survey respondents may answer “don’t know.” The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of responses included in Appendix A. However, these responses have been removed from the analyses presented in the reports. In other words, the tables and graphs display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item. When a table for a question that only permitted a single response does not total to exactly 100%, it is due to the common practice of percentages being rounded to the nearest whole number. Trends Over Time Trend tables display trends over time, comparing the 2022 ratings for the City of Palo Alto to the 12 previous iterations of survey results (going back to 2009) and displaying 2003 data, the year when surveying started. Trend data for Palo Alto represent important comparison data and should be examined for improvements or declines. Deviations from stable trends over time, especially, represent opportunities for understanding how local policies, programs or public information may have affected residents’ opinions. Meaningful differences between survey years have been noted within the following tables as being “higher” or “lower” if the differences are greater than approximately five percentage points3 between the 2022 and 2021 surveys; otherwise, the comparisons between 2022 and 2021 are noted as being “similar.” When comparing results over time, small differences (those with less than a 5 percent difference compared to 2021) are more likely to be due to random variation (attributable to chance over real change), while larger differences (those greater than 5 percent compared to 2021) may be due to a real shift in resident perspective. However, it is often wise to continue to monitor results over a longer period of time to rule out random variation due to chance in the sampling process. Sometimes small changes in question wording can explain changes in results as well. 3 While the percentages are reported as rounded whole numbers, meaningful differences are identified based on unrounded percentages with decimals in place. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 11 Geographic and Demographic Comparisons The geographic comparison tables on the following pages display differences in opinion of survey respondents by the six geographic subareas. Demographic comparisons display differences in opinion of survey respondents by race/ethnicity and sex. Responses have been summarized to show only the proportion of respondents giving a certain answer; for example, the percent of respondents who rated the quality of life as “excellent” or “good,” or the percent of respondents who participated in an activity at least once. It should be noted that when a table that does include all responses (not a single number) for a question that only permitted a single response does not total to exactly 100%, it is due to the common practice of percentages being rounded to the nearest whole number. The subgroup comparison tables contain the crosstabulations of survey questions by geographic area. Chi-square or ANOVA tests of significance were applied to these breakdowns of survey questions. A “p- value” of 0.05 or less indicates that there is less than a 5% probability that differences observed between groups are due to chance; or in other words, a greater than 95% probability that the differences observed in the selected categories of the sample represent “real” differences among those populations. As subgroups vary in size and each group (and each comparison to another group) has a unique margin of error, statistical testing is used to determine whether differences between subgroups are statistically significant. Each column in the following tables is labeled with a letter for each subgroup being compared. The “Overall” column, which shows the ratings for all respondents, also has a column designation of “(A)”, but no statistical tests were done for the overall rating. For each pair of subgroup ratings within a row (a single question item) that has a statistically significant difference, an uppercase letter denoting significance is shown in the cell with the larger column proportion. The letter denotes the subgroup with the smaller column proportion from which it is statistically different. Subgroups that have no uppercase letter denotation in their column and that are also not referred to in any other column were not statistically different. National Benchmark Comparisons Comparison Data NRC’s database of comparative resident opinion is comprised of resident perspectives gathered in surveys from over 600 communities whose residents evaluated the same kinds of topics as on the Palo Alto Community Survey. The surveys gathered for NRC’s database include data from communities that have been conducted by NRC, as well as citizen surveys unaffiliated with NRC. The comparison evaluations are from the most recent survey completed in each community; most communities conduct surveys every year or in alternating years. NRC adds the latest results quickly upon survey completion, keeping the benchmark data fresh and relevant, and the comparisons are to jurisdictions that have conducted a survey within the last five years. The communities in the database represent a wide geographic and population range. The City of Palo Alto chose to have comparisons made to the entire database. Interpreting the Results Ratings are compared for standard items in questions 1 through 12 when there are at least five communities in which a similar question was asked. Where comparisons are available, four columns City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 12 are provided in the table. The first column is Palo Alto’s average rating, converted to a 100-point scale. The second column is the rank assigned to Palo Alto’s rating among communities where a similar question was asked. The third column is the number of communities that asked a similar question. The final column shows the comparison of Palo Alto’s rating to the benchmark. Although responses to many of the evaluative questions were made on a four-point scale with 1 representing the best rating and 4 the worst, the benchmarks are calculated on a common scale where 0 is the worst possible rating and 100 is the best possible rating. In that final column, Palo Alto’s results are noted as being “higher” than the benchmark, “lower” than the benchmark, or “similar” to the benchmark, meaning that the average rating given by Palo Alto residents is statistically similar to or different (greater or lesser) than the benchmark. More extreme differences are noted as “much higher” or “much lower.” A rating is considered “similar” if it is within the standard range of 10 points; “higher” or “lower” if the difference between Palo Alto’s rating and the benchmark is greater than the standard range but less than twice the standard range; and “much higher” or “much lower” if the difference between Palo Alto’s rating and the benchmark is higher or lower by more than twice the standard range. Where benchmark ratings were not available, “NA” indicates that this information is not applicable (these were questions specific to Palo Alto and not asked in other communities). The 100-point scale is not a percent. It is a conversion of responses to an average rating. Each response option is assigned a value that is used in calculating the average score. For example, “very good”= 100, “good”= 75, “neither good nor bad”= 50, “bad”= 25, and “very bad”= 0. If everyone reported “very good,” then the average rating would be 100 on the 100-point scale. Likewise, if all respondents gave a “very bad” rating, the result would be 0 on the 100-point scale. If half the respondents gave a score of “very good” and half gave a score of “very bad,” the average would be 50, in the middle of the scale (like the center post of a teeter totter) or “neither good nor bad.” An example of how to convert survey frequencies into an average rating appears below. Table 3: Example of Converting Responses to the 100-point Scale How do you rate the community as a place to live? Response option Total with “don’t know” Step1: Remove “don’t know” responses Total without “don’t know” Step 2: Assign scale values Step 3: Multiply % by scale value Step 4: Sum to calculate average rating Very good 15% =15÷(100-2)= 15.3% 100 =15.3% x 100 = 15.3 Good 53% =53÷(100-2)= 54.1% 75 =54.1% x 75 = 40.6 Neither good nor bad 26% =26÷(100-2)= 26.5% 50 =26.5% x 50 = 13.3 Bad 3% =3÷(100-2)= 3.1% 25 =3.1% x 25 = 0.8 Very bad 0% =0÷(100-2)= 0% 0 =0% x 0 = 0 Don’t know 2% -- Total 100% 100% 70 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Page 13 Key Findings Residents rate the quality of life in Palo Alto highly. On par with previous years, Palo Alto residents continue to give high marks to their neighborhood as a place to live, raise children, and the overall quality of life in Palo Alto. About 9 in 10 residents rated each of these items positively. Further, each rating was similar to comparison communities, and Palo Alto as a place to raise children improved from 2021 to 2022. About 4 in 5 residents gave favorable ratings to Palo Alto as a place to work, which was higher than the national benchmark. One item, Palo Alto as a place to retire, decreased from 2021 to 2022. This rating was also lower than the national benchmark. Three-quarters of residents would recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks (similar to 2021 and to the national average). About 85% of residents indicated that they would be likely to remain in Palo Alto for the next five years, a rating higher than 2021 and similar to the benchmark. While residents value City services and events, civic participation has decreased. When compared to 2021, residents reported more frequent use of a number of city services in the last 12 months in 2022. The use of Palo Alto recreation centers or their services (47% used in the last 12 months), use of Palo Alto public libraries or their services (72%), attendance to City-sponsored events (45%), and use of the City’s website to conduct business or pay bills (60%) increased from 2021 to 2022. However, fewer residents in 2022 compared to 2021 reported attending a local public meeting (21%), watching (online or on television) a local public meeting (23%), and voting in their most recent local election (77%). Despite the decreases, each of these items was on par with national benchmarks. Residents are still contacting the City of Palo Alto for help or information often, with nearly 3 in 5 indicating they did so in the last 12 months. This was similar to 2021 and higher than the national average. However, the job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement continues to decrease over time. About 56% of residents rated this item positively in 2018 compared to 51% in 2021, and 46% in 2022. This rating, though, was similar to the national benchmark. Further, opportunities to learn about City services through social media website such as Twitter and Facebook decreased in 2022, with about 60% rating excellent or good. Similarly, public information services (non-Police/public safety) decreased from 75% in 2021 to 69% in 2022. Residents value Palo Alto’s natural environment. Nearly 9 in 10 residents rated the overall quality of the natural environment in Palo Alto as excellent or good, a rating similar to 2021 and the national benchmark. Almost all residents (94%) visited a neighborhood or City park in the last 12 months, similar to 2021. Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) was rated positively by over 4 in 5 residents, similar to 2021 and higher than the national average. Most residents rated the quality of Palo Alto open space (92% excellent or good) and City parks (93%) positively. The rating for Palo Alto open space was higher in 2022 compared to 2021. Palo Alto open space was rated much higher than the national benchmark, and City parks was rated higher. When asked about community focus in the coming two years, 4 in 5 residents rated it essential or very important to focus on the overall quality of the natural environment in Palo Alto, similar to 2021 and the national average. Residents were also asked to name one thing they believe the City does well and would want to maintain. The most popular answer was parks, open space, and the natural environment, which was mentioned by one-quarter of residents. Report of Results City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 14 Affordability and cost of living continue to be community concerns. Similar to past years, affordability-related measures, such as cost of living (5% excellent or good) and availability of affordable quality housing (6%), while similar to Palo Alto’s 2021 ratings, were much lower than the benchmark comparisons. The variety of housing options, rated positively by 1 in 5 residents, was lower than the national average. Rated positively by 2 in 5 residents, affordable high- speed internet was similar to the national benchmark. Residents are supportive of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. When asked to rate how important it is for Palo Alto to focus on reducing community greenhouse gas emissions in the coming two years, 7 in 10 residents indicated it to be essential or very important, a rating similar to 2021.The City also asked residents their likelihood of making changes in their home to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When asked what the likelihood would be of replacing their gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when ready to replace the water heater, 3 in 5 residents indicated they would be at least somewhat likely to do so. Additionally, residents were asked the likelihood that they would replace their gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system when ready to replace the furnace. About 3 in 5 residents indicated that they would be somewhat likely to make that change. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 15 Appendix A: Results Tables The following pages contain results for each question on the survey, the first set of results includes the “don’t know” responses, followed by results excluding the “don’t know” responses (where “don’t know” was an option), trends over time and geographic comparisons. For the questions in the survey where respondents could answer “don’t know,” the proportion of respondents giving this reply were not included for the comparisons over time and by geography. In other words, these tables display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item. For the basic frequencies, the percent of respondents giving a particular response is shown followed by the number of respondents (denoted with “N=”); the number of respondents is specific to each item, based on the actual number of responses received for the question or question item and based on the weighted data (weighted responses are rounded to the nearest whole number and may not exactly add up to the total number of responses). Generally, a small portion of respondents select “don’t know” for most survey items and, inevitably, some items have a larger “don’t know” percentage. Comparing responses to a set of items on the same scale can be misleading when the “don’t know” responses have been included. If two items have disparate “don’t know” percentages (2 percent versus 17 percent, for example), any apparent similarities or differences across the remaining response options may disappear once the “don’t know” responses are removed. Tables displaying trend data appear only for the years in which the questions were asked. Meaningful differences between survey years have been noted within the following tables as being “higher” or “lower” if the differences are greater than approximately five percentage points between the 2022 and 2021 surveys; otherwise, the comparison between 2022 and 2021 are noted as being “similar.” Geographic and demographic comparisons are made for questions 1 through 17 (some questions having multiple, non-scaled responses are not included). Chi-square or ANOVA tests of significance were applied to these breakdowns of survey questions. A “p-value” of 0.05 or less indicates that there is less than a 5% probability that differences observed between groups are due to chance; or in other words, a greater than 95% probability that the differences observed in the selected categories of the sample represent “real” differences among those populations. As subgroups vary in size and each group (and each comparison to another group) has a unique margin of error, statistical testing is used to determine whether differences between subgroups are statistically significant. Each column in the following tables is labeled with a letter for each subgroup being compared. The “Overall” column, which shows the ratings for all respondents, also has a column designation of “(A)”, but no statistical tests were done for the overall rating. For each pair of subgroup ratings within a row (a single question item) that has a statistically significant difference, an upper case letter denoting significance is shown in the cell with the larger column proportion. The letter denotes the subgroup with the smaller column proportion from which it is statistically different. Subgroups that have no upper case letter denotation in their column and that are also not referred to in any other column were not statistically different. For example, in Table 8 on page 18, respondents in Area 1 (A) gave significantly higher ratings to Palo Alto as a place to work than respondents in both Area 2 (B) and Area 4 (D), as denoted by the “B” and “D” listed in the cell of the ratings for Area 1. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 16 Question 1 Table 4: Question 1 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Palo Alto as a place to live 38% N=151 50% N=196 12% N=47 0% N=1 0% N=0 100% N=395 Your neighborhood as a place to live 46% N=181 42% N=167 11% N=45 1% N=3 0% N=0 100% N=395 Palo Alto as a place to raise children 37% N=145 35% N=139 8% N=33 3% N=11 17% N=66 100% N=394 Palo Alto as a place to work 31% N=122 36% N=142 16% N=63 2% N=9 15% N=59 100% N=395 Palo Alto as a place to visit 29% N=113 38% N=150 26% N=103 4% N=16 3% N=13 100% N=396 Palo Alto as a place to retire 16% N=62 25% N=97 23% N=91 24% N=93 13% N=51 100% N=394 The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 28% N=110 60% N=236 11% N=44 1% N=4 0% N=0 100% N=394 Table 5: Question 1 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Palo Alto as a place to live 38% N=151 50% N=196 12% N=47 0% N=1 100% N=395 Your neighborhood as a place to live 46% N=181 42% N=167 11% N=45 1% N=3 100% N=395 Palo Alto as a place to raise children 44% N=145 43% N=139 10% N=33 3% N=11 100% N=328 Palo Alto as a place to work 36% N=122 42% N=142 19% N=63 3% N=9 100% N=336 Palo Alto as a place to visit 30% N=113 39% N=150 27% N=103 4% N=16 100% N=382 Palo Alto as a place to retire 18% N=62 28% N=97 26% N=91 27% N=93 100% N=343 The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 28% N=110 60% N=236 11% N=44 1% N=4 100% N=394 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 17 Table 6: Question 1 - Historical Results Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Palo Alto: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Palo Alto as a place to live 95% 94% 95% 94% 95% 92% 95% 92% 91% 91% 89% 88% 88% Similar Your neighborhood as a place to live 88% 90% 91% 90% 90% 91% 92% 90% 91% 91% 90% 89% 88% Similar Palo Alto as a place to raise children 90% 91% 93% 93% 92% 90% 93% 87% 84% 84% 82% 82% 87% Higher Palo Alto as a place to work NA 87% 87% 89% 88% 89% 86% 87% 82% 82% 80% 82% 79% Similar Palo Alto as a place to visit NA NA NA NA NA NA 75% 74% 72% 71% 68% 70% 69% Similar Palo Alto as a place to retire 62% 64% 65% 68% 68% 56% 60% 52% 50% 51% 40% 52% 46% Lower The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 92% 91% 93% 94% 92% 94% 91% 91% 88% 85% 89% 84% 88% Similar Table 7: Question 1 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Palo Alto as a place to live 75 171 349 Similar Your neighborhood as a place to live 78 111 302 Similar Palo Alto as a place to raise children 76 141 353 Similar Palo Alto as a place to work 71 61 345 Higher Palo Alto as a place to visit 65 104 302 Similar Palo Alto as a place to retire 46 312 349 Lower The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 72 167 374 Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 18 Table 8: Question 1 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Palo Alto as a place to live 96% E F 89% E 92% E 90% E 74% 84% 88% Your neighborhood as a place to live 92% 88% 89% 84% 81% 90% 88% Palo Alto as a place to raise children 86% E 90% E 94% E F 94% E F 65% 82% E 87% Palo Alto as a place to work 89% B D 71% 85% 72% 75% 82% 79% Palo Alto as a place to visit 73% 68% 72% 69% 59% 70% 69% Palo Alto as a place to retire 63% B D E 40% 52% 43% 30% 48% 46% The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 96% C E F 94% C E F 83% 92% E 76% 84% 88% Table 9: Question 1 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Palo Alto as a place to live 91% B 83% 89% 87% 88% Your neighborhood as a place to live 90% 85% 90% 86% 88% Palo Alto as a place to raise children 86% 90% 89% 86% 87% Palo Alto as a place to work 81% 76% 77% 81% 79% Palo Alto as a place to visit 67% 69% 76% B 61% 69% Palo Alto as a place to retire 53% B 39% 46% 47% 46% The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 91% 85% 90% 87% 88% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 19 Question 2 Table 10: Question 2 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 20% N=80 52% N=203 20% N=80 8% N=31 0% N=0 100% N=393 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 38% N=150 46% N=181 14% N=55 2% N=7 0% N=0 100% N=393 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 45% N=174 43% N=168 11% N=45 1% N=2 0% N=0 100% N=389 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 47% N=184 40% N=157 9% N=35 1% N=5 3% N=13 100% N=393 Residents' connection and engagement with their community 18% N=71 42% N=162 28% N=110 7% N=27 5% N=21 100% N=391 Table 11: Question 2 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 20% N=80 52% N=203 20% N=80 8% N=31 100% N=393 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 38% N=150 46% N=181 14% N=55 2% N=7 100% N=393 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 45% N=174 43% N=168 11% N=45 1% N=2 100% N=389 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 48% N=184 41% N=157 9% N=35 1% N=5 100% N=380 Residents' connection and engagement with their community 19% N=71 44% N=162 30% N=110 7% N=27 100% N=370 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 20 Table 12: Question 2 - Historical Results Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) NA NA NA NA NA NA 67% 63% 59% 65% 62% 76% 72% Similar Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA NA NA 92% 91% 94% 94% 91% 87% 84% Similar Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto NA 84% 84% 84% 88% 83% 88% 86% 84% 89% 87% 90% 88% Similar Health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA NA NA 88% 88% 85% 88% 84% 88% 90% Similar Residents' connection and engagement with their community NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 62% 63% Similar Table 13: Question 2 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 61 74 281 Similar Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 73 135 338 Similar Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 77 55 290 Similar Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 79 11 283 Higher Residents' connection and engagement with their community 58 45 173 Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 21 Table 14: Question 2 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 73% 80% E 75% 69% 61% 70% 72% Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 83% 89% C E 76% 86% 72% 89% C E 84% Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 95% E 92% E 88% E 84% E 70% 90% E 88% Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 95% E 90% 84% 93% 82% 90% 90% Residents' connection and engagement with their community 73% 60% 72% 59% 53% 61% 63% Table 15: Question 2 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 76% B 65% 76% 68% 72% Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 86% 83% 86% 83% 84% Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 88% 88% 86% 90% 88% Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 92% 87% 90% 89% 90% Residents' connection and engagement with their community 63% 62% 64% 63% 63% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 22 Question 3 Table 16: Question 3 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks 33% N=127 42% N=162 16% N=63 9% N=34 1% N=3 100% N=388 Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years 53% N=206 29% N=112 7% N=28 9% N=35 3% N=12 100% N=392 Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends 56% N=217 22% N=87 5% N=21 2% N=7 15% N=59 100% N=391 Table 17: Question 3 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks 33% N=127 42% N=162 16% N=63 9% N=34 100% N=386 Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years 54% N=206 29% N=112 7% N=28 9% N=35 100% N=381 Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends 65% N=217 26% N=87 6% N=21 2% N=7 100% N=332 Table 18: Question 3 - Historical Results Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks NA 90% 90% 91% 92% 89% 86% 80% 72% 75% 73% 74% 75% Similar Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years NA 87% 83% 87% 87% 87% 83% 80% 75% 76% 78% 78% 84% Higher Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 91% 92% 91% 92% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 23 Table 19: Question 3 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks 75 246 291 Similar Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years 84 157 288 Similar *A benchmark comparison was not available for ''Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends''. Table 20: Question 3 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very likely" or "somewhat likely" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks 89% D E F 75% E 80% E 71% 56% 74% E 75% Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years 98% B E F 79% 91% F 86% 77% 77% 84% Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends 90% E 99% E 92% E 95% E 77% 91% E 92% Table 21: Question 3 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very likely" or "somewhat likely" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks 75% 74% 80% B 70% 75% Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years 82% 86% 89% B 77% 84% Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends 92% 92% 91% 93% 92% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 24 Question 4 Table 22: Question 4 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate the job you feel the Palo Alto community does at each of the following. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Making all residents feel welcome 19% N=75 38% N=149 25% N=99 11% N=42 7% N=27 100% N=391 Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 18% N=72 30% N=117 24% N=92 22% N=88 6% N=23 100% N=391 Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 25% N=96 36% N=140 22% N=88 11% N=42 7% N=26 100% N=391 Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) 10% N=40 25% N=97 27% N=106 15% N=60 23% N=88 100% N=391 Table 23: Question 4 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the job you feel the Palo Alto community does at each of the following. Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Making all residents feel welcome 21% N=75 41% N=149 27% N=99 11% N=42 100% N=364 Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 19% N=72 32% N=117 25% N=92 24% N=88 100% N=369 Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 26% N=96 38% N=140 24% N=88 11% N=42 100% N=365 Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) 13% N=40 32% N=97 35% N=106 20% N=60 100% N=303 Table 24: Question 4 - Historical Results Please rate the job you feel the Palo Alto community does at each of the following. Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2021 2022 Making all residents feel welcome 59% 62% Similar Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 52% 51% Similar Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 65% 65% Similar Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) 47% 45% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 25 Table 25: Question 4 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Making all residents feel welcome 57 134 180 Similar Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 49 130 176 Similar Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 60 72 177 Similar Taking care of vulnerable residents 46 131 173 Similar Table 26: Question 4 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Making all residents feel welcome 66% E 65% E 71% E 65% E 39% 58% E 62% Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 49% 50% 58% D 39% 45% 58% D 51% Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 74% E 68% 74% E 58% 49% 62% 65% Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) 64% D F 46% 54% 38% 41% 39% 45% Table 27: Question 4 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Making all residents feel welcome 59% 63% 64% 58% 62% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 26 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 46% 57% A 47% 56% 51% Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 62% 68% 58% 72% A 65% Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) 41% 51% 41% 51% 45% Question 5 Table 28: Question 5 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 25% N=99 54% N=212 18% N=69 2% N=7 1% N=3 100% N=390 Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 18% N=70 40% N=156 33% N=130 8% N=33 0% N=0 100% N=389 Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area 23% N=91 37% N=147 32% N=125 5% N=21 2% N=8 100% N=392 Employment opportunities 18% N=69 36% N=139 14% N=57 5% N=20 27% N=106 100% N=390 Shopping opportunities 29% N=115 43% N=166 23% N=88 5% N=18 1% N=3 100% N=390 Cost of living in Palo Alto 2% N=7 3% N=13 26% N=101 68% N=267 1% N=3 100% N=391 Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto 29% N=114 46% N=180 20% N=80 3% N=13 1% N=4 100% N=392 Traffic flow on major streets 9% N=37 38% N=147 38% N=148 15% N=57 1% N=2 100% N=391 Ease of public parking 22% N=86 43% N=169 24% N=95 8% N=33 2% N=9 100% N=392 Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 22% N=87 49% N=192 21% N=84 6% N=23 1% N=3 100% N=390 Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto 5% N=21 13% N=49 26% N=100 31% N=120 26% N=101 100% N=390 Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 28% N=108 39% N=151 16% N=64 5% N=18 12% N=47 100% N=387 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 27 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Ease of walking in Palo Alto 40% N=155 44% N=174 12% N=46 3% N=12 1% N=4 100% N=392 Variety of housing options 3% N=14 16% N=63 33% N=129 39% N=153 8% N=31 100% N=391 Availability of affordable quality housing 1% N=6 4% N=15 15% N=61 70% N=277 9% N=35 100% N=394 Overall quality of new development in Palo Alto 7% N=27 20% N=76 26% N=103 20% N=78 27% N=104 100% N=387 Availability of paths and walking trails 28% N=111 46% N=181 18% N=72 5% N=19 3% N=10 100% N=392 Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 28% N=110 42% N=167 18% N=72 3% N=11 9% N=34 100% N=393 Recreational opportunities 24% N=96 52% N=203 17% N=67 3% N=10 4% N=17 100% N=393 Availability of affordable quality mental health care 5% N=20 6% N=22 13% N=50 18% N=68 59% N=229 100% N=389 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 24% N=93 51% N=199 17% N=69 3% N=13 5% N=20 100% N=393 Table 29: Question 5 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 26% N=99 55% N=212 18% N=69 2% N=7 100% N=387 Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 18% N=70 40% N=156 33% N=130 8% N=33 100% N=389 Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area 24% N=91 38% N=147 33% N=125 6% N=21 100% N=384 Employment opportunities 24% N=69 49% N=139 20% N=57 7% N=20 100% N=285 Shopping opportunities 30% N=115 43% N=166 23% N=88 5% N=18 100% N=387 Cost of living in Palo Alto 2% N=7 3% N=13 26% N=101 69% N=267 100% N=388 Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto 30% N=114 47% N=180 21% N=80 3% N=13 100% N=387 Traffic flow on major streets 9% N=37 38% N=147 38% N=148 15% N=57 100% N=388 Ease of public parking 22% N=86 44% N=169 25% N=95 9% N=33 100% N=383 Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 23% N=87 50% N=192 22% N=84 6% N=23 100% N=386 Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto 7% N=21 17% N=49 35% N=100 41% N=120 100% N=289 Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 32% N=108 44% N=151 19% N=64 5% N=18 100% N=340 Ease of walking in Palo Alto 40% N=155 45% N=174 12% N=46 3% N=12 100% N=388 Variety of housing options 4% N=14 18% N=63 36% N=129 43% N=153 100% N=360 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 28 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Availability of affordable quality housing 2% N=6 4% N=15 17% N=61 77% N=277 100% N=359 Overall quality of new development in Palo Alto 9% N=27 27% N=76 36% N=103 28% N=78 100% N=283 Availability of paths and walking trails 29% N=111 47% N=181 19% N=72 5% N=19 100% N=382 Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 31% N=110 46% N=167 20% N=72 3% N=11 100% N=360 Recreational opportunities 25% N=96 54% N=203 18% N=67 3% N=10 100% N=376 Availability of affordable quality mental health care 12% N=20 14% N=22 31% N=50 43% N=68 100% N=161 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 25% N=93 53% N=199 18% N=69 4% N=13 100% N=373 Table 30: Question 5 - Historical Results Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 85% 80% Lower Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 66% 58% Lower Vibrancy of downtown/commercial areas NA NA NA NA NA NA 77% 76% 73% 73% 71% 72% 62% Lower Employment opportunities 33% 51% 52% 56% 68% 68% 69% 66% 70% 74% 73% 68% 73% Higher Shopping opportunities NA 70% 70% 71% 69% 73% 82% 79% 80% 82% 79% 78% 73% Lower Cost of living in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA NA NA 11% 8% 7% 8% 8% 6% 5% Similar Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto NA 92% 90% 92% 92% 90% 92% 88% 86% 86% 83% 78% 76% Similar Traffic flow on major streets 36% 38% 46% 47% 40% 36% 34% 35% 31% 30% 33% 49% 47% Similar Ease of public parking NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 38% 36% 33% 32% 59% 67% Higher Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 55% 60% 65% 66% 62% 51% 55% 52% 44% 44% 42% 70% 72% Similar Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto NA 52% 63% 62% 64% 71% 65% 36% 26% 28% 29% 30% 24% Lower City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 29 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 84% 79% 81% 77% 81% 78% 78% 77% 74% 78% 74% 79% 76% Similar Ease of walking in Palo Alto NA 82% 85% 83% 82% 84% 84% 83% 80% 86% 83% 86% 85% Similar Variety of housing options NA 39% 37% 37% 29% 26% 27% 20% 17% 18% 13% 27% 21% Lower Availability of affordable quality housing 6% 17% 15% 14% 12% 13% 11% 8% 6% 6% 5% 9% 6% Similar Overall quality of new development in Palo Alto NA 57% 55% 53% 57% 56% 44% 51% 49% 42% 50% 38% 36% Similar Availability of paths and walking trails NA 74% 75% 75% 75% 77% 71% 74% 73% 76% 77% 76% 76% Similar Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 78% 78% 79% 78% 79% 77% Similar Recreational opportunities NA 78% 80% 81% 81% 81% 77% 80% 77% 81% 75% 77% 79% Similar Availability of affordable quality mental health care NA NA NA NA NA NA 63% 53% 46% 52% 38% 44% 26% Lower Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities NA 74% 74% 73% 77% 69% 81% 79% 77% 81% 74% 71% 78% Higher City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 30 Table 31: Question 5 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 68 57 287 Similar Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 56 89 173 Similar Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area 60 75 270 Similar Employment opportunities 63 17 304 Higher Shopping opportunities 66 38 295 Higher Cost of living in Palo Alto 13 279 283 Much lower Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto 67 139 342 Similar Traffic flow on major streets 47 169 316 Similar Ease of public parking 60 87 264 Similar Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 63 143 303 Similar Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto 30 181 264 Similar Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 67 22 305 Higher Ease of walking in Palo Alto 74 28 306 Higher Variety of housing options 27 268 288 Lower Availability of affordable quality housing 10 305 311 Much lower Overall quality of new development in Palo Alto 39 263 299 Lower Availability of paths and walking trails 67 129 308 Similar Fitness opportunities 68 98 276 Similar Recreational opportunities 67 93 297 Similar Availability of affordable quality mental health care 32 224 266 Lower Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 67 47 293 Higher City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 31 Table 32: Question 5 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 88% E 87% E 76% 80% E 64% 81% E 80% Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 56% 64% 54% 54% 54% 61% 58% Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area 63% 75% D E 66% D 46% 50% 64% D 62% Employment opportunities 79% 72% 71% 74% 61% 77% 73% Shopping opportunities 76% 74% 77% 71% 60% 73% 73% Cost of living in Palo Alto 3% 4% 4% 2% 4% 10% D 5% Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto 89% E F 78% E 80% E 76% 60% 72% 76% Traffic flow on major streets 50% 50% 41% 47% 38% 51% 47% Ease of public parking 60% 69% E 68% 65% 50% 75% E 67% Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 78% E 80% E 72% 72% E 54% 71% E 72% Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto 19% 24% 24% 12% 22% 33% D 24% Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 61% 85% A E 76% 80% A 67% 77% A 76% Ease of walking in Palo Alto 83% 90% D E 88% D 71% 76% 92% D E 85% Variety of housing options 17% 23% 27% 19% 12% 24% 21% Availability of affordable quality housing 10% E 6% 7% 5% 0% 5% 6% Overall quality of new development in Palo Alto 38% 32% 47% 37% 30% 35% 36% Availability of paths and walking trails 79% 76% 83% 75% 69% 75% 76% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 32 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 87% E 74% 75% 85% 69% 73% 77% Recreational opportunities 83% E 79% E 72% 86% E 60% 85% E 79% Availability of affordable quality mental health care 29% 25% 39% D E 7% 10% 34% D 26% Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 72% 81% E 72% 86% E 59% 85% A C E 78% Table 33: Question 5 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 81% 79% 84% 77% 80% Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 59% 56% 62% 53% 58% Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area 61% 64% 67% B 57% 62% Employment opportunities 76% 72% 71% 77% 73% Shopping opportunities 74% 72% 78% B 68% 73% Cost of living in Palo Alto 5% 6% 7% 4% 5% Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto 80% 74% 79% 74% 76% Traffic flow on major streets 49% 47% 43% 54% A 47% Ease of public parking 71% 64% 65% 70% 67% Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 74% 71% 72% 73% 72% Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto 23% 27% 27% 23% 24% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 33 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 75% 79% 79% 74% 76% Ease of walking in Palo Alto 88% 81% 87% 84% 85% Variety of housing options 17% 27% A 20% 23% 21% Availability of affordable quality housing 3% 9% A 5% 7% 6% Overall quality of new development in Palo Alto 36% 36% 39% 35% 36% Availability of paths and walking trails 77% 77% 80% 73% 76% Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) 79% 77% 82% 74% 77% Recreational opportunities 84% B 75% 80% 80% 79% Availability of affordable quality mental health care 26% 27% 20% 37% A 26% Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 77% 80% 81% 76% 78% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 34 Question 6 Table 34: Question 6 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool 5% N=21 12% N=46 15% N=58 19% N=74 48% N=184 100% N=383 K-12 education 34% N=132 33% N=129 7% N=29 2% N=6 24% N=94 100% N=389 Adult educational opportunities 19% N=73 36% N=138 12% N=46 1% N=3 33% N=128 100% N=389 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 13% N=50 44% N=172 26% N=100 4% N=17 12% N=48 100% N=388 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 16% N=64 36% N=141 25% N=99 10% N=39 12% N=47 100% N=389 Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook 9% N=36 23% N=90 19% N=72 5% N=20 44% N=171 100% N=389 Table 35: Question 6 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool 11% N=21 23% N=46 29% N=58 37% N=74 100% N=199 K-12 education 45% N=132 44% N=129 10% N=29 2% N=6 100% N=295 Adult educational opportunities 28% N=73 53% N=138 18% N=46 1% N=3 100% N=261 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 15% N=50 51% N=172 29% N=100 5% N=17 100% N=340 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 19% N=64 41% N=141 29% N=99 11% N=39 100% N=342 Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook 17% N=36 41% N=90 33% N=72 9% N=20 100% N=218 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 35 Table 36: Question 6 - Historical Results Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Availability of affordable quality child care/preschool 25% 32% 25% 35% 27% 31% 49% 49% 39% 47% 37% 44% 34% Lower K-12 education NA NA NA 92% 92% 94% 95% 92% 90% 91% 91% 90% 88% Similar Adult educational opportunities NA NA NA NA NA NA 89% 83% 78% 82% 77% 83% 81% Similar Opportunities to participate in social events and activities NA 80% 74% 76% 74% 74% 71% 74% 70% 72% 65% 62% 65% Similar Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 73% 78% 79% 78% 80% 76% 76% 68% 72% 72% 72% 59% 60% Similar Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook NA NA NA 63% 63% 71% 73% 75% 68% 76% 67% 71% 58% Lower Table 37: Question 6 - Benchmark Comparisons* City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Availability of affordable quality child care/preschool 36 235 277 Lower K-12 education 77 39 280 Higher Adult educational opportunities 69 13 273 Higher Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 58 115 284 Similar Opportunities to participate in community matters 61 74 283 Similar Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 56 128 301 Similar Table 38: Question 6 - Geographic Subgroup Results City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 36 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool 36% 44% 29% 22% 38% 32% 34% K-12 education 79% 83% 92% E 93% A E 74% 97% A B E 88% Adult educational opportunities 79% 79% 77% 78% 82% 88% 81% Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 69% 73% E 61% 67% 50% 64% 65% Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 69% D 56% 70% D E 48% 47% 64% 60% Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook 46% 64% 53% 75% A F 59% 50% 58% Table 39: Question 6 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool 27% 41% A 33% 35% 34% K-12 education 94% B 81% 86% 92% 88% Adult educational opportunities 81% 79% 82% 80% 81% Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 66% 66% 70% 63% 65% Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 66% B 53% 56% 66% 60% Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook 62% 59% 66% B 50% 58% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 37 Question 7 Table 40: Question 7 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Total Used Palo Alto recreation centers or their services 53% N=208 47% N=186 100% N=393 Visited a neighborhood park or City park 6% N=25 94% N=369 100% N=394 Used Palo Alto public libraries or their services 28% N=109 72% N=286 100% N=394 Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Palo Alto 76% N=299 24% N=94 100% N=393 Attended a City-sponsored event 55% N=215 45% N=178 100% N=393 Participated in a club 78% N=307 22% N=84 100% N=391 Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 12% N=46 88% N=348 100% N=394 Done a favor for a neighbor 24% N=95 76% N=299 100% N=394 Used the City’s website to conduct business or pay bills 40% N=157 60% N=237 100% N=394 Used the Utilities website to conduct business or pay bills 31% N=120 69% N=271 100% N=391 Contacted the City of Palo Alto (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 42% N=164 58% N=227 100% N=391 Contacted Palo Alto elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 79% N=310 21% N=80 100% N=390 Attended a local public meeting (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.) 79% N=313 21% N=81 100% N=394 Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 77% N=303 23% N=90 100% N=393 Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Palo Alto 55% N=216 45% N=177 100% N=393 Voted in your most recent local election 23% N=91 77% N=301 100% N=392 Used bus, rail, subway, or other public transportation instead of driving 57% N=222 43% N=169 100% N=391 Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 40% N=157 60% N=234 100% N=391 Walked or biked instead of driving 12% N=46 88% N=348 100% N=394 Observed a code violation or other hazard in Palo Alto (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 60% N=233 40% N=156 100% N=389 Household member was a victim of a crime in Palo Alto 88% N=344 12% N=48 100% N=392 Reported a crime to the police in Palo Alto 85% N=334 15% N=58 100% N=392 Stocked 14 days’ worth of supplies in case of a major disaster where you have no electricity, water, internet, or telephone service 66% N=261 34% N=132 100% N=393 *This question did not have a “don’t know” option. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 38 Table 41: Question 7 - Historical Results* Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months (percent “yes”). Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Used Palo Alto recreation centers or their services NA 63% 60% 60% 65% 58% 63% 65% 63% 63% 65% 39% 47% Higher Visited a neighborhood park or City park NA 94% 94% 91% 95% 94% 91% 94% 93% 91% 94% 94% 94% Similar Used Palo Alto public libraries or their services NA 82% 76% 74% 77% 77% 68% 76% 73% 75% 78% 62% 72% Higher Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA 40% NA 30% 30% 31% 30% 30% 24% 24% Similar Attended a City-sponsored event NA NA NA NA NA NA 50% 57% 51% 55% 52% 30% 45% Higher Participated in a club NA 33% 31% 31% 38% 29% 27% 34% 30% 29% 31% 17% 22% Higher Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors NA NA NA NA NA NA 91% 89% 88% 92% 90% 88% 88% Similar Done a favor for a neighbor NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 78% 76% Similar Used the City’s website to conduct business or pay bills NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 53% 60% Higher Used the Utilities website to conduct business or pay bills NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 69% 69% Similar Contacted the City of Palo Alto (in- person, phone, email or web) for help or information NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 55% 58% Similar Contacted Palo Alto elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion NA NA NA NA NA NA 17% 15% 17% 20% 21% 25% 21% Similar Attended a local public meeting (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.) NA 28% 27% 27% 25% 28% 22% 22% 21% 24% 25% 26% 21% Lower Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting NA 28% 28% 27% 21% 24% 16% 18% 14% 16% 12% 29% 23% Lower City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 39 Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months (percent “yes”). Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Palo Alto NA 56% 51% 45% 54% 50% 40% 46% 45% 47% 47% 37% 45% Higher Voted in your most recent local election NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 83% 77% Lower Used bus, rail, subway, or other public transportation instead of driving NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 34% 43% Higher Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 41% 60% Higher Walked or biked instead of driving NA NA NA NA NA NA 85% 87% 87% 84% 88% 86% 88% Similar Did NOT observe a code violation or other hazard in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA NA NA 70% 67% 67% 62% 63% 60% 60% Similar Household member was NOT the victim of a crime in Palo Alto NA 89% 91% 91% 91% 94% 92% 93% 91% 90% 93% 86% 88% Similar Did NOT report a crime to the police in Palo Alto NA NA NA NA NA NA 87% 87% 86% 85% 87% 79% 85% Higher Stocked 14 days’ worth of supplies in case of a major disaster where you have no electricity, water, internet, and telephone service NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 26% 49% 34% Lower *Some questions were re-worded in the Historical Results table to reflect the positive rating of 'yes.' City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 40 Table 42: Question 7 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Contacted Palo Alto for help or information 58 35 318 Higher Contacted Palo Alto elected officials to express your opinion 21 70 276 Similar Attended a local public meeting 21 107 279 Similar Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 23 144 260 Similar Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Palo Alto 45 45 281 Higher Voted in your most recent local election 77 90 174 Similar Used bus, rail, subway, or other public transportation instead of driving 43 32 252 Much higher Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 60 9 273 Higher Walked or biked instead of driving 88 8 277 Much higher City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 41 Table 43: Question 7 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent "yes" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Used Palo Alto recreation centers or their services 47% 49% 49% 48% 40% 48% 47% Visited a neighborhood park or City park 87% 100% A F 94% 95% 91% 92% 94% Used Palo Alto public libraries or their services 69% 86% A E F 80% E F 76% 59% 64% 72% Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Palo Alto 22% 26% 21% 22% 32% 23% 24% Attended a City-sponsored event 49% 48% 41% 40% 32% 52% E 45% Participated in a club 20% 14% 18% 28% B 19% 27% B 22% Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 88% 95% D 94% D 82% 86% 85% 88% Done a favor for a neighbor 78% 69% 78% 76% 89% B F 73% 76% Used the City’s website to conduct business or pay bills 57% 59% 50% 66% 67% 62% 60% Used the Utilities website to conduct business or pay bills 71% 71% 59% 76% C 70% 69% 69% Contacted the City of Palo Alto (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 53% 74% A C D F 51% 54% 69% 52% 58% Contacted Palo Alto elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 14% 26% 19% 18% 31% A 19% 21% Attended a local public meeting (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.) 10% 24% 23% 18% 31% A 20% 21% Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 21% 20% 20% 16% 23% 31% D 23% Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Palo Alto 38% 52% 45% 47% 39% 45% 45% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 42 Percent "yes" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Voted in your most recent local election 89% C E 75% 69% 81% 65% 78% 77% Used bus, rail, subway, or other public transportation instead of driving 31% 44% 33% 48% 49% 49% A C 43% Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 59% 67% C E 50% 70% C E 44% 60% 60% Walked or biked instead of driving 78% 87% 91% A 91% A 93% A 90% A 88% Observed a code violation or other hazard in Palo Alto (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 32% 48% C 31% 55% A C E F 34% 38% 40% Household member was a victim of a crime in Palo Alto 21% C D F 19% D F 9% 7% 9% 9% 12% Reported a crime to the police in Palo Alto 15% 21% D 12% 8% 17% 16% 15% Stocked 14 days’ worth of supplies in case of a major disaster where you have no electricity, water, internet, or telephone service 32% 37% 31% 34% 39% 32% 34% Table 44: Question 7 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent "yes" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Used Palo Alto recreation centers or their services 44% 51% 51% 44% 47% Visited a neighborhood park or City park 94% 94% 92% 95% 94% Used Palo Alto public libraries or their services 70% 77% 76% 69% 72% Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Palo Alto 24% 23% 26% 22% 24% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 43 Percent "yes" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Attended a City-sponsored event 45% 46% 45% 48% 45% Participated in a club 22% 20% 28% B 16% 22% Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 90% 85% 87% 89% 88% Done a favor for a neighbor 77% 72% 79% 71% 76% Used the City’s website to conduct business or pay bills 53% 68% A 63% 57% 60% Used the Utilities website to conduct business or pay bills 63% 78% A 67% 72% 69% Contacted the City of Palo Alto (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 57% 57% 59% 57% 58% Contacted Palo Alto elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 24% B 13% 25% B 16% 21% Attended a local public meeting (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.) 21% 22% 22% 19% 21% Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 21% 22% 24% 21% 23% Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Palo Alto 42% 48% 53% B 38% 45% Voted in your most recent local election 84% B 66% 80% 73% 77% Used bus, rail, subway, or other public transportation instead of driving 44% 44% 34% 54% A 43% Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone 55% 66% A 65% 56% 60% Walked or biked instead of driving 90% 88% 86% 91% 88% Observed a code violation or other hazard in Palo Alto (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 43% 35% 42% 39% 40% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 44 Percent "yes" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Household member was a victim of a crime in Palo Alto 12% 13% 9% 17% A 12% Reported a crime to the police in Palo Alto 17% 11% 14% 16% 15% Stocked 14 days’ worth of supplies in case of a major disaster where you have no electricity, water, internet, or telephone service 40% B 24% 32% 36% 34% Question 8 Table 45: Question 8 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Please rate the following categories of Palo Alto government performance. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto 6% N=22 39% N=150 33% N=128 10% N=38 13% N=50 100% N=389 The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 4% N=15 33% N=129 37% N=147 14% N=55 12% N=46 100% N=391 The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 6% N=25 26% N=103 29% N=114 9% N=33 30% N=115 100% N=389 Overall confidence in Palo Alto government 5% N=18 36% N=141 34% N=132 13% N=50 13% N=49 100% N=389 Generally acting in the best interest of the community 5% N=20 40% N=155 32% N=125 9% N=35 14% N=56 100% N=392 Being honest 8% N=31 30% N=116 28% N=108 6% N=23 29% N=111 100% N=389 Being open and transparent to the public 7% N=27 32% N=124 24% N=96 10% N=40 26% N=104 100% N=391 Informing residents about issues facing the community 9% N=34 33% N=128 31% N=121 9% N=35 18% N=71 100% N=388 Treating all residents fairly 9% N=37 26% N=102 25% N=98 11% N=43 28% N=110 100% N=390 Treating residents with respect 13% N=50 40% N=156 21% N=82 4% N=17 22% N=84 100% N=389 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 45 Table 46: Question 8 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the following categories of Palo Alto government performance. Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto 6% N=22 44% N=150 38% N=128 11% N=38 100% N=338 The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 4% N=15 37% N=129 42% N=147 16% N=55 100% N=345 The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 9% N=25 37% N=103 41% N=114 12% N=33 100% N=274 Overall confidence in Palo Alto government 5% N=18 41% N=141 39% N=132 15% N=50 100% N=340 Generally acting in the best interest of the community 6% N=20 46% N=155 37% N=125 10% N=35 100% N=336 Being honest 11% N=31 42% N=116 39% N=108 8% N=23 100% N=278 Being open and transparent to the public 10% N=27 43% N=124 33% N=96 14% N=40 100% N=287 Informing residents about issues facing the community 11% N=34 40% N=128 38% N=121 11% N=35 100% N=318 Treating all residents fairly 13% N=37 37% N=102 35% N=98 15% N=43 100% N=280 Treating residents with respect 16% N=50 51% N=156 27% N=82 6% N=17 100% N=305 Table 47: Question 8 - Historical Results Please rate the following categories of Palo Alto government performance: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto NA 58% 62% 66% 67% 66% 66% 65% 58% 61% 58% 53% 51% Similar The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 54% 53% 57% 55% 59% 54% 50% 48% 40% 45% 42% 40% 42% Similar The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 65% 56% 57% 57% 58% 55% 54% 61% 50% 56% 56% 51% 46% Lower Overall confidence in Palo Alto government NA NA NA NA NA NA 52% 53% 44% 49% 46% 49% 47% Similar Generally acting in the best interest of the community NA NA NA NA NA NA 54% 53% 44% 51% 45% 50% 52% Similar Being honest NA NA NA NA NA NA 58% 62% 55% 61% 56% 55% 53% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 46 Please rate the following categories of Palo Alto government performance: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Being open and transparent to the public NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 50% 53% Similar Informing residents about issues facing the community NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 55% 51% Similar Treating all residents fairly NA NA NA NA NA NA 57% 53% 47% 56% 51% 57% 50% Lower Treating residents with respect NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 67% 68% Similar Table 48: Question 8 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto 49 203 354 Similar The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 43 261 322 Similar The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 48 192 318 Similar Overall confidence in Palo Alto government 46 187 286 Similar Generally acting in the best interest of the community 49 182 289 Similar Being honest 52 156 281 Similar Being open and transparent to the public 50 91 178 Similar Informing residents about issues facing the community 50 81 183 Similar Treating all residents fairly 49 183 287 Similar Treating residents with respect 59 91 175 Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 47 Table 49: Question 8 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent "excellent" or "good". Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto 50% 45% 60% E 48% 35% 58% E 51% The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 38% 39% 47% 42% 32% 46% 42% The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 49% 42% 59% F 57% F 37% 38% 46% Overall confidence in Palo Alto government 44% 46% E 55% E 54% E 26% 47% E 47% Generally acting in the best interest of the community 51% 50% 64% F 63% 44% 46% 52% Being honest 47% 54% 55% 48% 45% 60% 53% Being open and transparent to the public 58% E 46% 63% E 49% 33% 59% E 53% Informing residents about issues facing the community 44% 36% 60% B 50% 47% 63% A B 51% Treating all residents fairly 59% 39% 66% B D E 39% 36% 57% B 50% Treating residents with respect 81% B E 56% 77% B E 70% E 40% 73% B E 68% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 48 Table 50: Question 8 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent "excellent" or "good". Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto 60% B 40% 53% 49% 51% The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 43% 38% 46% 37% 42% The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 49% 43% 50% 43% 46% Overall confidence in Palo Alto government 46% 48% 55% B 40% 47% Generally acting in the best interest of the community 55% 48% 56% 49% 52% Being honest 58% 49% 55% 53% 53% Being open and transparent to the public 58% 48% 51% 56% 53% Informing residents about issues facing the community 55% 47% 55% 49% 51% Treating all residents fairly 50% 49% 50% 50% 50% Treating residents with respect 72% 62% 66% 71% 68% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 49 Question 9 Table 51: Question 9 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The City of Palo Alto 15% N=60 53% N=209 23% N=90 4% N=15 5% N=18 100% N=392 The State Government 7% N=27 47% N=183 31% N=122 9% N=36 6% N=24 100% N=392 The Federal Government 5% N=19 39% N=153 35% N=137 15% N=58 6% N=25 100% N=392 Table 52: Question 9 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The City of Palo Alto 16% N=60 56% N=209 24% N=90 4% N=15 100% N=374 The State Government 7% N=27 50% N=183 33% N=122 10% N=36 100% N=368 The Federal Government 5% N=19 42% N=153 37% N=137 16% N=58 100% N=367 Table 53: Question 9 - Historical Results Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 The City of Palo Alto 87% 80% 80% 83% 88% 84% 83% 85% 81% 86% 82% 73% 72% Similar State Government 38% 23% 27% 26% 41% 33% NA 47% 46% 54% 46% 52% 57% Higher The Federal Government 32% 41% 43% 41% 50% 37% 48% 46% 46% 36% 33% 27% 47% Higher City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 50 Table 54: Question 9 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Quality of services provided by the City of Palo Alto 61 200 348 Similar Quality of services provided by the Federal Government 45 45 270 Similar Table 55: Question 9 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) The City of Palo Alto 77% 69% 71% 79% 65% 70% 72% The State Government 57% 52% 56% 59% 61% 59% 57% The Federal Government 53% 47% 37% 41% 39% 55% C 47% Table 56: Question 9 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) The City of Palo Alto 78% B 66% 73% 72% 72% The State Government 63% B 51% 65% B 50% 57% The Federal Government 51% 43% 53% 42% 47% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 51 Question 10 Table 57: Question 10 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Traffic enforcement 9% N=35 39% N=150 25% N=96 14% N=55 13% N=51 100% N=388 Traffic signal timing 12% N=46 36% N=140 32% N=122 17% N=67 3% N=12 100% N=387 Street repair 12% N=46 34% N=132 33% N=127 20% N=78 2% N=7 100% N=389 Street cleaning 25% N=97 55% N=213 15% N=57 3% N=13 2% N=8 100% N=389 Street tree maintenance 25% N=96 48% N=188 18% N=71 5% N=21 3% N=12 100% N=388 Sidewalk maintenance 16% N=60 44% N=168 26% N=101 11% N=44 3% N=13 100% N=386 Land use, planning, and zoning 5% N=20 23% N=91 24% N=93 24% N=92 24% N=93 100% N=390 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 7% N=27 28% N=107 21% N=80 12% N=46 33% N=127 100% N=387 Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) 30% N=116 46% N=178 13% N=50 2% N=8 8% N=32 100% N=385 Building and planning application processing services 3% N=12 14% N=56 11% N=43 21% N=81 50% N=193 100% N=384 Affordable high-speed internet access 10% N=39 23% N=90 28% N=110 19% N=75 19% N=74 100% N=388 Electric utility 27% N=104 51% N=198 16% N=61 4% N=16 3% N=11 100% N=389 Gas utility 23% N=90 48% N=188 14% N=56 2% N=9 12% N=46 100% N=390 Utility payment options 35% N=136 44% N=172 12% N=46 1% N=2 8% N=32 100% N=388 Drinking water 44% N=172 44% N=172 6% N=25 2% N=7 3% N=13 100% N=390 Sewer services 32% N=123 47% N=182 11% N=44 1% N=4 9% N=35 100% N=387 Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) 23% N=88 44% N=172 16% N=63 3% N=12 14% N=55 100% N=389 Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e-waste) 36% N=141 47% N=181 12% N=46 3% N=10 3% N=10 100% N=389 Police services 18% N=69 37% N=145 7% N=28 2% N=7 36% N=140 100% N=389 Crime prevention 11% N=42 38% N=146 19% N=72 8% N=33 25% N=96 100% N=389 Animal control 18% N=70 32% N=124 10% N=37 2% N=7 38% N=148 100% N=387 Ambulance or emergency medical services 20% N=76 28% N=107 5% N=19 2% N=6 46% N=179 100% N=387 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 52 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Fire emergency services 24% N=94 32% N=123 4% N=15 1% N=2 39% N=151 100% N=386 Fire prevention and education 16% N=60 34% N=129 9% N=33 3% N=11 40% N=152 100% N=385 Palo Alto open space 52% N=201 35% N=136 6% N=25 1% N=5 5% N=18 100% N=383 City parks 48% N=184 43% N=167 6% N=23 1% N=4 2% N=9 100% N=386 Recreation programs or classes 21% N=82 30% N=117 12% N=47 2% N=7 35% N=134 100% N=387 Recreation centers or facilities 23% N=88 33% N=125 13% N=51 2% N=7 29% N=113 100% N=384 Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) 41% N=158 31% N=117 5% N=18 1% N=4 23% N=87 100% N=384 Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) 43% N=166 33% N=128 3% N=12 1% N=4 19% N=74 100% N=383 Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) 38% N=148 35% N=134 5% N=20 1% N=5 20% N=79 100% N=386 Art programs and theater 24% N=93 38% N=147 7% N=27 1% N=2 30% N=117 100% N=387 City-sponsored special events 10% N=38 35% N=134 14% N=55 1% N=6 39% N=151 100% N=384 City website (cityofpaloalto.org) 13% N=51 46% N=175 21% N=82 4% N=14 16% N=62 100% N=384 Public information services (Police/public safety) 12% N=44 41% N=156 17% N=65 4% N=15 27% N=103 100% N=383 Public information services (non-Police/public safety) 11% N=43 40% N=151 20% N=78 2% N=9 26% N=100 100% N=380 Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 17% N=66 48% N=186 14% N=54 2% N=8 18% N=71 100% N=384 Table 58: Question 10 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Traffic enforcement 10% N=35 45% N=150 29% N=96 16% N=55 100% N=337 Traffic signal timing 12% N=46 37% N=140 33% N=122 18% N=67 100% N=375 Street repair 12% N=46 34% N=132 33% N=127 20% N=78 100% N=382 Street cleaning 26% N=97 56% N=213 15% N=57 4% N=13 100% N=381 Street tree maintenance 26% N=96 50% N=188 19% N=71 6% N=21 100% N=376 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 53 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Sidewalk maintenance 16% N=60 45% N=168 27% N=101 12% N=44 100% N=373 Land use, planning, and zoning 7% N=20 31% N=91 31% N=93 31% N=92 100% N=296 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 10% N=27 41% N=107 31% N=80 18% N=46 100% N=260 Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) 33% N=116 50% N=178 14% N=50 2% N=8 100% N=352 Building and planning application processing services 6% N=12 29% N=56 22% N=43 42% N=81 100% N=191 Affordable high-speed internet access 12% N=39 29% N=90 35% N=110 24% N=75 100% N=314 Electric utility 27% N=104 52% N=198 16% N=61 4% N=16 100% N=378 Gas utility 26% N=90 55% N=188 16% N=56 3% N=9 100% N=343 Utility payment options 38% N=136 48% N=172 13% N=46 1% N=2 100% N=356 Drinking water 46% N=172 46% N=172 7% N=25 2% N=7 100% N=377 Sewer services 35% N=123 52% N=182 12% N=44 1% N=4 100% N=353 Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) 26% N=88 51% N=172 19% N=63 4% N=12 100% N=334 Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e-waste) 37% N=141 48% N=181 12% N=46 3% N=10 100% N=379 Police services 28% N=69 58% N=145 11% N=28 3% N=7 100% N=249 Crime prevention 14% N=42 50% N=146 25% N=72 11% N=33 100% N=293 Animal control 29% N=70 52% N=124 16% N=37 3% N=7 100% N=239 Ambulance or emergency medical services 37% N=76 51% N=107 9% N=19 3% N=6 100% N=208 Fire emergency services 40% N=94 53% N=123 6% N=15 1% N=2 100% N=235 Fire prevention and education 26% N=60 56% N=129 14% N=33 5% N=11 100% N=233 Palo Alto open space 55% N=201 37% N=136 7% N=25 1% N=5 100% N=366 City parks 49% N=184 44% N=167 6% N=23 1% N=4 100% N=377 Recreation programs or classes 32% N=82 46% N=117 19% N=47 3% N=7 100% N=252 Recreation centers or facilities 32% N=88 46% N=125 19% N=51 3% N=7 100% N=271 Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) 53% N=158 39% N=117 6% N=18 1% N=4 100% N=297 Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) 54% N=166 41% N=128 4% N=12 1% N=4 100% N=310 Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) 48% N=148 43% N=134 7% N=20 2% N=5 100% N=307 Art programs and theater 34% N=93 55% N=147 10% N=27 1% N=2 100% N=270 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 54 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total City-sponsored special events 16% N=38 58% N=134 23% N=55 2% N=6 100% N=233 City website (cityofpaloalto.org) 16% N=51 54% N=175 26% N=82 4% N=14 100% N=322 Public information services (Police/public safety) 16% N=44 56% N=156 23% N=65 6% N=15 100% N=280 Public information services (non-Police/public safety) 15% N=43 54% N=151 28% N=78 3% N=9 100% N=281 Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 21% N=66 59% N=186 17% N=54 3% N=8 100% N=313 Table 59: Question 10 - Historical Results* Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Traffic enforcement 64% 61% 64% 61% 66% 64% 62% 60% 60% 60% 53% 65% 55% Lower Traffic signal timing NA 56% 56% 52% 47% 53% 53% 47% 50% 49% 45% 59% 50% Lower Street repair 50% 42% 43% 40% 42% 47% 55% 51% 57% 55% 46% 56% 46% Lower Street cleaning 75% 73% 76% 79% 80% 76% 80% 75% 77% 78% 72% 83% 82% Similar Street tree maintenance 62% 72% 69% 70% 71% 66% 80% 73% 71% 75% 72% 75% 76% Similar Sidewalk maintenance 50% 53% 51% 51% 53% 56% 62% 62% 61% 65% 61% 63% 61% Similar Land use, planning and zoning 41% 47% 49% 45% 51% 36% 43% 40% 37% 40% 39% 40% 38% Similar Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 55% 50% 53% 56% 61% 57% 62% 59% 52% 56% 55% 52% 51% Similar Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 83% 83% Similar Building and planning application processing services NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 44% 43% 35% Lower Affordable high-speed internet access NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 39% 41% Similar Electric utility NA 83% 79% 85% 84% 80% 72% 87% 86% 87% 83% 77% 80% Similar Gas utility NA 81% 80% 82% 86% 81% 88% 88% 87% 89% 84% 78% 81% Similar Utility payment options NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 85% 86% 87% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 55 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Drinking water 82% 81% 84% 86% 83% 88% 89% 88% 87% 88% 87% 88% 91% Similar Sewer services 84% 81% 82% 84% 82% 84% 89% 88% 88% 88% 85% 87% 87% Similar Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) 65% 73% 74% 74% 75% 69% 80% 71% 75% 81% 71% 83% 78% Lower Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e- waste) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 85% 87% 85% Similar Police services 89% 84% 87% 88% 86% 86% 87% 88% 88% 93% 89% 78% 86% Higher Crime prevention NA 73% 79% 81% 74% 75% 80% 79% 80% 81% 78% 67% 64% Similar Animal control 79% 78% 76% 72% 78% 76% 80% 80% 77% 80% 75% 82% 81% Similar Ambulance or emergency medical services 95% 91% 94% 93% 96% 93% 97% 95% 96% 96% 93% 93% 88% Lower Fire emergency services 96% 95% 93% 92% 96% 93% 95% 97% 97% 97% 94% 94% 93% Similar Fire prevention and education NA 80% 79% 76% 80% 82% 85% 85% 85% 87% 84% 82% 81% Similar Palo Alto open space NA NA NA NA NA NA 82% 84% 81% 86% 83% 86% 92% Higher City parks 90% 92% 90% 94% 91% 93% 92% 93% 91% 94% 91% 91% 93% Similar Recreation programs or classes 83% 85% 82% 81% 87% 87% 87% 84% 84% 87% 81% 83% 79% Similar Recreation centers or facilities 77% 80% 81% 75% 85% 80% 84% 86% 81% 86% 82% 82% 79% Similar Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 92% 93% Similar Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 92% 94% 95% Similar Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) 60% 73% 75% 72% 88% 81% 88% 83% 82% 86% 88% 86% 92% Higher Art programs and theater NA 79% 78% 81% 82% 82% 69% 80% 78% 82% 76% 82% 89% Higher City-sponsored special events NA NA NA NA NA NA 75% 75% 73% 75% 77% 72% 74% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 56 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 City website (cityofpaloalto.org) NA 55% 73% 67% 70% 69% 88% 69% 66% 72% 65% 69% 70% Similar Public information services (Police/public safety) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 77% 74% 71% Similar Public information services (non-Police/public safety) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 75% 75% 69% Lower Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 78% 79% 77% 76% 81% 79% 81% 74% 77% 84% 77% 79% 80% Similar *Prior to 2022, “Fire emergency services” was “Fire services”. Table 60: Question 10 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Traffic enforcement 50 259 337 Similar Traffic signal timing 48 183 282 Similar Street repair 46 174 331 Similar Street cleaning 68 47 295 Higher Sidewalk maintenance 55 130 291 Similar Land use, planning, and zoning 38 236 298 Similar Code enforcement 48 149 330 Similar Preservation of natural areas 71 13 274 Higher Affordable high-speed internet access 43 130 169 Similar Utility payment options 75 2 261 Higher Drinking water 78 15 292 Higher Sewer services 73 61 295 Similar Storm water management 67 84 310 Similar Police services 70 196 364 Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 57 City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Crime prevention 56 236 336 Similar Animal control 69 36 307 Similar Ambulance or emergency medical services 74 196 303 Similar Fire services 77 194 327 Similar Fire prevention and education 67 164 292 Similar Palo Alto open space 82 2 265 Much higher City parks 80 33 308 Higher Recreation programs or classes 70 55 302 Similar Recreation centers or facilities 69 55 286 Similar Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees 66 204 351 Similar Table 61: Question 10 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Traffic enforcement 56% 56% 62% D 39% 47% 63% D 55% Traffic signal timing 60% C E 57% E 40% 46% 37% 52% 50% Street repair 50% D 43% 63% B D E 29% 33% 54% D E 46% Street cleaning 76% 88% 85% 76% 74% 84% 82% Street tree maintenance 77% D 81% D E 85% D E 61% 63% 78% D 76% Sidewalk maintenance 57% 58% 77% A B D 49% 57% 65% D 61% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 58 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Land use, planning, and zoning 35% 34% 51% 32% 37% 37% 38% Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 58% D 45% 55% D 28% 50% 64% B D 51% Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) 87% 91% D E 86% 77% 73% 82% 83% Building and planning application processing services 48% D 41% 45% D 17% 28% 29% 35% Affordable high-speed internet access 51% C 37% 27% 46% 32% 48% C 41% Electric utility 85% D 86% D 77% 69% 72% 83% D 80% Gas utility 88% D E 87% D E 78% 70% 71% 83% 81% Utility payment options 90% D 90% D 85% 76% 85% 90% D 87% Drinking water 99% D E 95% E 89% 87% 81% 92% E 91% Sewer services 88% E 89% E 89% E 88% E 68% 89% E 87% Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) 76% 84% E 77% 72% 59% 84% E 78% Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e-waste) 91% E 86% E 89% E 84% E 66% 88% E 85% Police services 87% 85% 92% 84% 75% 88% 86% Crime prevention 62% 63% 62% 58% 67% 70% 64% Animal control 88% 85% 80% 77% 76% 80% 81% Ambulance or emergency medical services 96% D 87% 92% D 74% 82% 91% D 88% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 59 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Fire emergency services 97% E 93% E 99% D E 86% 78% 96% E 93% Fire prevention and education 85% 86% 86% 72% 72% 83% 81% Palo Alto open space 96% 94% 92% 89% 90% 91% 92% City parks 98% D 94% 96% 88% 88% 94% 93% Recreation programs or classes 83% 76% 77% 83% 71% 79% 79% Recreation centers or facilities 79% 79% 75% 84% 73% 79% 79% Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) 89% 93% 97% E 94% 85% 94% 93% Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) 95% 97% E 94% 93% 86% 97% E 95% Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) 96% E 93% E 88% 93% E 79% 94% E 92% Art programs and theater 87% 93% E 82% 92% E 76% 94% C E 89% City-sponsored special events 73% E 64% 85% B E 80% E 46% 82% B E 74% City website (cityofpaloalto.org) 76% E 70% 68% 89% B C E F 54% 62% 70% Public information services (Police/public safety) 81% E 76% E 75% 71% 54% 68% 71% Public information services (non-Police/public safety) 82% E 70% 71% 68% 52% 67% 69% Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 83% 84% 82% 74% 75% 80% 80% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 60 Table 62: Question 10 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Traffic enforcement 54% 55% 59% 51% 55% Traffic signal timing 48% 51% 53% 46% 50% Street repair 47% 44% 44% 48% 46% Street cleaning 86% B 77% 82% 81% 82% Street tree maintenance 73% 79% 71% 80% 76% Sidewalk maintenance 59% 65% 54% 69%A 61% Land use, planning, and zoning 35% 40% 45%B 30% 38% Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 52% 51% 48% 55% 51% Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) 85% 82% 84% 83% 83% Building and planning application processing services 30% 42% 33% 37% 35% Affordable high-speed internet access 41% 42% 42% 42% 41% Electric utility 90% B 67% 77% 83% 80% Gas utility 91% B 70% 78% 85% 81% Utility payment options 92% B 80% 82% 92% A 87% Drinking water 97% B 84% 88% 94% A 91% Sewer services 91% B 81% 82% 91% A 87% Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) 83% B 70% 75% 80% 78% Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e-waste) 90% B 80% 83% 87% 85% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 61 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Police services 90% B 78% 79% 92% A 86% Crime prevention 69% 60% 64% 65% 64% Animal control 90% B 73% 80% 83% 81% Ambulance or emergency medical services 94% B 78% 84% 92% 88% Fire emergency services 97% B 84% 90% 95% 93% Fire prevention and education 90% B 71% 77% 86% 81% Palo Alto open space 97% B 86% 92% 91% 92% City parks 97% B 88% 94% 92% 93% Recreation programs or classes 86% B 72% 79% 80% 79% Recreation centers or facilities 85% B 73% 81% 76% 79% Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) 94% 91% 94% 92% 93% Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) 97% B 92% 96% 94% 95% Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) 95% 89% 94% 91% 92% Art programs and theater 93% 87% 92% 87% 89% City-sponsored special events 82% B 67% 76% 74% 74% City website (cityofpaloalto.org) 71% 72% 70% 72% 70% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 62 Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Public information services (Police/public safety) 75% 68% 71% 74% 71% Public information services (non-Police/public safety) 73% 66% 70% 70% 69% Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 84% 77% 82% 79% 80% Question 11 Table 63: Question 11 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate the following as they relate to Palo Alto Utilities’ services: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Reliability of utility services 44% N=165 41% N=155 10% N=37 2% N=8 3% N=10 100% N=375 Affordability of utility services 17% N=65 40% N=152 33% N=126 5% N=19 5% N=17 100% N=380 Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services 39% N=145 31% N=117 7% N=26 5% N=17 19% N=69 100% N=375 Utilities online customer self-service features 22% N=84 37% N=138 9% N=33 4% N=16 28% N=107 100% N=378 Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business 20% N=75 40% N=151 13% N=50 5% N=20 21% N=79 100% N=375 Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive 17% N=64 31% N=118 15% N=57 8% N=30 29% N=107 100% N=376 Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay 17% N=66 42% N=160 23% N=88 5% N=18 12% N=46 100% N=378 Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website 21% N=80 36% N=136 13% N=50 5% N=20 24% N=91 100% N=378 Value of Palo Alto Utilities’ customer communications 17% N=64 42% N=159 14% N=52 3% N=11 24% N=92 100% N=378 Ease of contacting Utilities department staff 20% N=77 36% N=135 10% N=37 3% N=12 31% N=116 100% N=378 Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff 20% N=76 35% N=130 9% N=32 2% N=8 35% N=131 100% N=377 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 63 Table 64: Question 11 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the following as they relate to Palo Alto Utilities’ services: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Reliability of utility services 45% N=165 42% N=155 10% N=37 2% N=8 100% N=365 Affordability of utility services 18% N=65 42% N=152 35% N=126 5% N=19 100% N=362 Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services 48% N=145 38% N=117 9% N=26 6% N=17 100% N=305 Utilities online customer self-service features 31% N=84 51% N=138 12% N=33 6% N=16 100% N=271 Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business 25% N=75 51% N=151 17% N=50 7% N=20 100% N=296 Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive 24% N=64 44% N=118 21% N=57 11% N=30 100% N=268 Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay 20% N=66 48% N=160 26% N=88 5% N=18 100% N=332 Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website 28% N=80 48% N=136 18% N=50 7% N=20 100% N=287 Value of Palo Alto Utilities’ customer communications 22% N=64 56% N=159 18% N=52 4% N=11 100% N=286 Ease of contacting Utilities department staff 30% N=77 52% N=135 14% N=37 5% N=12 100% N=262 Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff 31% N=76 53% N=130 13% N=32 3% N=8 100% N=246 Table 65: Question 11 - Historical Results Please rate the following as they relate to Palo Alto Utilities' services: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2017 2018 2021 2022 Reliability of utility services 96% 94% 93% 88% Lower Affordability of utility services 64% 59% 58% 60% Similar Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services 81% 79% 84% 86% Similar Utilities online customer self-service features NA 78% 86% 82% Similar Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business 83% 75% 80% 76% Similar Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive 63% 59% 62% 68% Similar Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay 68% 62% 66% 68% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 64 Please rate the following as they relate to Palo Alto Utilities' services: Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2017 2018 2021 2022 Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website 65% 61% 72% 75% Similar Value of Palo Alto Utilities’ customer communications 76% 70% 80% 78% Similar Ease of contacting Utilities department staff NA 75% 84% 81% Similar Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff NA 76% 83% 84% Similar Table 66: Question 11 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Reliability of utility services 83% 81% 94% B 87% 83% 93% B 88% Affordability of utility services 58% 72% D E 58% 51% 45% 64% E 60% Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services 89% 81% 82% 85% 79% 93% B 86% Utilities online customer self-service features 87% 82% 82% 76% 83% 83% 82% Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business 82% D E 80% D E 82% D E 62% 57% 81% D E 76% Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive 72% D 69% D 72% D 48% 53% 78% D E 68% Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay 73% D 67% 68% D 50% 62% 78% D 68% Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website 73% 78% 81% 71% 74% 75% 75% Value of Palo Alto Utilities' customer communications 71% 77% 89% A E 82% 67% 80% 78% Ease of contacting Utilities department staff 86% 76% 90% 83% 81% 77% 81% Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff 86% 85% 88% 79% 82% 81% 84% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 65 Table 67: Question 11 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Reliability of utility services 91% B 83% 87% 89% 88% Affordability of utility services 63% 58% 56% 66% 60% Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services 90% 82% 85% 88% 86% Utilities online customer self-service features 83% 84% 81% 85% 82% Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business 84% B 68% 77% 76% 76% Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive 68% 68% 64% 72% 68% Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay 71% 67% 63% 74% A 68% Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website 73% 79% 73% 79% 75% Value of Palo Alto Utilities' customer communications 82% 77% 81% 79% 78% Ease of contacting Utilities department staff 81% 81% 78% 85% 81% Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff 87% 83% 85% 84% 84% *There are no benchmark data available for Question 11 as this question is unique to Palo Alto. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 66 Question 12 Table 68: Question 12 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Palo Alto community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years. Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important Total Overall “built environment” of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 50% N=186 34% N=126 14% N=52 1% N=5 100% N=369 Overall economic health of Palo Alto 40% N=152 41% N=152 18% N=66 1% N=5 100% N=375 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 54% N=207 32% N=124 11% N=43 2% N=9 100% N=382 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 45% N=170 38% N=144 16% N=59 1% N=5 100% N=378 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 28% N=108 38% N=144 29% N=109 5% N=18 100% N=379 Overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts 31% N=118 43% N=162 23% N=87 3% N=12 100% N=379 Residents' connection and engagement with their community 23% N=85 45% N=172 27% N=103 5% N=19 100% N=380 Reducing community greenhouse gas emissions 41% N=156 30% N=113 23% N=88 7% N=26 100% N=383 Increasing local solar generation capacity within city boundaries 39% N=151 24% N=91 28% N=106 9% N=34 100% N=382 Increasing electric storage capacity within city boundaries 35% N=131 32% N=119 26% N=96 8% N=29 100% N=375 Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for Utilities billing issues, efficiency tips, outage information 18% N=67 35% N=132 32% N=119 16% N=59 100% N=378 Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for public safety issues 29% N=110 39% N=149 23% N=86 10% N=37 100% N=381 *This question did not have a “don’t know” option. Table 69: Question 12 - Historical Results Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Palo Alto community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years. Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Overall “built environment” of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 80% 80% 82% 75% 78% 81% 84% Similar Overall economic health of Palo Alto 80% 78% 82% 76% NA 85% 81% Similar Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 84% 82% 80% 80% 81% 83% 87% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 67 Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Palo Alto community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years. Percent positive 2022 rating compared to 2021 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 81% 81% 84% 79% 78% 85% 83% Similar Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 65% 61% 65% 62% NA 66% 66% Similar Overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts 71% 67% 70% 67% NA 70% 74% Similar Residents’ connection and engagement with their community 72% 71% 73% 70% NA 66% 68% Similar Reducing community greenhouse gas emissions NA NA NA 58% 64% 67% 70% Similar Increasing local solar generation capacity within city boundaries NA NA NA 57% 55% 62% 63% Similar Increasing electric storage capacity within city boundaries NA NA NA NA 50% 61% 67% Higher Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for Utilities billing issues, efficiency tips, outage information NA NA NA NA 45% 46% 53% Higher Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for public safety issues NA NA NA NA 63% 64% 68% Similar Table 70: Question 12 - Benchmark Comparisons City of Palo Alto rating Rank Number of jurisdictions for comparison Comparison to benchmark Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 78 14 261 Higher Overall economic health of Palo Alto 73 247 261 Lower Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 80 164 261 Similar Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 76 69 261 Similar Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 63 220 261 Similar Overall opportunities for education, culture, and the arts 67 150 261 Similar Residents' connection and engagement with their community 62 200 261 Similar *Benchmark comparisons were not available for a number of items in this question as these were unique to Palo Alto. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 68 Table 71: Question 12 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 86% 81% 84% 79% 79% 91% 84% Overall economic health of Palo Alto 89% 81% 81% 78% 76% 81% 81% Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 97% B D E F 82% 95% B D 80% 83% 85% 87% Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 81% 94% A D E F 82% 81% 75% 82% 83% Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 63% 71% 66% 69% 70% 62% 66% Overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts 83% C 75% 66% 71% 66% 77% 74% Residents' connection and engagement with their community 78% B E 55% 70% 73% B 57% 71% B 68% Reducing community greenhouse gas emissions 74% 70% 64% 74% 70% 71% 70% Increasing local solar generation capacity within city boundaries 61% 60% 58% 70% 69% 64% 63% Increasing electric storage capacity within city boundaries 76% C 66% 52% 61% 65% 74% C 67% Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for Utilities billing issues, efficiency tips, outage information 55% 58% 57% 50% 45% 51% 53% Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for public safety issues 69% 72% 68% 62% 54% 73% E 68% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 69 Table 72: Question 12 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "excellent" or "good" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 86% 83% 84% 86% 84% Overall economic health of Palo Alto 82% 79% 87% B 75% 81% Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 84% 88% 85% 88% 87% Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 85% 82% 86% 82% 83% Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 68% 66% 74% B 58% 66% Overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts 66% 85% A 77% 71% 74% Residents' connection and engagement with their community 64% 73% 76% B 59% 68% Reducing community greenhouse gas emissions 76% 68% 83% B 59% 70% Increasing local solar generation capacity within city boundaries 65% 65% 73% B 54% 63% Increasing electric storage capacity within city boundaries 63% 72% 74% B 60% 67% Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for Utilities billing issues, efficiency tips, outage information 53% 53% 62% B 45% 53% Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for public safety issues 67% 69% 77% B 61% 68% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 70 Question 13 Table 73: Question 13 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents With “Don’t Know” Responses In a typical week, how likely are you to: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams, volunteer your time, attend church/temple) 34% N=130 21% N=79 17% N=63 29% N=110 0% N=2 100% N=384 Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors 56% N=215 30% N=116 7% N=25 7% N=29 0% N=0 100% N=385 Table 74: Question 13 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Without "Don't Know" Responses In a typical week, how likely are you to: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams, volunteer your time, attend church/temple) 34% N=130 21% N=79 17% N=63 29% N=110 100% N=383 Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors 56% N=215 30% N=116 7% N=25 7% N=29 100% N=385 Table 75: Question 13 - Historical Results In a typical week, how likely are you to: Percent positive (e.g., very/somewhat likely) 2022 rating compared to 2021 2017 2018 2021 2022 Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams volunteer your time, attend church/temple) 52% 56% 47% 55% Higher Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors 85% 88% 82% 86% Similar City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 71 Table 76: Question 13 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very likely" or "somewhat likely" Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams, volunteer your time, attend church/temple) 58% 58% 47% 64% E 42% 54% 55% Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors 91% 92% D 81% 80% 82% 86% 86% Table 77: Question 13 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very likely" or "somewhat likely" Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams, volunteer your time, attend church/temple) 54% 56% 67% B 44% 55% Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors 87% 85% 83% 90% 86% There are no benchmark data available for Question 13 as this question is unique to Palo Alto. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 72 Question 14 Table 78: Question 14 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What mode of transportation do you use most for your typical daily needs for getting around town? Percent Number Driving 67% N=256 Walking 16% N=63 Biking 15% N=58 Bus 1% N=4 Train 0% N=0 Free shuttle 0% N=0 Taxi 0% N=0 Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 0% N=1 Carpooling 1% N=2 Total 100% N=385 Table 79: Question 14 - Historical Results What mode of transportation do you use most for your typical daily needs for getting around town? Percent selecting each response 2022 rating compared to 2021 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Driving 77% 73% 76% 71% 67% Similar Walking 13% 13% 11% 14% 16% Similar Biking 8% 11% 10% 13% 15% Similar Bus 1% 1% 0% 1% 1% Similar Train 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% Similar Free shuttle 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% Similar Taxi 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Similar Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% Similar Carpooling 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% Similar *There are no benchmark data available for Question 14 as this question is unique to Palo Alto. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 73 Question 15 Table 80: Question 15 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents In a typical week, how likely are you to: Very convenient Somewhat convenient Somewhat inconvenient Very inconvenient Total Walking 34% N=127 31% N=117 22% N=82 12% N=45 100% N=371 Biking 46% N=167 34% N=122 9% N=32 12% N=43 100% N=363 Bus 7% N=25 26% N=97 32% N=116 35% N=128 100% N=366 Train 9% N=33 33% N=121 26% N=93 32% N=115 100% N=362 Free shuttle 14% N=48 34% N=119 29% N=102 23% N=78 100% N=347 Taxi 8% N=29 23% N=82 31% N=107 38% N=132 100% N=350 Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 37% N=136 37% N=134 16% N=59 9% N=34 100% N=363 Carpooling 11% N=38 30% N=110 29% N=106 30% N=108 100% N=362 *This question did not have a “don’t know” option. Table 81: Question 15 - Historical Results If you did not have access to a car for your usual daily transportation around town, how convenient (based on time and proximity) would you consider each of the following methods of getting around? Percent positive (e.g., very/somewhat convenient) 2022 rating compared to 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Walking 92% 94% 92% 69% 76% 66% Lower Biking 76% 75% 75% 77% 83% 80% Similar Bus 53% 50% 52% 33% 33% 33% Similar Train 68% 66% 60% 41% 39% 43% Similar Free shuttle 78% 75% 74% 46% 45% 48% Similar Taxi 26% 27% 24% 35% 30% 31% Similar Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 52% 62% 66% 83% 77% 74% Lower Carpooling 52% 45% 49% 33% 26% 41% Higher City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 74 Table 82: Question 15 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very" or "somewhat" likely Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Walking 76% B D 55% 58% 48% 82% B C D 76% B C D 66% Biking 67% 86% A 81% 83% A 83% 77% 80% Bus 26% 22% 34% 39% B 51% A B 35% 33% Train 33% 35% 34% 46% 63% A B C 48% 43% Free shuttle 44% 46% 38% 55% 51% 53% 48% Taxi 34% 26% 30% 36% 27% 34% 31% Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 82% E 70% 76% 75% 62% 77% 74% Carpooling 37% 37% 32% 54% B C 48% 40% 41% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 75 Table 83: Question 15 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very" or "somewhat" likely Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Walking 66% 65% 67% 65% 66% Biking 81% 81% 80% 80% 80% Bus 30% 40% 38% 31% 33% Train 39% 47% 47% 38% 43% Free shuttle 48% 49% 47% 50% 48% Taxi 28% 37% 30% 35% 31% Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 71% 76% 75% 73% 74% Carpooling 37% 49% A 47% 37% 41% There are no benchmark data available for Question 15 as this question is unique to Palo Alto. Question 16 Table 84: Question 16 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with "Don't Know" Responses If you plan to purchase a new car within the next two years, what is the likelihood of it being: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total All-electric 47% N=158 17% N=59 14% N=48 16% N=55 6% N=20 100% N=339 Plug-in hybrid 25% N=84 36% N=119 13% N=43 19% N=65 7% N=23 100% N=334 Hydrogen fuel cell 3% N=10 6% N=20 15% N=49 55% N=175 20% N=65 100% N=319 Other 11% N=25 7% N=16 3% N=7 16% N=36 62% N=139 100% N=223 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 76 Table 85: Question 16 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses If you plan to purchase a new car within the next two years, what is the likelihood of it being: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total All-electric 49% N=158 19% N=59 15% N=48 17% N=55 100% N=319 Plug-in hybrid 27% N=84 38% N=119 14% N=43 21% N=65 100% N=311 Hydrogen fuel cell 4% N=10 8% N=20 19% N=49 69% N=175 100% N=254 Other 30% N=25 19% N=16 8% N=7 43% N=36 100% N=84 Table 86: Question 16 - Historical Results If you plan to purchase a new car within the next two years, what is the likelihood of it being: Percent rating positively (e.g., very/somewhat likely) 2022 rating compared to 2021 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 Plug-in hybrid 59% 62% 62% 61% 65% Similar All-electric 65% 71% 67% 76% 68% Lower Hydrogen fuel cell 10% 14% 11% 14% 12% Similar Other NA NA NA NA 48% NA *Prior to 2022, “All-electric” was “Electric” and “Hydrogen fuel cell” was “Fuel cell”. Table 87: Question 16 - Geographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very" or "somewhat" likely Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) All-electric 63% 74% 64% 69% 65% 68% 68% Plug-in hybrid 74% E 67% 64% 78% E F 50% 59% 65% Hydrogen fuel cell 11% 6% 13% 16% 15% 13% 12% Other 31% 40% 67% 71% 90% A B F 37% 48% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 77 Table 88: Question 16 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very" or "somewhat" likely Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) All-electric 71% 64% 69% 69% 68% Plug-in hybrid 62% 68% 71% B 60% 65% Hydrogen fuel cell 9% 12% 18% B 8% 12% Other 46% 46% 38% 53% 48% There are no benchmark data available for Question 16 as this question is unique to Palo Alto. Question 17 Table 89: Question 17 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with "Don't Know" Responses Palo Alto is committed to addressing climate change by engaging in strategies that reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). Space heating is the largest source of GHG in most Palo Alto homes, followed by water heating. What is the likelihood of you… Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total Replacing your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when you are ready to replace the water heater? 23% N=87 17% N=65 8% N=29 19% N=72 33% N=122 100% N=374 Replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system (that provides heating and cooling) when you are ready to replace the furnace? 25% N=92 17% N=62 9% N=34 18% N=66 32% N=119 100% N=372 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 78 Table 90: Question 17 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Palo Alto is committed to addressing climate change by engaging in strategies that reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). Space heating is the largest source of GHG in most Palo Alto homes, followed by water heating. What is the likelihood of you… Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total Replacing your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when you are ready to replace the water heater? 34% N=87 26% N=65 11% N=29 29% N=72 100% N=252 Replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system (that provides heating and cooling) when you are ready to replace the furnace? 36% N=92 25% N=62 13% N=34 26% N=66 100% N=253 Table 91: Question 16 - Geographic Subgroup Results Palo Alto is committed to addressing climate change by engaging in strategies that reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). Space heating is the largest source of GHG in most Palo Alto homes, followed by water heating. What is the likelihood of you… (Percent rating "very" or "somewhat" likely) Area Overall Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 (A) (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) Replacing your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when you are ready to replace the water heater? 59% 77% C F 44% 62% 52% 57% 60% Replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system (that provides heating and cooling) when you are ready to replace the furnace? 60% 71% C 48% 64% 56% 60% 61% Table 92: Question 17 - Demographic Subgroup Results Percent rating "very" or "somewhat" likely Race/ethnicity Sex Overall White alone, not Hispanic Hispanic and/or other race Female Male (A) (A) (B) (A) (B) Replacing your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when you are ready to replace the water heater? 58% 64% 62% 60% 60% Replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system (that provides heating and cooling) when you are ready to replace the furnace? 57% 66% 61% 61% 61% City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 79 Question 18 Table 93: Question 18 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents As a resident of Palo Alto, what one change could the City make that would make you happier? Percent Number Housing (amount, type, affordability/cost of living) 24% N=81 Street conditions and traffic concerns 14% N=47 General government operations 6% N=19 Safety, crime, policing and law enforcement 6% N=19 Parks and recreation amenities/services 5% N=16 City services, utilities and amenities 5% N=17 Improvements for walking and biking 4% N=15 Permits, code/ordinance enforcement 4% N=13 Homelessness 3% N=10 Public transportation 3% N=11 Development (other than housing) 2% N=7 Sense of community/community activities 2% N=6 Local businesses, retail/shopping options 2% N=8 Schools, programs for children 2% N=6 Lower taxes and/or utility costs 1% N=3 Downtown improvements 1% N=4 Overall appearance, cleanliness, upkeep 1% N=5 Parking concerns 1% N=2 Noise Reduction 1% N=4 Other 7% N=24 Nothing/Don't know 3% N=11 Total 100% N=335 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 80 Question 19 Table 94: Question 19 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents As a resident of Palo Alto, what one thing do you believe the City does well and would want to maintain? Percent Number Parks, open space, and natural environment 25% N=73 Utilities 12% N=34 Libraries, museums, theaters, etc. 10% N=29 Safety services 8% N=23 Schools and education, programs for youth 4% N=13 Cleanliness of community 4% N=13 Ability to give input and communication with government 4% N=11 Ease of bicycle travel/walking 4% N=11 Government/leadership 2% N=5 General City services 1% N=4 Everything/great place to live 1% N=3 Sense of community, community activities, and recreation 0% N=1 Other 3% N=9 Total 100% N=294 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 81 Demographic Questions Table 95: Question D1 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: Percent Number Very positive 1% N=2 Somewhat positive 7% N=27 Neutral 50% N=191 Somewhat negative 36% N=137 Very negative 7% N=26 Total 100% N=383 Table 96: Question D2 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your employment status? Percent Number Working full time for pay 55% N=213 Working part time for pay 12% N=45 Unemployed, looking for paid work 2% N=8 Unemployed, not looking for paid work 3% N=11 Fully retired 24% N=92 College student, unemployed 4% N=16 Total 100% N=385 Table 97: Question D3 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Do you work inside the boundaries of Palo Alto? Percent Number Yes, outside the home 27% N=101 Yes, from home 28% N=105 No 44% N=165 Total 100% N=371 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 82 Table 98: Question D4 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents How many years have you lived in Palo Alto? Percent Number Less than 2 years 20% N=77 2 to 5 years 12% N=47 6 to 10 years 12% N=45 11 to 20 years 20% N=78 More than 20 years 37% N=142 Total 100% N=389 Table 99: Question D5 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Which best describes the building you live in? Percent Number One family house detached from any other houses 58% N=224 Building with two or more homes (duplex, townhome, apartment or condominium) 39% N=151 Mobile home 0% N=0 Other 3% N=13 Total 100% N=388 Table 100: Question D6 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Do you rent or own your home? Percent Number Rent 44% N=170 Own 56% N=215 Total 100% N=385 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 83 Table 101: Question D7 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents About how much is your monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners' association (HOA) fees)? Percent Number Less than $500 per month 4% N=13 $500 to $999 per month 6% N=22 $1,000 to $1,499 per month 5% N=18 $1,500 to $1,999 per month 9% N=34 $2,000 to $2,499 per month 8% N=29 $2,500 to $2,999 per month 7% N=24 $3,000 to $3,499 per month 7% N=25 $3,500 to $3,999 per month 8% N=28 $4,000 to $4,499 per month 7% N=26 $4,500 to $4,999 per month 5% N=20 $4,500 to $4,999 per month 6% N=21 $5,500 to $5,999 per month 7% N=25 $6,000 to $6,499 per month 2% N=9 $6,500 to $6,999 per month 2% N=8 $7,000 to $7,499 per month 1% N=2 $7,500 to $7,999 per month 3% N=11 $8,000 to $8,499 per month 3% N=10 $8,500 to $8,999 per month 2% N=6 $9,000 to $9,499 per month 1% N=3 $9,500 to $9,999 per month 1% N=4 $10,000 or more per month 8% N=30 Total 100% N=367 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 84 Table 102: Question D8 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Do any children 17 or under live in your household? Percent Number No 65% N=250 Yes 35% N=133 Total 100% N=383 Table 103: Question D9 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older? Percent Number No 67% N=257 Yes 33% N=126 Total 100% N=382 Table 104: Question D10 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent Number Less than $25,000 3% N=10 $25,000 to $49,999 5% N=17 $50,000 to $74,999 12% N=41 $75,000 to $99,999 12% N=40 $100,000 to $149,999 10% N=36 $150,000 to $199,999 13% N=45 $200,000 to $249,999 10% N=35 $250,000 to $299,999 10% N=33 $300,000 to $349,999 4% N=14 $350,000 to $399,999 4% N=14 $400,000 to $449,999 4% N=14 $450,000 to $499,999 14% N=49 $500,000 or more 0% N=0 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 85 How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent Number Total 100% N=349 Table 105: Question D11 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino? Percent Number No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 94% N=355 Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 6% N=24 Table 106: Question D12 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race(s) you consider yourself to be.) Percent Number American Indian or Alaskan Native 1% N=5 Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander 29% N=108 Black or African American 3% N=11 White 67% N=248 Other 6% N=21 Total 100% N=368 Table 107: Question D13 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents In which category is your age? Percent Number 18 to 24 years 4% N=16 25 to 34 years 17% N=65 35 to 44 years 15% N=56 45 to 54 years 26% N=97 55 to 64 years 11% N=40 65 to 74 years 12% N=45 75 years or older 16% N=59 Total 100% N=378 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 86 Table 108: Question D14 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your gender? Percent Number Female 51% N=191 Male 49% N=185 Identify in another way 1% N=2 Total 100% N=378 Table 109: Question D14 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your sexual orientation? Percent Number Heterosexual 92% N=330 Lesbian 1% N=4 Gay 1% N=5 Bisexual 3% N=12 Identify another way 2% N=8 Total 100% N=358 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 87 Appendix B: Verbatim Responses to Open-ended Questions from Probability Survey Following are responses to questions 18 and 19. Responses are presented here in verbatim form, including any typographical, grammatical or other mistakes. Responses are in alphabetical order within the category in which the response was categorized. Question 18: As a resident of Palo Alto, what one change could the City make that would make you happier? Housing (amount, type, affordability/cost of living) • Affordability! I make over look and its as if I'm living below the poverty line PA has become so unsustainable. If I had the oppt. to be full remote, I would live elsewhere. • affordable housing • Affordable housing • Affordable housing for teachers, fire fighters, service people, artists & musicians. The current high-rises are quite ugly, maybe something a little nicer looking? • Affordable housing that treats the whole city, not just the San Antonio area. And affordable housing for not just the lowest income, but the stretched people in the middle searching for rentals. Also, improve the timing of the Foothills/Arastradero/Miranda lights so that bikes have a chance to clear the intersection when the Miranda at Aras light turns green. • Affordable rents. • Allow construction of denser apartment buildings along major corridors (e.g. University, California, El Camino, Middlefield). We need to add more housing before the state steps in and forces our hand in a way we don't want. • approve more housing • Bringing greater economic diversity / affordable housing. • Build and allow more housing so more non-rich people can live here • Build more affordable housing • Build more housing of all types. Denser housing, affordable housing, apartments and condos and townhouses so that people at all life stages can live safely and comfortably. Single family housing on big lots isn't the best solution for everyone! • Build more housing. • Denser and more affordable housing • Develop plan build rental housing for all income ages abilities on University site, Fry's site, Creek side, city owned parking lots. Better stronger relationships working with Stanford University and research, Cal Trans, Cal Train, PAUSD. Develop build multi all income levels very low inomce to mediaum income housing along ECR between California Ave and East Measow in the weeded lots, abandoned blgs, Quansa huts. Buidl housing on Cambridge ave . Incorporate good low income housing out of ROLM/COM/INDUST toxic areas where there are not city services, and near sea level rise. • Do not allow super rich residents to create compounds by buying houses around them to use for businesses • Eliminating new construction that does not include very affordable low-income housing!!!. • Encourage building of apartment complexes such as on Park Ave, El Camino, Alma sites. Don't waste money on the current definition of homeless or unhoused as this is a junkie./ mental capacity issue. Remove all parked RVs parked in the city. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 88 • Even though housing prices are outrageous, there is an upper limit on the number of people our land can support. The wild explosion in urbanization has increased traffic and made the place more crowded but the cost of housing is still outrageous. The cost of apartments is still beyond most people's means. Lets slow down on all this development. • Fair housing for everyone; with dignity. • Figure out how to provide affordable housing to increase the diversity of the city. • i dont make enough to own a home here and I make much more than the 'average' person, I cant settle here if I want to have a family and own a home or even probably have a small garden to grow a fruit tree because most rental housing in a reasonable price range doesn't have any yard unless I want a bunch of roommates and I feel too old for that ****. I have some small citrus trees in pots but eventually they'll be too big to move and so I can't exist here forever if I actually want to plant them, if I'm renting even if I was happy with a place, the landlord might decide they want to remodel and up the rent. I don't need anything fancy but it would be nice to be able to exist in a place with out feeling like it was at the expense or my quality of life with out being reamed to just exist. Also i drive to work which is not directly in palo alto because it seems like palo alto only has employment for law offices, software companies and the service industry. Cheaper housing, mixed use zoning, housing closer to jobs and convenient areas to do activities/shopping so having a car isnt required. a train system with a reasonably frequent schedule, that doesnt sound its god forsaken horn at 530 in the morning at the at grade crossing near my apartment. Things need to be close enough together or convenient enough that not using a car is the practical timely option. cal train is not a practical replacement as it currently exists • If I could find cheaper rent as a graduate student. • Increase affordable housing • Increase affordable housing (no need for mkt rate housing or offices) without increasing office source i e. redmi worker/resident imbalance. • Increase low income housing so fewer homeless; fiber to the home would be good too • Less dense housing so there will be less traffic on main corridor. Preserve and improve the wonderful parks in the city. • LESS EXPENSIVE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO LIVE HERE. • Lower cost of housing. This is a wonderful place to live but 10x-20x higher property costs compared to other part of the country. Honestly, we could never afford to buy property here which is sad • Lower costs • Lower market rate housing costs • Make Palo Alto more affordable to everyone, poor, and rich. • More affordable housing • More affordable housing • more affordable housing • more affordable housing • more affordable housing • More affordable housing - especially on transportation corridor/Caltrain. North PA needs to build - it can't all be around San Antonio • More affordable housing for local public employees (teachers, first responders, etc.) and other low income workers. • MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR WORKING PEOPLE. • More affordable housing options • More affordable housing property integrated into existing community. • More affordable housing! City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 89 • MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING! WHY IS THIS NOT IN #12? • More affordable housing, bring in younger residents! (And replace our tree that has been with a cone for 1.5 years!) • More affordable housing. • More affordable rent; it eats up much of my salary. Palo Alto is a nice place to live & is very close to work. • More affordable utilities and housing opportunities. Lower taxes. • more high-density residential areas • More housing options for our children just starting careers!. • More housing, increased density • MORE HOUSING. • more low income housing • more low income housing • more market rate housing • Much more housing so our community can be affordable to more people who have a broad range of incomes. • no dense residential buildings, unless they are all income restricted units. • Not assume everyone who lives here has lots of money and can afford to do things like buy an electric car, put in solar panels, replace appliances, etc. • Palo Alto is a fantastic place to live. I love the parks, the schools, the trees, the natural beauty and the small town atmosphere with cosmopolitan air from all the smart peeps. I wish there were a way to wave a magic wand and make the place more affordable. I worry the cost of living issues, paired with pandemic and economic downturn, is pushing people out (when it was already rarefied). Palo Alto will lose its essential vitality if it becomes any more exclusively populated by only Richie-Riches and absentee owners. It's not easy to solve. Also, here is a very specific request that I've brought up in the past; I know I'm becoming a crank but you sent me that survey request so here goes: Neighborhood safety would be improved if a stop sign were put on Homer at the Cowper intersection. It is the only intersection with a through cross-street on Homer that doesn't have a stop sign and I've witnessed. multiple accidents here and lots & lots of honking/near accidents. This is a frequent crossing place for Channing House peeps and homeward bound Addison kids. (I've requested this twice through online resident and been denied, politely, by the public safety information person but I maintain it would be a benefit.) • Pass legislation that limits the amount of time a house can remain vacant to address the housing shortage and cost of rent in the city. • Peck ice rent control. • Prioritizing lower cost of living and affordability • Provide enough low cost housing to meet the needs of the population who travel to work here. • Provide more low income housing. • Reduce costs of everything • Reduce the house price and property tax • Reduce the number of large businesses. The business-to-home ratio is too high, creates a lot of commuting into Palo Alto. • reducing living cost. • Reduction of companies headquartered here with the attendant need for high-cost housing • Rent (or quality of rented property) control • Rent control / better access for students siking and control them instead of using the whole street to avoid accidents. • Rent control! City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 90 • See that we have housing so that the service people we want to work in Palo Alto can live in Palo Alto • Stop building multi-story structures out to the sidewalk. You're making Palo Alto into San Francisco!. • Stop fighting housing, approve more housing for our neighbors and kids. Also please better promote trains, busses, biking and active transportation options • Stop population increase due to insufficient infrastructure. • The City has to stop building dense housing developments and permitting "megahomes" to be built on lots that are too small. • The price of house dropped. • Tougher rent control stop expansion of Stanford University < 3% affiliates increase per year. • We need more housing Street Conditions and Traffic Concerns • We need more housing • Align lights on Embarcadero between Paly and El Camino • At least put a stop sign at crosswalk in front of Whole Foods. I've almost been hit twice by speeding drivers. We are disappointed by police apathy. Something needs to be changed. [?]. • Better maintain streets and sidewalks. • BETTER SYNCHRONIZING OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS ON MIDDLEFIELD AND ACMA!. • BETTER TRAFFIC PLANNNG AND CONTROL BETTER AND MORE THOUGHTFUL BUILDING PERMITS, BE REALISTIC ABOUT TRAFFIC AND PARKING. • Block off sections of Middlefield Road to control traffic and speeding through neighborhoods • calm traffic on Louis Road, finish the plan that was started previously. • Close downtown to cars like in mountain view. • Concentrate on local issues (such as fixing potholes) and stop trying to be a world leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. • do not close train crossings- Churchill, etc. Keep the track crossings as is. Do not further restrict streets for cars- no more bike lanes or traffic controls. The streets NEED to move traffic along otherwise quality of life suffers. people and bikes can move themselves around cars, not vice versa. • El Camino between Page Mill and Arastradero is in terrible shape. Please do something to get it repaired. • Enforce speed limit and traffic lights on embarcoders road - people speed and run the red lights. • fewer cars on the roads • Fix condition on major streets (El Camino?) improve policing, in all areas!. • Fix the pavement on the streets. The streets are a disgrace with repaving, bumps, etc. • Fix the pot holes in the roads • Fix the roads - especially El Camino; Make the city safer. • Fix the rotten road surfaces. • FIXED EL CAMINO REAL. • GET THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS DEMAND SENSORS TO WORK/FIXED. • Getting rid of the obstacles on thru streets like Foothill Expy & Aras traders / San Antonio. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 91 • Have the pot holes on El Camino Real fixed. Get a program to put solar on apartment buildings to replace gas. I would love to replace the gas water heaters and furnaces at the property I manage with solar or what you have in question 18 but it would need to be a city program that did it because I can't do it myself. I would also like to see a program that would put electric ( or solar if such a thing exists) charging stations in apartment complexes. I would like to see a program that paid for all these changes for the good of the system. If you put solar on my building that would take care of all the electrical needs of the buildings that would be great. Also please never do rent control in Palo Alto and never do parking permits in the Ventura neighborhood because there are too many apartments in this neighborhood and a parking permit program would be horrible for parking and for people visiting apartments and for the business along El Camino Real and Cal Ave. So please never entertain the idea of parking permits in Ventura ( I don't think this has ever come up, but I don't want it to ever come up). All these things stated. please fix the pot holes in El Camino Real • improve rail crossing safety • improve street upkeep, particularly after rain causes flooding, debris, potholes etc • Improve the traffic signals. • improve traffic : improve driving / enforcement or traffic laws / reduce speeds / reduce bike accidents • Improve traffic flow throughout the city • I've brought up several traffic safety concerns to Palo Alto transportation but have been rejected on all counts for help. I feel like our city is not striving for safety improvement and is content to use status quo and unwillingness to change as reasons to let safety slip. • Less traffic • Less traffic and more considerate drivers for people out walking. • Less traffic, safer speeds. • Open California Avenue. Get rid of "parklets" • Overall trafficenforcement of traffic rules • Reduce car traffic on University again, as part of a broader effort to center people rather than vehicles in transportation planning • Reduce congestion and traffic problems • Remove the traffic circle at E Meadow & Ross, I have almost been hit twice while out jogging. • repair roads • ROADS ( repair main roads and improve traffic conditions ) • Safer in the street. • Safer streets • Slow and calm traffic. • Stop making unnecessary changes to lanes and curbs! Charleston/Arastradero has been messed up for years. It feels like funneling tax-payer money to contractors. Bicycle lanes for students could have been made safer more quickly and without roadwork and tons of concrete (which contributes to green-house gases). • Stop putting in ridiculous traffic furniture on roads to slow down traffic. By doing so, reducing the amount of road available for cars and bikes and makes it much more dangerous for cyclists when there isn't enough road space because of some extra wide median structure. These unusual road structures make it more dangerous for everyone because they are not what is usual and expected. This is evidenced by the high number of curbs with tire marks on them. Charleston, Ross, etc... • Stop the ridiculous 'road diet' design, along with the push-out curbing, etc.; Also, get police to better manage speeding in residential areas • Traffic enforcement City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 92 • traffic, safety of cyclist • When city is doing the new pavement on existing streets, can city consider consistency on the same streets? I live on La Para Avenue. Some section of La Para has paved sidewalk, but others don't. It will look nicer with full consistency on my street. General Government Operations • A functional city council not caught up in old preservalenut us qwatti BS. • Better decisions by the city counsel • Better representation on City Council from South area. City Council somewhat elitist and heavenly North Palo Alto representation. Kind of a clique, not diverse enough. Not enough affordable housing. Expand/change library open days to Wednesday to Sunday. Increase open hours. • City government should be more open and accessible. • expedite decision making • Find great people to take leadership roles in our city! All neighboring cities have engaged city leadership, lots of community programs and activities. This city has lost its community spirit. • Fix the City of Palo Alto HR bottleneck • Focus on local municipal priorities before (improving planning dept., fixing sidewalks & streets) more than issues about which our community is already aware (useless water/energy,... • Focus only on matters for which city government has primary or exclusive responsibility and on which it can achieve meaningful, efficient and cost-effective results. • Mail a written newsletter every month with real news that is easy to understand including construction projects underway, changes in laws that affect people who live here (e.g., tree ordinance, train crossing plans), and suggestions for how to improve everyone's quality of life (e.g., get gas out of your home, volunteer in the community). • make accountable city council • Make housing more affordable. • Make sure elected officials are held accountable for prioritizing residents' concerns, not business. • Reduce size and cost of government so remaining budgets of time and money can be spent dealing with crime, safety, infrastructure, and essential services, and not be spent virtue-signaling on issues such as climate, social justice, DEI, ESG, or similar nonessential concerns. Stop setting naive, uninformed policy goals, and let the free market and the economics of substitution decide when conversion from one energy technology to another occurs. • reduce staff • Stop wasting your time and our money on the so-called "addressing climate change." You only address you feelings of virtue while making zero impact on climate while forcing us to waste our money on your virtue signalling. Yes, I am talking about your foolish (and expensive) efforts to limit natural gas usage in the city. • Talk to a live person at the city • The city government ignores the opinions of the citizens. The $8 million wasted on the Ross Road bicycle path is an example; forced on a neighborhood that did not want it!. • The males on city council need behavior modification in addressing women. They use and repeat words for example: contagious, obstructionist, untrustworthy. You should listen to recorded city council meetings. Did you notice that two new city council members are female leaders? Safety, Crime, Policing, and Law Enforcement • Add closed circuit TV in high crime areas. Add adult exercise equipment in parks. • address increasing crime rate City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 93 • Deal with minor/property crime. Thieves keep getting bolder-no visible effort to address. • Ensure safety of Palo Alto residents, support our Police • Improve safety • Increase personal safety and minimize crime • Maintain a safe environment for residents • more police paying attention to theft and attacks on residents • More visibility into crime • police force that is non-violent • Reduce crime • Reduce crime. • Reduce property crime and the risk of criminal attacks against people who are at home or walking Palo Alto streets. • Reduce property crime and the risk of criminal attacks against people who are at home or walking Palo Alto streets. • Reduced break-in and bike safety • safety • Safety from Vandalism & violence. • See more police car cruse through Barron Park • stop crimes like stealing packages from front door. City Services, Utilities, and Amenities • Affordable faster fiber service 10mbps @ cable price. • All utility cables (including power) to be moved underground • Better garbage pickup company / service. • Better utility prices / earlier music nights @ parks I would also like to see the Eichler swim pool take more members so we could wet in. • Explain twice a year how specific city services are being incrementally augmented or reduced based on revenue surpluses or shortfalls. • Extending library hours and items • Fiber service that is affordable but better town cable (now). • Focus on the quality of core City services (parks, roads, safety, sanitation) which need better maintenance and/or improvement. • free internet access using fiber • High speed internet - fiber • Improve 5G coverage across the entire city • Improve GreenWaste service or offer more than one option for service provider. Some healthy competition would be great! • More affordable utilities and better roads and sidewalks. • Palo Alto offering high speed fiber internet service to residents • Reduce all utility costs, sewer, refuse, and drain fees should be subsidized by "gas" profits. • Seeing staff being more productive and not sitting around(in vehicles) • to improve or reform the quality and efficiency of the city services Parks and Recreation Amenities/Services • Acquire additional 7 acres at Cubberley and build new Community Center • Add more Pickleball courts please! City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 94 • Fix Lucy Stern facilities, the Toilets and the auditorium are appallingly out of date and unbelievably unmaintained. • Have more tennis courts and off-leash dog areas • I wish there were more recreational activities offered for the youth of Palo Alto. I look at the City of Sunnyvale's course catalog every season with great envy, wishing there were more options for my kids (5yo and 8yo). I feel like the offerings today are geared towards older people (50+). • Improve Cubberley facilities • Improving the soccer field in Greer Park: adding lighting equipments, and leveling the field better or converting to turf. • In addition to focusing on economic, commercial and educational development, please build more space for outdoor entertainment facilities for residents, and build youth sports venues, especially skateboarding grounds, which are simply useless. • More dog parks!!! • More pickleball courts at Milchell Park. • More pickleball courts, fix potholes. • More recreational activities for teens!. • rebuild Cubberley Community Center • Sort out the problem with Cubberley/school District. Have a real community center/wellness center/gym that is city owned. It's a shame the disrepair of Cubberley. Our city should have it's own Recreation/Community Center. • Stop double-charging residents to use Foothills Park. Non-residents only pay entrance fee; residents have to pay both entrance fee + our normal property taxes. If increased traffic adds increased operation costs, that money should come from the increased traffic, not residents who already fund the park. Charging residents twice is not equitable, and I resent it so much that I've basically stopped using the park that I have cherished for 39 years. • there is no nice gym or rec center around here Improvements for Walking and Biking • Actual improvements to bicycling instead of the dangerous side paths and bollards currently being installed. (The time estimate to complete this survey is severely low.) • Add safe bike lanes to every busy street. • Better PROTECTED bike lanes in ALL major roads, and more traffic calming measures, especially on streets like Fabian Way where there are a lot of children and elderly adults using the street- and cars are constantly speeding and not yielding to cyclists or pedestrians. A thin green line is not appropriate as bikeway infrastructure on wide mile-long roads. Longer avenues also need more crosswalks • -Bike lanes can cause unsafe issues on major thorough fares -use land carefully w/out creating urban congestion. • Fix el camino or the adjacent side streets to be more bike friendly. If you want to get from one side to the other, you have to cross the main road but that is not easy. Say you want to skip El Camino entirely and ride along side - you can't! The side streets aren't continuous. • Fix sidewalks • Increase oversight on bicycle traffic and hand out tickets to those who run red lights and do not stop at stop signs • Keep some of the streets permanently car free. (Cal Ave, but also Univ. Ave.) • MAKE DOWNTOWN FULLY PEDESTRIAN. • Make it safer to walk the streets downtown. • More pedestrian only streets downtown City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 95 • more pedestrian rail crossings so it isn't as far to walk to shops and services on the other side of the tracks • Prioritizing other modes of transportation, particularly bicycling around the downtown area; (re)introducing a bikeshare program • Protect the bike lanes • REDUCE TRIPPING HAZARDS AT SIDEWALKS. Permits, Code/Ordinance Enforcement • BANISH EVERYONE WHO USES A LEAF-BLOWER. • Better code enforcement. Gas blowers are not allowed but common. • Better use of or tax of empty lots and buildings • better, more streamlined permit services • Fix (or at least change the reputation of) the permitting system. Getting a replacement electrical panel. Fahgeddaboutit. • Less restriction on zoning, buit code. • More efficiency in workflows in getting things done (ie. building permits) at City Hall. • More efficient building permit issuing/processing • more enforcement of rules/regulations of groups that buy property for the sole purpose of driving up prices, but make the process of home improvement easier/less onerous for all residents who plan to live long-term in community • Need to enforce codes and ordinances. Far too much gas-powered lawn equipment!! The noise issues are terrible, especially for those of us who need to work (and live) in relative quiet. Also, sketchy landlords who rent to AirBnB, etc. need to comply with rental policies. RENT CONTROL!!!! The rental increases are horrendous and tenants are powerless--it's untenable and unsustainable. • Not seeing RV/campers all over the neighborhood, and associated litter, environmental damage, and excrement. Absolutely ridiculous, I've been almost hit walking my children because a blind spot of RV parked on a corner. • Streamline the process for building an ADU in Palo Alto • The permit process is costly and inspectors are not always helpful or kind. Hard to maintain and upgrade one's home. Public Transportation • Better public transportation • bring back and improve free shuttles. • convenient public transportation around town • Enabling any kind of transit besides single driver automobiles! It is simply faster to drive to most places within Palo Alto, which then impacts traffic congestion, noise, and local air quality. We need alternatives to the slow and clunky buses. We have great bike friendly roads (Ross Road, etc) -- can we do more of that? • Free Shuttle service to most of Palo Alto. ie. west of Alma and ECR. To San Antonio shopping Center, to Cubberly and to Stanford. • Improve public transportation. • Increase public transit routes, schedules, availability!!! Cut down laneage on Alma St, lower speeds, add better mass transit that runs with small headways • More frequent public transit, safer bike lanes, less street parking and more apartment complexes. • More shuttles that are electric that would travel up and down Middlefield Rd. • Public transportation. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 96 • Underground the train. Homelessness • Address an adequate solution to the homeless on El Camino Real (in RVs, cars) • Address homelessness!!! • Address the homeless situation in downtown Palo Alto. The current situation is not safe for residents. Also, address traffic pattern between Town & Country shopping center and Paly. • combat homelessness • Get the panhandlers off of University Avenue and off of El Camino Real. • Help the homeless afford housing. • Housing; taking care of homeless. • Humane service for the homeless to get them off University Ave • Reduce/eliminate homeless people walking in neighborhoods now. • solve the homeless problem Local Businesses, Retail/Shopping Options • attention paid to south palo to make it friendly for residents with restaurants, shopping and services. • Encourage more local businesses that aren't restaurants or health clubs. • More Asian restaurants • More dining establishments and stores near the hospital. • Remove the art place in Louis St. & Charleston Ave. • Repair and upgrade "Lucy Steen Theatre". • Restaurants within walking distance (not just in downtown area) • There is a good amount of abandoned commercial real estate locations, especially along El Camino Real, I would love to see more shops there. I would also love more opportunities for community bonding - I was bummed I missed my neighborhood gathering this year. Maybe more funding/opportunities/advertisement, such as a email list for community members to see what is happening in the community? Development (other than housing) • Address reasons under City control for general slowness of any type of construction in the city (downtown business build-outs always behind schedule, home renovation permitting infamously slow, slow pace of approval of new developments, etc.) • BETTER ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CONTROL -UGLY BLDGS ARE GOING UP NICE HAVING OUTDOOR RESTAURANTS ON STREETS- -MORE & PERMANENT. • reduce or eliminate all commercial development • Revitalize the stretch of El Camino between Charleston and Page Mill. I grew up here and there has not been any improvements in our area. A little attention please. Demolish the Glass Slipper. • Stop allowing our nice suburban city turning into an urban area of big buildings right out to the street! • Stop building new office space. We have far too much office space already. No more mixed-use developments that make jobs/housing worse. • Strictly limit overall growth including limitations on building height and a moratorium on new office space construction. Fight state mandates on housing. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 97 Sustainability • Enhance biodiversity by offering ivy removal rebates to homeowners in exchange for planting California native plants. • Helping customers setup/use gray water at their homes • I miss the old recycling center. I know that all its services are now available elsewhere, but it was nice to have it all in one place. • Restrict water use. Interesting to me that it was not mentioned in this survey. It is the most important topic to address and city is doing very little to force people to cut back. It needs to be mandatory and the city needs to figure out a method that is as fair as possible. Living on a quarter acre with grass surrounding a house is not fair to those of use who recycle kitchen and shower water and seldom flush AND have draught resistant plants and have for 20 years. Second would to fire the incompetence in the planning office by starting with the woman whose first name begins with an R. • Setting aside more areas for California native plant gardens, putting electricity underground so trees don't have to be pruned into wierd shapes. • Stop SFO from having all their jet routes over my house in Midtown. Hire a new lobbyist and hold the FAA to its environmental regulations. • Use measure e site for green infrastructure (former dump, next to sewage treatment plant). Sense of Community/Community Activities • Build stronger community bonds - quality ties between neighbors. Other places I've lived fostered strong community ties (fostered through block parties / events, community gatherings, etc.) • City owned activities, such as the Golf Course, Foothill Park, and the Science Museum would be discounted for city inhabitants. Currently, at the Golf Course everyone pays the same without regard to where they live. My tax dollars go towards these services AND, in addition, I get to pay the same fee as residents of other communities? That's just wrong. • Facilitate more events in neighborhoods, have more fun events in the city like the fathers day music thing downtown we used to have • Focus on the residents -- not the real estate developers or the tech industry, who have always paid a premium to live in this wonderful town. Palo Alto is attractive location for tech, so we don't have to cater to them with dormitories for their workers. A real focus on families (of all kinds) will maintain our neighborhoods' character. Overbuilding is not delivering affordability, but is diminishing quality of life and in my view risks reducing our attractiveness as a place for innovation and economic strength. • I wish there were more large community special opportunities like closing University Avenue and having a monthly concert etc • Organize / Facilitate an opportunity Civics engagement for the residents Schools, Programs for Youth • I hope the libraries provide more educational or entertaining programs for children. I often check them on the website, but wish there could be more. But I love library staff and library services. • Improve the middle school quality more hospitality / food businesses staying open after 9pm. • Make Schools use funds wisely and make schools a better place for better academic education, not brainwashing. • More funds to public schools. More school bus services. • Provide school buses • Speech therapy services at Weingarten for children who are deaf or have hearing loss City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 98 Overall Appearance, Cleanliness, Upkeep • Allow citizens to cut the trees in front of their house because of Root Expansion; and expand Library hours • Every single house must maintain certain degree of neatness of the front yard! Hope the city makes the mandatory list to maintain. • green spaces • Less trash on the streets. • Maintain the entrances to the city. Embarcadero at 101 and El Camino around University are an unmaintained mess. PA should either maintain the areas or hold accountable who we think is responsible, Doing nothing is unacceptable. Noise Reduction • Create quiet zones for Caltrain • In general, Palo Alto is overbuilt with too much traffic. Can no longer leave windows open during both day and night due to excessive noise from traffic in neighborhood. Each year quality of Palo Alto life deteriorates. Some ways to mitigate these problems: 1) Open back up California Ave to cars so they don't come down residential streets instead. Traffic will only get worse when public safety building opens and further degrade when teacher housing completes. 2) Stop approving new buildings, both business and residential to reduce future traffic, water and power consumption. Most of the new and even older buildings in my neighborhood are unoccupied, so convert them to housing if needed to meet California housing requirements. 4) Be more realistic about negative environmental impact assessments that new building projects bring. For example, traffic estimates for new projects are always wrong in my area and underestimate number of new cars/traffic brought into area. Buildings also allowed to go too close to curb; trees removed cannot survive replanting with reduced growing area. 5) Increase onsite parking for any new projects; most cannot/will not use the poor mass transit options in Palo Alto (even when near a train station.) Requiring onsite area for 1.5 cars per residential unit essential as most units will have one, possibly two cars. Unfair to neighbors to have those residential cars parked on street instead. 6) Enforce traffic laws and ticket cars/commuter vans that sometimes idle for 15 minutes and longer. 7) Tow/remove the RVs that block sidewalks and reduce access to merchants on Park Blvd; I can no longer park near stores I like to visit. 8) Stop Internet/Fiber Project. Already have plenty of options between Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. For example, T-Mobile provide 300 to 500 Mbits/second download for $50 per month (including taxes) and even less if you also have cell phone plan. • reduce cal train noise (horn) • There are areas where gas-powered leaf blowers are allowed. The noise and emissions they give off should make them illegal in all areas of the City. I'm in a mixed zone (I think you call it) off El Camino on Sheridan Avenue. The noise from the leaf blowers is here every day of the week -- at the Sunrise Senior Living building (twice a week), at my building once a week, and at 435 Sheridan once a week. There is no excuse for the horrible emissions that are causing climate change and the noise of the leaf blowers (on top of the airplane noise). This should be an easy fix! Why not offer rebates on leaf blowers so help the small contractors manage the transition? Gas-powered leaf blowers are also a health issue for the works using them. You don't see them wearing equipment to prevent hearing loss nor to prevent those toxic fumes for going into their lungs. This is outrageous, knowing what we know about the health impacts of emissions and noise. The safety of these low-paid workers should be a higher priority for Palo Alto and for their employers. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 99 Downtown Improvements • Improve Univ Ave - people use to travel to PA for restaurants & shopping now our downtown looks dumpy compared to others invest in Univ Ave, attract better restaurants/shops again. • Make the downtown more vibrant. Redwood City is making much more of an effort!. • more variety in downtown busnesses • Permanently convert California Ave to foot traffic and outdoor dining and shopping Lower Taxes and/or Utility Costs • Lower city sales tax. No more this long survey - 184 entries- is too excessive. Tza more involved incl R citizen. • Reduce Electrical Outages !! IF/WHEN they happen be resposponsive and fast in the online communication. • Reduce taxes Parking Concerns • Continue to monitor parking in residential areas close to downtown • Get rid of the residential parking program. It's a disaster and I'd rather go back to how it was 20 years ago. Other • * A GOOD SENIOR CENTER!. • Allow access to Santa Clara public library system automatically with Palo Alto library membership • ELECTED MAYOR! COST-EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT RETURN FOOT-THE-PARK TO P.A. RESIDENTS!!. • Get rid of unwanted phone calls • Good midance to 50' height limit. • Increase local fire protection. My local fire station has shut down. The wonderful and needed people help with fires and saving lives. Saving lives from fires as well as other emergencies. • Make the historic homes/areas special, as they do in New England (my background). Keep them "green," as in less concrete. • More affordable. • More protection for the quality of life for people now living here. The quality of life has dropped significantly in the past 20 years. • More street light at night. • More transparent communication and deeper understanding that going all electric is impossible and costly to many homeowners. • My teenage/daughter said the library has very limited choice of teen books since all of them are the same plot of romance books & are other variety. She now has to read non-fration books. Her friends think the same. • Pay more attention to our pet/animal welfare by providing a highly more robust animal services!! Currently it is dysfunctional, ineffective and does not absolutely nothing to reach out to the PALO ALTO population that is full of pets! There is so much that could be done to improve both human and pet lives by promoting the relationship! • Planning, permitting and city council processes are multi-year. Not good. • Publish personal interests and professions for members of the council and various committees and wprlomg grpi[s/ City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 100 • Put more financial burden onto home owners to support the working class members of our community, who keep it running. • Reduce the freight train speed to lessen the house shaking near the train track. • Reducing the number of RVs in & around living areas, create safe parking areas for them. • replace Cubberley • Stop being so politically correct. E.g.: STOP banning plastics & gas appliances, etc. Eliminate the bottle deposit or make refunds easier. • Stop discrimination against workers • Stop mask and vaccine mandates. • stop with surveys! • When I finally die (I'm. almost 90) guarantee I go straight to heaven! Question 19: As a resident of Palo Alto, what one thing do you believe the City does well and would want to maintain? Parks, open space, and natural environment • Baylands • Beautiful parks and outdoor spaces. • Continue to keep the environment clean and beautiful • Continue to protect and improve parks and community centers like in and around Cubberly. • Conversation of natural environment => Trees, parks - beautiful. • Foothills park • Good parks & libraries • green spaces • Green spaces • I love our parks and libraries! Thank you for making them so accessible for our community at large • I think the city does a fantastic job with the urban planning and the trees, foliage, etc • Its greenery • Keep as many trees as possible throughout Palo Alto. • Keeping our city green • Keeping up the green space. • Maintain & increase open space. • Maintain parks and improve maintainable and upkeep. • Maintain parks and open space for accessible use. • maintain the parklets in front of certain restaurant areas • maintain the quality and quantity of parks and open space. • Maintain trees. • Maintaining natural spaces such as parks. • Maintaining the greenery and encourage the city to plant a massive number of trees. • Maintenance of parks as places for everyone to enjoy • Natural environment • Nature preserves, trails. • open and recreational spaces City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 101 • Open green spaces (so many wonderful parks, big and small), and mature trees in so many of the neighborhoods. Palo Alto feels very different from Mountain View, Menlo Park, and other nearby cities -- because our green space is so much better. (Foothill Nature Preserve of course....). • Open space + parks. • Open space and facilities. • Park and library • Park maintenance • Park system • parks • Parks • Parks • Parks • Parks • Parks & playgrounds are great. • PARKS & RECREATION. • Parks and activities • Parks and bike paths • parks and libraries • Parks and libraries • Parks and natural preserves • Parks and natural spaces • Parks and open space • parks and open space • Parks and open space • parks and open space • Parks and Recreation • Parks and recreation • Parks are great! • parks, recreation activities, open spaces, libraries • Parks, trees. • Parks. • parls • Paths and parks are well maintained • Preserve the nature. • Preserve the open space and many parks in the city and service the parks. • Provides open space and healthy trees. • providing a beautiful and pleasant natural environment (parks, etc.) • Providing and maintaining public parks • Providing and protecting parks and open spaces. Good for the environment, residents health and sense of community. • Takes good care of trees and green spaces. • The city is gorgeous. The parks are clean. Every city official I've interacted with has been really professional and courteous. I love how careful the city is with its trees. (I know the community parks would be easier to use if they had bathrooms but that's a complicated story.) • the overall excellence of parks, libraries, schools and other wonderful community services! • The quality of parks and open spaces • Trees and Parks are beautiful. • Vibrancy of programs and public spaces. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 102 • We have a wonderful parks program with many beautiful and inviting places to locally enjoy the outdoors. • We have great parks and open space areas and should maintain them • Well kept parks. Utilities • Utilities, independence from big government • Champion and support quality childcare for infants through grade 5 • City of Palo Alto Utilities • City owned utilities to help control costs. • City owned utilities. • City supplied utilities. • Excellent residential water quality. • fewer fees charge on Trash re-pick up. • garbage collection • garbage collection • General stability, good utilities service, safety • Good utilities • I think the Utilities are generally handled well. The people who actually come out to the home when we have problems are excellent. • Keep our own utility. • Live the municipal services center open house!. • Most city public services like waste collection, sewers, utilities, school system, traffic safety oversight during school start and end periods, lots more. For me its the best place in the world to reside, moderate climate is a big factor as is overall community participation on many aspects. • Municipal ownership of utilities • Our water supply from Hetch Hetchy. • Palo Alto Utilities • Public utilities • Reduce utility bill • Response from "Emergency sewer problems" department!. • The City's Utilities Department is excellent and the best feature of living in the City. • Utilities • Utilities are good • Utilities system. Delivery and customer service are first-rate • Utilities, fire and police • Utilities, libraries and parks- all great. • Utilities, libraries, baylands • Utilities. • Utilities. • Utility electricity prices are very good. • Utility services Libraries, museums, theaters, etc. • Art Center, Palo Alto Players, Jr Museum and Childrens Theater are exceptional! Support them more. • Arts and activities for the community City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 103 • Arts events to kids and families. • Arts, theatre, city classes, etc. • Beautiful parks, and many of them, though a bit outdated • Education, recreational & cultural aspects - very pleasant place to live. • Excellent library system. • Excellent library! • Great libraries • Great library services, including elibrary services • Libraries • Libraries • libraries - they are the best • LIbraries & City Parks • Libraries and parks are excellent. Public art is wonderful. • Libraries, visual performing arts programs for children, makes space @ cubberly. • Libraries/childrens theater • library is great in Palo Alto • library services and parks • LIBRARY, ART PROGRAMS. • Library. • Love Palo Alto's community services, especially the Junior Museum & Zoo. Please keep supporting it! • love the libraries and librarians! • Provide a wide variety of excellent amenities and programs • Services offered by the libraries and parks • The classes offered at Community centers. • The libraries are great (we have too many of them though). • The many nonprofit organizations like Gamble Garden, PAHA, MOAH, etc. exist only because the City is willing to let them use City acreage and facilities. These volunteer run nonprofits are highlights and places of pleasure for citizens and visitors. • your art center is pretty nice Safety services • City safety. • Crime prevention and cleanliness of streets and sidewalks • Crime-free neighborhoods. • Emergency services • Essential services like fire and police • Fire & emergency services. • fire and police department quality • Fire/Rescue services • Keep the crime rate relatively low. • Maintain the police and fire departments. • Maintenance and operation of fire stations, as well as the wildfire loss prevention regulations about brush around houses. • Palo Alto POlice • Palo Alto Police • police City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 104 • Police & fire are outstanding. • Police and Fire departments • police services • public safety • Public safety • Reduce crime. • Safety and convenience of walking and biking for transportation • Safety. • safty Schools and education, programs for youth • alues education and diversity • Community [?] public schools, youth sports. • Education • Educational opportunities for children are good. Quality of life overall is good and walkability is great. • Great elementary & high schools, street dev and cleaning great biking routes. • High level of education preK-12 • high quality K12 education system • K-12 educational opportunities • Maintain the quality of the schools. • Probably schools, not curiculium • schools • Schools. • Services for youth are generally excellent. Cleanliness of community • clean streets • Keep the city clean • Maintaining Palo Alto as a pleasant place to live. • maintains cleanliness • Maintenance and upkeep of city • natural beauty, preserve neighborhood feel. avoiding building up the city with more housing. • street sweeping • Street tree trimming • Street trees and overall quality of streetscapes is excellent, this is both a major reason I choose to live in Palo Alto as well as something that always gets positive comments from my out of town guests • The general look and feel of the city is pleasant, and seems pretty well maintained. • The tree service was amazing. The other day, one of the big trees in my neighborhood fell, and staff came and it was all clean in the morning. I was impressed by their responsiveness. • Upkeep of the trees and sidewalks. Ability to give input and communication with government • attentiveness to resident's needs • Attracts and honors input from diverse, talented residents. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 105 • Be engaged with its citizens • Communication • Community communications • Engaged community • general ambiance of concerned, engaged citizens • I am impressed with the responsiveness of city staff and the ease of navigation on city websites. I also do enjoy the mail communication, when I get them. • Listens to concerns • Public comment opportunies • Reaching out to residents and valuing their opinion. Ease of bicycle travel/walking • Bicycles. At least we have bike paths and boulevards, although traffic is so out of control right now that I'm afraid to bicycle. Seriously. Traffic is extremely dangerous, people don't stop at stop signs and drive through red lights turning right, even into pedestrians trying to cross in crosswalks, and the heavier e-bikes are a threat to normal bikes and pedestrians. Many people drive 35 on narrow residential streets, often with children present. I am very disappointed that I can't make full utilization of the bike boulevard 250 feet from my house because of safety issues. If we could get the cars, and, e-bikes, to slow down and drive more safely, there would be a lot more bicycling. Please expand the bike opportunities-- most cities don't have that (yet). • Bike lanes. • Bike routes and building more of them. • bike safety • bike ways • Keep pedestrian only zones, like on California avenue • Maintain the culture & infrastructure for kids biking to school. • Palo Alto is great for getting around without a car (walking and biking). We need to keep focusing on this to take cars off the road and alleviate traffic. • Safe routes to school program is one of the best in the country. • walkability of city streets • We like the bike boulevards, want to expand on those Government/leadership • Continue being led by thoughtful, highly-educated, wise and caring people, who want to benefit society and our town with their leadership. • Effort to make best decisions for the community, rather than self dealing. • Maintains an overall honest and friendly government, quick to respond when needed, and relatively honest re the city's ability to perform difficult operations. • Palo Alto's "Uplift Local" is great. The more the better. • The City Council seems to be working hard to balance the need for more housing while also trying to maintain careful growth so that our precious lifestyle isn't damaged. General City services • Overall city services are quite good (pool and parks), the Fire Department is super, and the government functions well. • Palo Alto provides an amazing number of high quality services for it citizens. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 106 • The online building permit process - much improved (speed, communication) from pre-pandemic in person process. Everything/great place to live • A good living environment • It's pretty good here. • Maintaining Palo Alto as a pleasant place to live. Sense of community, community activities, and recreation • city events like the chilli bake off in mitchell park Other • FARMERS MARKETS. • Free parking downtown. • I like the variety of restaurants downtown and at Stanford mall • Intelligent inclusive diversity • manage parking in residential areas near commercial areas • Parking is downtown is pretty good. Also, the outdoor restaurant space has been a big plus. • Reduce racism. • Support and value a diverse community • The vibrancy of University Ave as a space to eat, work, & live. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 107 Appendix C: Results to Open Participation Survey About the Open Participation Survey After the data collection period for the probability, address-based survey was underway, the City made available a web-based survey to its residents through a link on the City’s website and on social media. Visitors to the site were able to complete the survey from November 16 – December 19, 2022 and 116 surveys were received. This section contains the results of this open participation web-based survey. These data were not collected through a random sample and it is unknown who in the community was aware of the survey; therefore, a level of confidence in the representativeness of the sample cannot be estimated. However, to reduce bias where possible, these data were weighted to match the demographic characteristics of the 2010 Census and 2019 American Community Survey estimates for adults in the City of Palo Alto. The results of the weighting scheme for the open participation survey are presented in the following table. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 108 Table 110: Palo Alto, CA 2021 Weighting Table Characteristic Population Norm Unweighted Data Weighted Data Housing Rent home 45% 15% 42% Own home 55% 85% 58% Detached unit* 58% 88% 62% Attached unit* 42% 12% 38% Race and Ethnicity White 68% 75% 65% Not white 32% 25% 35% Not Hispanic 95% 98% 99% Hispanic 5% 2% 1% Sex and Age Female 52% 70% 65% Male 48% 30% 35% 18-34 years of age 22% 5% 10% 35-54 years of age 41% 22% 41% 55+ years of age 37% 74% 50% Females 18-34 10% 5% 10% Females 35-54 21% 14% 21% Females 55+ 20% 51% 20% Males 18-34 12% 0% 0% Males 35-54 20% 8% 21% Males 55+ 17% 23% 29% * U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2017 5-year estimates City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 109 Results Tables Table 111: Question 1 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Palo Alto as a place to live 30% N=34 58% N=67 11% N=13 1% N=1 0% N=0 100% N=115 Your neighborhood as a place to live 38% N=43 43% N=49 20% N=22 0% N=0 0% N=0 100% N=115 Palo Alto as a place to raise children 29% N=33 51% N=59 13% N=15 1% N=1 5% N=6 100% N=114 Palo Alto as a place to work 20% N=23 36% N=41 20% N=23 4% N=5 20% N=23 100% N=115 Palo Alto as a place to visit 14% N=16 46% N=52 30% N=33 7% N=7 4% N=4 100% N=113 Palo Alto as a place to retire 11% N=13 30% N=35 20% N=23 17% N=20 21% N=24 100% N=114 The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 20% N=22 60% N=68 20% N=23 0% N=0 0% N=0 100% N=114 Table 112: Question 1 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Palo Alto as a place to live 30% N=34 58% N=67 11% N=13 1% N=1 100% N=115 Your neighborhood as a place to live 38% N=43 43% N=49 20% N=22 0% N=0 100% N=115 Palo Alto as a place to raise children 30% N=33 54% N=59 14% N=15 1% N=1 100% N=108 Palo Alto as a place to work 26% N=23 45% N=41 25% N=23 5% N=5 100% N=92 Palo Alto as a place to visit 15% N=16 48% N=52 31% N=33 7% N=7 100% N=108 Palo Alto as a place to retire 14% N=13 38% N=35 25% N=23 22% N=20 100% N=91 The overall quality of life in Palo Alto 20% N=22 60% N=68 20% N=23 0% N=0 100% N=114 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 110 Table 113: Question 2 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 10% N=11 54% N=62 32% N=37 4% N=5 0% N=0 100% N=115 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 17% N=19 65% N=73 15% N=16 3% N=3 0% N=0 100% N=111 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 38% N=44 46% N=53 15% N=18 0% N=0 0% N=0 100% N=115 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 34% N=39 51% N=59 11% N=13 2% N=2 1% N=1 100% N=114 Residents' connection and engagement with their community 16% N=18 54% N=61 24% N=28 6% N=7 0% N=0 100% N=114 Table 114: Question 2 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Overall "built environment" of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 10% N=11 54% N=62 32% N=37 4% N=5 100% N=115 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 17% N=19 65% N=73 15% N=16 3% N=3 100% N=111 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 38% N=44 46% N=53 15% N=18 0% N=0 100% N=115 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 34% N=39 52% N=59 11% N=13 2% N=2 100% N=113 Residents' connection and engagement with their community 16% N=18 54% N=61 24% N=28 6% N=7 100% N=113 Table 115: Question 3 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks 23% N=26 47% N=54 20% N=23 9% N=10 1% N=1 100% N=114 Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years 39% N=45 39% N=45 15% N=17 6% N=7 1% N=1 100% N=115 Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends 60% N=68 27% N=31 4% N=4 5% N=5 5% N=5 100% N=113 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 111 Table 116: Question 3 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks 23% N=26 48% N=54 21% N=23 9% N=10 100% N=113 Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years 39% N=45 39% N=45 15% N=17 7% N=7 100% N=114 Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends 63% N=68 28% N=31 4% N=4 5% N=5 100% N=107 Table 117: Question 4 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate the job you feel the Palo Alto community does at each of the following. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Making all residents feel welcome 10% N=11 49% N=56 23% N=26 15% N=17 4% N=4 100% N=115 Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 15% N=18 32% N=36 23% N=27 27% N=32 2% N=3 100% N=115 Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 14% N=16 43% N=50 26% N=30 15% N=17 1% N=1 100% N=115 Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) 5% N=6 27% N=31 30% N=34 33% N=37 5% N=6 100% N=113 Table 118: Question 4 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the job you feel the Palo Alto community does at each of the following. Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Making all residents feel welcome 10% N=11 51% N=56 24% N=26 15% N=17 100% N=111 Attracting people from diverse backgrounds 16% N=18 32% N=36 24% N=27 28% N=32 100% N=112 Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds 14% N=16 44% N=50 27% N=30 15% N=17 100% N=114 Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) 5% N=6 28% N=31 32% N=34 35% N=37 100% N=107 Table 119: Question 5 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 15% N=17 59% N=66 17% N=19 6% N=6 3% N=4 100% N=111 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 112 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 9% N=11 46% N=53 32% N=37 12% N=13 0% N=0 100% N=115 Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area 10% N=11 41% N=47 37% N=42 10% N=12 1% N=2 100% N=114 Employment opportunities 7% N=7 36% N=41 16% N=18 14% N=16 28% N=32 100% N=114 Shopping opportunities 20% N=22 45% N=51 29% N=32 6% N=7 1% N=1 100% N=113 Cost of living in Palo Alto 1% N=1 2% N=2 31% N=35 66% N=74 0% N=0 100% N=114 Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto 17% N=19 51% N=58 25% N=28 6% N=7 1% N=1 100% N=113 Traffic flow on major streets 6% N=7 33% N=37 36% N=41 25% N=28 1% N=1 100% N=114 Ease of public parking 14% N=16 46% N=52 24% N=28 10% N=12 5% N=6 100% N=114 Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 15% N=17 64% N=72 13% N=14 6% N=7 2% N=2 100% N=113 Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto 2% N=3 8% N=10 19% N=22 49% N=55 21% N=24 100% N=113 Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 23% N=25 40% N=45 19% N=22 11% N=12 8% N=9 100% N=113 Ease of walking in Palo Alto 34% N=39 40% N=46 20% N=23 4% N=5 1% N=1 100% N=114 Variety of housing options 1% N=1 19% N=21 33% N=38 43% N=49 4% N=5 100% N=114 Availability of affordable quality housing 1% N=1 1% N=2 14% N=16 69% N=79 14% N=16 100% N=114 Recreational opportunities 29% N=33 54% N=62 14% N=15 1% N=1 2% N=2 100% N=114 Availability of affordable quality mental health care 1% N=1 5% N=5 16% N=18 31% N=35 47% N=54 100% N=114 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 18% N=20 57% N=64 19% N=21 3% N=4 2% N=2 100% N=111 Table 120: Question 5 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 16% N=17 61% N=66 17% N=19 6% N=6 100% N=108 Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto 9% N=11 47% N=53 33% N=37 12% N=13 100% N=114 Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area 10% N=11 42% N=47 38% N=42 11% N=12 100% N=112 Employment opportunities 9% N=7 50% N=41 22% N=18 19% N=16 100% N=82 Shopping opportunities 20% N=22 45% N=51 29% N=32 6% N=7 100% N=112 Cost of living in Palo Alto 1% N=1 2% N=2 31% N=35 66% N=74 100% N=113 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 113 Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto 17% N=19 52% N=58 25% N=28 6% N=7 100% N=111 Traffic flow on major streets 6% N=7 33% N=37 36% N=41 25% N=28 100% N=113 Ease of public parking 15% N=16 48% N=52 26% N=28 11% N=12 100% N=108 Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto 15% N=17 65% N=72 13% N=14 7% N=7 100% N=111 Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto 3% N=3 11% N=10 24% N=22 62% N=55 100% N=89 Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto 24% N=25 43% N=45 21% N=22 12% N=12 100% N=104 Ease of walking in Palo Alto 34% N=39 41% N=46 20% N=23 4% N=5 100% N=113 Variety of housing options 1% N=1 19% N=21 35% N=38 45% N=49 100% N=109 Availability of affordable quality housing 1% N=1 2% N=2 16% N=16 81% N=79 100% N=98 Recreational opportunities 30% N=33 56% N=62 14% N=15 1% N=1 100% N=111 Availability of affordable quality mental health care 2% N=1 9% N=5 30% N=18 58% N=35 100% N=60 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities 19% N=20 58% N=64 20% N=21 3% N=4 100% N=109 Table 121: Question 6 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool 2% N=3 12% N=14 22% N=25 24% N=28 40% N=45 100% N=114 K-12 education 33% N=37 43% N=49 9% N=10 1% N=1 14% N=16 100% N=114 Adult educational opportunities 18% N=20 47% N=53 7% N=8 0% N=0 28% N=32 100% N=114 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 8% N=9 66% N=75 21% N=24 2% N=2 3% N=3 100% N=114 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 13% N=14 43% N=49 26% N=30 15% N=17 3% N=3 100% N=114 Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook 10% N=11 34% N=38 11% N=12 6% N=7 39% N=44 100% N=113 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 114 Table 122: Question 6 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool 4% N=3 20% N=14 36% N=25 40% N=28 100% N=68 K-12 education 38% N=37 50% N=49 11% N=10 1% N=1 100% N=98 Adult educational opportunities 25% N=20 65% N=53 10% N=8 0% N=0 100% N=82 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 8% N=9 68% N=75 22% N=24 2% N=2 100% N=110 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 13% N=14 44% N=49 27% N=30 16% N=17 100% N=110 Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook 16% N=11 55% N=38 18% N=12 10% N=7 100% N=68 Table 123: Question 7 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Total Used Palo Alto recreation centers or their services 48% N=55 52% N=59 100% N=114 Visited a neighborhood park or City park 4% N=5 96% N=109 100% N=114 Used Palo Alto public libraries or their services 20% N=23 80% N=91 100% N=114 Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Palo Alto 80% N=90 20% N=23 100% N=113 Attended a City-sponsored event 43% N=49 57% N=65 100% N=114 Participated in a club 70% N=79 30% N=34 100% N=114 Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors 3% N=3 97% N=111 100% N=114 Done a favor for a neighbor 12% N=14 88% N=100 100% N=114 Used the City’s website to conduct business or pay bills 58% N=66 42% N=48 100% N=114 Used the Utilities website to conduct business or pay bills 31% N=35 69% N=79 100% N=114 Contacted the City of Palo Alto (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information 48% N=54 52% N=59 100% N=113 Contacted Palo Alto elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion 46% N=52 54% N=61 100% N=113 Attended a local public meeting (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.) 49% N=55 51% N=58 100% N=114 Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting 48% N=54 52% N=59 100% N=114 Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Palo Alto 39% N=45 61% N=69 100% N=114 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 115 Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Total Walked or biked instead of driving 11% N=12 89% N=102 100% N=114 Observed a code violation or other hazard in Palo Alto (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 33% N=38 67% N=76 100% N=114 Household member was a victim of a crime in Palo Alto 88% N=98 12% N=13 100% N=111 Reported a crime to the police in Palo Alto 86% N=95 14% N=16 100% N=111 Stocked 14 days’ worth of supplies in case of a major disaster where you have no electricity, water, internet, or telephone service 55% N=63 45% N=51 100% N=114 *This question did not have a "don't know" option. Table 124: Question 8 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Please rate the following categories of Palo Alto government performance. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto 3% N=4 45% N=52 32% N=36 11% N=12 9% N=10 100% N=114 The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 2% N=3 27% N=31 45% N=51 21% N=24 5% N=6 100% N=114 The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 5% N=6 33% N=37 42% N=48 12% N=13 8% N=10 100% N=114 Overall confidence in Palo Alto government 4% N=4 28% N=32 40% N=46 24% N=27 4% N=4 100% N=114 Generally acting in the best interest of the community 5% N=6 32% N=36 44% N=50 18% N=20 1% N=1 100% N=114 Being honest 6% N=6 36% N=41 39% N=44 10% N=11 10% N=12 100% N=114 Being open and transparent to the public 9% N=10 30% N=34 43% N=49 13% N=15 5% N=6 100% N=114 Informing residents about issues facing the community 7% N=8 48% N=55 24% N=27 20% N=22 1% N=1 100% N=113 Treating all residents fairly 2% N=2 32% N=36 24% N=27 24% N=27 18% N=21 100% N=113 Treating residents with respect 4% N=4 54% N=60 22% N=24 15% N=17 5% N=6 100% N=112 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 116 Table 125: Question 8 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the following categories of Palo Alto government performance. Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto 3% N=4 50% N=52 35% N=36 12% N=12 100% N=104 The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking 3% N=3 28% N=31 47% N=51 22% N=24 100% N=108 The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement 5% N=6 36% N=37 46% N=48 13% N=13 100% N=104 Overall confidence in Palo Alto government 4% N=4 29% N=32 42% N=46 25% N=27 100% N=109 Generally acting in the best interest of the community 5% N=6 32% N=36 44% N=50 18% N=20 100% N=112 Being honest 6% N=6 40% N=41 43% N=44 11% N=11 100% N=102 Being open and transparent to the public 10% N=10 32% N=34 45% N=49 14% N=15 100% N=108 Informing residents about issues facing the community 7% N=8 49% N=55 24% N=27 20% N=22 100% N=112 Treating all residents fairly 2% N=2 39% N=36 30% N=27 29% N=27 100% N=92 Treating residents with respect 4% N=4 57% N=60 23% N=24 16% N=17 100% N=106 Table 126: Question 9 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total The City of Palo Alto 10% N=11 56% N=62 24% N=27 10% N=11 0% N=0 100% N=112 The State Government 2% N=3 41% N=46 32% N=36 19% N=21 5% N=6 100% N=112 The Federal Government 4% N=5 34% N=37 39% N=43 15% N=17 8% N=9 100% N=110 Table 127: Question 9 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The City of Palo Alto 10% N=11 56% N=62 24% N=27 10% N=11 100% N=112 The State Government 3% N=3 43% N=46 34% N=36 20% N=21 100% N=106 The Federal Government 5% N=5 36% N=37 42% N=43 17% N=17 100% N=102 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 117 Table 128: Question 10 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Traffic enforcement 4% N=4 24% N=26 35% N=38 32% N=35 6% N=6 100% N=111 Traffic signal timing 2% N=2 38% N=42 30% N=33 30% N=34 0% N=0 100% N=111 Street repair 5% N=5 43% N=48 31% N=35 21% N=23 0% N=0 100% N=112 Street cleaning 17% N=19 56% N=60 19% N=20 4% N=4 5% N=5 100% N=107 Street tree maintenance 11% N=12 60% N=67 21% N=23 5% N=5 4% N=4 100% N=112 Sidewalk maintenance 6% N=6 42% N=47 40% N=44 10% N=11 2% N=2 100% N=111 Land use, planning, and zoning 1% N=2 23% N=25 26% N=29 35% N=39 15% N=17 100% N=112 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 2% N=2 23% N=25 23% N=26 17% N=19 36% N=40 100% N=112 Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) 39% N=44 46% N=52 8% N=9 6% N=6 1% N=1 100% N=112 Building and planning application processing services 1% N=1 4% N=5 19% N=22 14% N=16 61% N=69 100% N=113 Affordable high-speed internet access 6% N=7 18% N=20 36% N=40 12% N=14 28% N=32 100% N=112 Electric utility 21% N=23 52% N=58 24% N=27 2% N=3 1% N=1 100% N=112 Gas utility 20% N=22 58% N=65 19% N=22 2% N=2 1% N=1 100% N=112 Utility payment options 22% N=24 51% N=57 8% N=9 6% N=6 13% N=14 100% N=112 Drinking water 43% N=48 48% N=54 8% N=9 0% N=0 0% N=0 100% N=112 Sewer services 23% N=26 61% N=68 7% N=8 3% N=3 7% N=7 100% N=112 Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) 15% N=17 60% N=68 13% N=14 2% N=3 9% N=11 100% N=112 Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e- waste) 29% N=33 49% N=55 16% N=18 4% N=5 1% N=1 100% N=112 Police services 11% N=12 36% N=40 14% N=16 2% N=2 37% N=42 100% N=112 Crime prevention 5% N=6 27% N=31 19% N=21 18% N=20 30% N=34 100% N=112 Animal control 13% N=15 26% N=29 11% N=12 2% N=2 47% N=52 100% N=111 Ambulance or emergency medical services 13% N=14 20% N=22 3% N=3 2% N=2 62% N=67 100% N=108 Fire emergency services 27% N=30 27% N=30 0% N=0 0% N=0 46% N=52 100% N=112 Fire prevention and education 9% N=10 30% N=34 1% N=2 2% N=2 57% N=64 100% N=112 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 118 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Palo Alto open space 54% N=60 33% N=36 11% N=12 1% N=1 1% N=1 100% N=111 City parks 52% N=59 45% N=51 2% N=2 1% N=1 0% N=0 100% N=113 Recreation programs or classes 23% N=26 46% N=52 7% N=8 2% N=2 21% N=23 100% N=112 Recreation centers or facilities 26% N=29 42% N=47 9% N=10 2% N=2 20% N=23 100% N=112 Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) 42% N=47 43% N=48 5% N=6 1% N=1 9% N=10 100% N=112 Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) 41% N=46 42% N=47 5% N=5 1% N=1 12% N=13 100% N=113 Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) 36% N=41 50% N=55 4% N=4 1% N=1 9% N=10 100% N=112 Art programs and theater 30% N=33 37% N=41 9% N=10 2% N=2 23% N=25 100% N=111 City-sponsored special events 6% N=7 40% N=44 18% N=19 0% N=0 36% N=40 100% N=111 City website (cityofpaloalto.org) 5% N=6 53% N=59 32% N=35 3% N=3 6% N=7 100% N=111 Public information services (Police/public safety) 7% N=7 38% N=42 20% N=23 3% N=3 32% N=35 100% N=111 Public information services (non-Police/public safety) 11% N=12 32% N=35 28% N=31 3% N=4 26% N=29 100% N=111 Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 14% N=15 58% N=63 14% N=15 3% N=3 11% N=12 100% N=108 Table 129: Question 10 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Traffic enforcement 4% N=4 25% N=26 37% N=38 34% N=35 100% N=104 Traffic signal timing 2% N=2 38% N=42 30% N=33 31% N=34 100% N=111 Street repair 5% N=5 43% N=48 31% N=35 21% N=23 100% N=112 Street cleaning 18% N=19 58% N=60 19% N=20 4% N=4 100% N=102 Street tree maintenance 11% N=12 62% N=67 22% N=23 5% N=5 100% N=108 Sidewalk maintenance 6% N=6 43% N=47 41% N=44 10% N=11 100% N=108 Land use, planning, and zoning 2% N=2 27% N=25 30% N=29 41% N=39 100% N=95 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 3% N=2 35% N=25 36% N=26 26% N=19 100% N=72 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 119 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) 40% N=44 47% N=52 8% N=9 6% N=6 100% N=110 Building and planning application processing services 3% N=1 11% N=5 50% N=22 36% N=16 100% N=44 Affordable high-speed internet access 8% N=7 25% N=20 50% N=40 17% N=14 100% N=80 Electric utility 21% N=23 52% N=58 24% N=27 2% N=3 100% N=111 Gas utility 20% N=22 59% N=65 19% N=22 2% N=2 100% N=111 Utility payment options 25% N=24 59% N=57 9% N=9 7% N=6 100% N=97 Drinking water 43% N=48 49% N=54 8% N=9 0% N=0 100% N=111 Sewer services 25% N=26 65% N=68 7% N=8 3% N=3 100% N=105 Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) 17% N=17 67% N=68 14% N=14 3% N=3 100% N=101 Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e-waste) 30% N=33 50% N=55 16% N=18 5% N=5 100% N=111 Police services 17% N=12 58% N=40 22% N=16 3% N=2 100% N=70 Crime prevention 8% N=6 39% N=31 27% N=21 26% N=20 100% N=78 Animal control 25% N=15 50% N=29 21% N=12 4% N=2 100% N=59 Ambulance or emergency medical services 34% N=14 52% N=22 8% N=3 5% N=2 100% N=41 Fire emergency services 50% N=30 49% N=30 0% N=0 0% N=0 100% N=60 Fire prevention and education 22% N=10 70% N=34 3% N=2 5% N=2 100% N=48 Palo Alto open space 55% N=60 33% N=36 11% N=12 1% N=1 100% N=109 City parks 52% N=59 45% N=51 2% N=2 1% N=1 100% N=113 Recreation programs or classes 30% N=26 59% N=52 9% N=8 3% N=2 100% N=88 Recreation centers or facilities 33% N=29 53% N=47 11% N=10 3% N=2 100% N=89 Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) 46% N=47 47% N=48 5% N=6 1% N=1 100% N=101 Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) 46% N=46 47% N=47 5% N=5 1% N=1 100% N=100 Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) 40% N=41 55% N=55 4% N=4 1% N=1 100% N=101 Art programs and theater 38% N=33 47% N=41 12% N=10 3% N=2 100% N=86 City-sponsored special events 10% N=7 62% N=44 28% N=19 0% N=0 100% N=71 City website (cityofpaloalto.org) 6% N=6 57% N=59 34% N=35 3% N=3 100% N=104 Public information services (Police/public safety) 10% N=7 56% N=42 30% N=23 4% N=3 100% N=76 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 120 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Public information services (non-Police/public safety) 15% N=12 43% N=35 38% N=31 4% N=4 100% N=82 Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) 16% N=15 65% N=63 15% N=15 4% N=3 100% N=96 Table 130: Question 11 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with “Don’t Know” Responses Please rate the following as they relate to Palo Alto Utilities’ services: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Reliability of utility services 51% N=55 38% N=41 7% N=7 2% N=2 1% N=1 100% N=107 Affordability of utility services 23% N=26 36% N=40 24% N=26 12% N=13 5% N=6 100% N=109 Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services 41% N=45 31% N=34 14% N=15 1% N=1 13% N=14 100% N=109 Utilities online customer self-service features 10% N=11 49% N=54 7% N=8 2% N=2 32% N=35 100% N=109 Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business 16% N=18 43% N=47 6% N=6 6% N=7 29% N=32 100% N=111 Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive 17% N=19 29% N=32 14% N=15 10% N=11 30% N=34 100% N=111 Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay 21% N=23 38% N=43 32% N=35 2% N=2 7% N=8 100% N=111 Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website 16% N=16 36% N=38 17% N=18 7% N=8 24% N=25 100% N=106 Value of Palo Alto Utilities’ customer communications 18% N=19 39% N=43 13% N=14 6% N=6 25% N=27 100% N=110 Ease of contacting Utilities department staff 13% N=15 30% N=33 10% N=11 6% N=7 41% N=45 100% N=111 Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff 19% N=21 20% N=22 12% N=13 1% N=2 48% N=53 100% N=111 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 121 Table 131: Question 11 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Please rate the following as they relate to Palo Alto Utilities’ services: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Reliability of utility services 52% N=55 39% N=41 7% N=7 2% N=2 100% N=106 Affordability of utility services 25% N=26 38% N=40 25% N=26 12% N=13 100% N=104 Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services 47% N=45 36% N=34 16% N=15 1% N=1 100% N=95 Utilities online customer self-service features 15% N=11 72% N=54 11% N=8 3% N=2 100% N=75 Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business 23% N=18 60% N=47 8% N=6 8% N=7 100% N=78 Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive 24% N=19 41% N=32 20% N=15 14% N=11 100% N=77 Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay 22% N=23 41% N=43 34% N=35 2% N=2 100% N=103 Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website 20% N=16 47% N=38 23% N=18 10% N=8 100% N=81 Value of Palo Alto Utilities’ customer communications 23% N=19 52% N=43 17% N=14 8% N=6 100% N=82 Ease of contacting Utilities department staff 22% N=15 50% N=33 17% N=11 10% N=7 100% N=65 Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff 37% N=21 38% N=22 23% N=13 3% N=2 100% N=57 Table 132: Question 12 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Palo Alto community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years. Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important Total Overall “built environment” of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) 58% N=63 35% N=37 7% N=8 0% N=0 100% N=108 Overall economic health of Palo Alto 47% N=49 42% N=45 10% N=10 1% N=1 100% N=106 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto 56% N=61 14% N=16 30% N=33 0% N=0 100% N=110 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 39% N=42 45% N=48 16% N=17 0% N=0 100% N=107 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto 27% N=29 37% N=40 33% N=36 4% N=4 100% N=110 Overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts 29% N=32 41% N=45 29% N=32 1% N=1 100% N=110 Residents' connection and engagement with their community 20% N=22 61% N=66 18% N=19 1% N=2 100% N=109 Reducing community greenhouse gas emissions 42% N=46 34% N=36 10% N=11 14% N=16 100% N=109 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 122 Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Palo Alto community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years. Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important Total Increasing local solar generation capacity within city boundaries 37% N=41 29% N=31 23% N=26 11% N=12 100% N=110 Increasing electric storage capacity within city boundaries 31% N=34 35% N=39 27% N=30 7% N=7 100% N=110 Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for Utilities billing issues, efficiency tips, outage information 16% N=18 14% N=15 49% N=54 21% N=23 100% N=109 Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for public safety issues 27% N=29 29% N=32 36% N=39 8% N=9 100% N=109 *This question did not have a "don't know" option. Table 133: Question 13 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents With “Don’t Know” Responses In a typical week, how likely are you to: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams, volunteer your time, attend church/temple) 43% N=48 17% N=19 20% N=22 19% N=21 0% N=0 100% N=110 Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors 52% N=57 44% N=47 2% N=3 2% N=2 0% N=0 100% N=109 Table 134: Question 13 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Without "Don't Know" Responses In a typical week, how likely are you to: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams, volunteer your time, attend church/temple) 43% N=48 17% N=19 20% N=22 19% N=21 100% N=110 Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors 52% N=57 44% N=47 2% N=3 2% N=2 100% N=109 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 123 Table 135: Question 14 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What mode of transportation do you use most for your typical daily needs for getting around town? Percent Number Driving 59% N=65 Walking 15% N=16 Biking 26% N=29 Bus 0% N=0 Train 0% N=0 Free shuttle 0% N=0 Taxi 0% N=0 Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 0% N=0 Carpooling 0% N=0 Total 100% N=110 * This question did not have a “don’t know” option. Table 136: Question 15 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents In a typical week, how likely are you to: Very convenient Somewhat convenient Somewhat inconvenient Very inconvenient Total Walking 28% N=28 46% N=45 19% N=19 7% N=7 100% N=99 Biking 49% N=48 37% N=36 7% N=6 8% N=8 100% N=98 Bus 4% N=3 17% N=16 42% N=40 37% N=36 100% N=95 Train 6% N=6 35% N=34 32% N=31 26% N=25 100% N=96 Free shuttle 14% N=12 27% N=24 31% N=27 29% N=25 100% N=88 Taxi 7% N=6 28% N=26 33% N=30 32% N=29 100% N=92 Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 38% N=37 28% N=27 12% N=12 23% N=23 100% N=98 Carpooling 6% N=6 35% N=33 24% N=23 36% N=34 100% N=96 * This question did not have a “don’t know” option. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 124 Table 137: Question 16 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with "Don't Know" Responses If you plan to purchase a new car within the next two years, what is the likelihood of it being: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total All-electric 43% N=42 27% N=27 10% N=9 8% N=8 12% N=12 100% N=98 Plug-in hybrid 17% N=17 37% N=36 21% N=20 15% N=15 9% N=9 100% N=97 Hydrogen fuel cell 3% N=3 6% N=6 15% N=15 50% N=49 25% N=24 100% N=96 Other 10% N=7 3% N=3 4% N=3 16% N=12 67% N=50 100% N=74 Table 138: Question 16 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses If you plan to purchase a new car within the next two years, what is the likelihood of it being: Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total All-electric 48% N=42 31% N=27 11% N=9 9% N=8 100% N=87 Plug-in hybrid 19% N=17 41% N=36 23% N=20 17% N=15 100% N=88 Hydrogen fuel cell 4% N=3 8% N=6 20% N=15 67% N=49 100% N=72 Other 29% N=7 11% N=3 13% N=3 47% N=12 100% N=25 Table 139: Question 17 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents with "Don't Know" Responses Palo Alto is committed to addressing climate change by engaging in strategies that reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). Space heating is the largest source of GHG in most Palo Alto homes, followed by water heating. What is the likelihood of you… Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Total Replacing your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when you are ready to replace the water heater? 20% N=22 26% N=29 18% N=19 19% N=21 17% N=19 100% N=110 Replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system (that provides heating and cooling) when you are ready to replace the furnace? 21% N=22 24% N=26 14% N=15 23% N=25 19% N=20 100% N=109 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 125 Table 140: Question 17 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents without "Don't Know" Responses Palo Alto is committed to addressing climate change by engaging in strategies that reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). Space heating is the largest source of GHG in most Palo Alto homes, followed by water heating. What is the likelihood of you… Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Total Replacing your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when you are ready to replace the water heater? 24% N=22 32% N=29 21% N=19 23% N=21 100% N=91 Replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system (that provides heating and cooling) when you are ready to replace the furnace? 25% N=22 30% N=26 17% N=15 28% N=25 100% N=89 Demographic Questions Table 141: Question D1 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: Percent Number Very positive 1% N=1 Somewhat positive 12% N=14 Neutral 42% N=47 Somewhat negative 44% N=49 Very negative 1% N=1 Total 100% N=112 Table 142: Question D2 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your employment status? Percent Number Working full time for pay 51% N=57 Working part time for pay 11% N=12 Unemployed, looking for paid work 0% N=0 Unemployed, not looking for paid work 3% N=3 Fully retired 35% N=40 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 126 What is your employment status? Percent Number College student, unemployed 0% N=0 Total 100% N=112 Table 143: Question D3 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Do you work inside the boundaries of Palo Alto? Percent Number Yes, outside the home 36% N=39 Yes, from home 15% N=17 No 49% N=53 Total 100% N=108 Table 144: Question D4 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents How many years have you lived in Palo Alto? Percent Number Less than 2 years 6% N=6 2 to 5 years 18% N=19 6 to 10 years 8% N=9 11 to 20 years 14% N=16 More than 20 years 55% N=60 Total 100% N=111 Table 145: Question D5 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Which best describes the building you live in? Percent Number One family house detached from any other houses 62% N=70 Building with two or more homes (duplex, townhome, apartment or condominium) 36% N=40 Mobile home 0% N=0 Other 2% N=2 Total 100% N=112 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 127 Table 146: Question D6 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Do you rent or own your home? Percent Number Rent 42% N=46 Own 58% N=65 Total 100% N=112 Table 147: Question D7 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents About how much is your monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners' association (HOA) fees)? Percent Number Less than $500 per month 4% N=4 $500 to $999 per month 5% N=5 $1,000 to $1,499 per month 5% N=5 $1,500 to $1,999 per month 16% N=16 $2,000 to $2,499 per month 13% N=13 $2,500 to $2,999 per month 9% N=8 $3,000 to $3,499 per month 12% N=12 $3,500 to $3,999 per month 5% N=5 $4,000 to $4,499 per month 0% N=0 $4,500 to $4,999 per month 0% N=0 $4,500 to $4,999 per month 6% N=6 $5,500 to $5,999 per month 2% N=2 $6,000 to $6,499 per month 5% N=4 $6,500 to $6,999 per month 1% N=1 $7,000 to $7,499 per month 1% N=1 $7,500 to $7,999 per month 1% N=1 $8,000 to $8,499 per month 5% N=5 $8,500 to $8,999 per month 2% N=2 $9,000 to $9,499 per month 0% N=0 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 128 About how much is your monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners' association (HOA) fees)? Percent Number $9,500 to $9,999 per month 5% N=5 $10,000 or more per month 3% N=3 Total 100% N=99 Table 148: Question D8 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Do any children 17 or under live in your household? Percent Number No 56% N=62 Yes 44% N=48 Total 100% N=110 Table 149: Question D9 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older? Percent Number No 64% N=71 Yes 36% N=40 Total 100% N=111 Table 150: Question D10 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent Number Less than $25,000 3% N=2 $25,000 to $49,999 11% N=11 $50,000 to $74,999 13% N=12 $75,000 to $99,999 7% N=6 $100,000 to $149,999 14% N=13 $150,000 to $199,999 8% N=7 $200,000 to $249,999 15% N=14 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 129 How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent Number $250,000 to $299,999 6% N=6 $300,000 to $349,999 0% N=0 $350,000 to $399,999 1% N=1 $400,000 to $449,999 4% N=4 $450,000 to $499,999 18% N=17 $500,000 or more 0% N=0 Total 100% N=94 Table 151: Question D11 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino? Percent Number No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 99% N=105 Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 1% N=1 Table 152: Question D12 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race(s) you consider yourself to be.) Percent Number American Indian or Alaskan Native 0% N=0 Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander 30% N=30 Black or African American 1% N=1 White 68% N=68 Other 3% N=3 Total 100% N=100 Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 130 Table 153: Question D13 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents In which category is your age? Percent Number 18 to 24 years 0% N=0 25 to 34 years 10% N=10 35 to 44 years 17% N=18 45 to 54 years 24% N=25 55 to 64 years 18% N=19 65 to 74 years 21% N=22 75 years or older 11% N=11 Total 100% N=106 Table 154: Question D14 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your gender? Percent Number Female 50% N=52 Male 48% N=50 Identify in another way 2% N=2 Total 100% N=104 Table 155: Question D14 - Response Percentages and Number of Respondents What is your sexual orientation? Percent Number Heterosexual 89% N=91 Lesbian 0% N=0 Gay 4% N=4 Bisexual 2% N=2 Identify another way 6% N=6 Total 100% N=103 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 131 Appendix D: Verbatim Responses to Open-ended Questions from Open Participation Survey Following are responses to questions 18 and 19. Responses are presented here in verbatim form, including any typographical, grammatical or other mistakes. Responses are in alphabetical order. Question 18: As a resident of Palo Alto, what one change could the City make that would make you happier? • Address housing affordability • Address speeding on residential streets. • Admit that affordable housing in Palo Alto is a myth unless subsidized by the state/federal gov't. • Agressively zone for more housing, at expense of more office space. Trade off zoning to allower larger, taller developments, but with a larger below-market or subsidized component. Decide what that tradeoff might be, so a developer can have a predictable process. In all, a whole lot more housing, some of it BMR. • Allow autopay for bills to the city (e.g. tax payments) • Approve as much housing as possible, all over the city • Attend to south Palo Alto comprehensive planning (improving transit, bike, walk options, and making Cubberley functional) to support all of the housing the city is zoning for San Antonio Road in south Palo Alto. This part of south PA took the last 1,000 new units. We have supported affordable housing development in our neighborhood, and the city continues to fail to provide fair distribution of services here. Leave City Hall and spend time in this part of the city to understand it. City staff, on several recent projects (grade separations, Cubberley, San Antonio planning , Eden Housing) , has seemed VERY unfamiliar with this area. Google maps is a very poor substitute for visiting the area WITH residents to understand what it is like to live here and how things work (and don't work) here. The city cannot plan well, if staff and consultants don't understand what is already there and how it is working. • Attract competent support workers who can help with home maintenance, care giving • Better response from public works • Better street sweeping after storms • Better traffic enforcement! • better traffic management. more growth and poor traffic design make the roads seems like they are always clogged. very bad for the environment as well as residents' satisfaction • bike lane barriers • Bike safety along Bryant/Embarcadero add tunnel at Seal • Build a grade-separated bike/pedestrian crossing over the railroad tracks and Alma in South Palo Alto because we have none. • build housing • Build more housing • Build more housing for the missing middle • Building better bicycling infrastructure • building more housing at all levels of affordability • Cameras on Univ and Stanford shopping to help catch thieves • Cap of 5% on rent increases per year City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 132 • Change the setback rules so I can install an electric heat pump HVAC system with the modern quiet equipment instead of sitting on ancient 1950's setback rules that are no longer sensible and prohibit us spending way too much money to make this transition. • City employees and electeds to have respect for neighbors' deep research, extraordinary time and treasure spent to be treated as an equal against deep-pocketed highly influential private schools/businesses; give neighbors a true seat at the table with regard to development. • Continue to make multimodal transportation a priority. It is critical to support alternative modes of transportation beyond cars. Cars cannot help make our community safe and livable with the projected growth and density of housing. It is critical to improve our streets and infrastructure to support cycling, public options, and pedestrian traffic. The transportation department has done an excellent job but Palo Alto is barely in pace with what other cities are doing. Single person driving is not the answer. • Create more opportunities for affordable housing • Creating a greater feeling of safety • Develop housing for the teachers of this community. • Extra tax on vacant houses & use that money to help homeless people. • Far lower barriers to home improvements and developments. The city makes everything too costly, hard, AMD too dependent on personal opinion or demeanor of staff you happen to get. • Fewer NIMBYs including on City Council • Figuring out how to add more housing, low cost and market rate • Fix the potholes • Fixing potholes in roads • Focus on increasing the safety in the city • Focus on more affordable housing and pushing back against developers trying to maximize profit rather than that goal • Focus on the community of people living here. Please don't cater to those with money who are not honest and abide by the rules like Castilleja. And please explore getting rid of short term AirBnB to help with the housing needs. There is plenty of unused housing in Palo Alto and what appears to be large investors owning these homes and apartments. Define the demographics of those you want to provide housing for and then see what inventory already exists in the AirBnB arena. Many other cities, including Santa Barbara, have done this to provide housing especially for those working in or near Santa Barbara. • For all of Palo Alto, a more efficient and frequent public transportation to California Ave., University Ave. area, Stanford Shopping Center. New small department store more upscale than Target or Penny's . Calif. Ave. has a good hardware store, maybe place a good general clothing dept. store near it. If it were good people would patronize it. • Get rid of all the homeless people sleeping downtown • Get the Aviation Authorities to stop routing landing planes over Palo Alto. They should be going down the bay. • Greenlight more ADUs. You are making housing less available and less affordable • Have a stronger "customer service" orientation to citizens on basic services. Had some very negative interaction experiences with utilities support and permitting process. Not sure why, but people responding to question and issues seem pretty negative. • Have city council spend less on outside consultants and make decisions faster • Have more interactions with neighbors. Newer neighbors coming in are not as friendly. • Have the city focus more on local livability issues (roads, parking, public safety, etc.) and less on "save the world" issues City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 133 • Having one or more libraries open on Sundays; having Community Services open between Christmas and New Years....times when people are most likely to use these services. • High density built environment, including housing, to make walking and cycling the best and fastest way to get around. Push car parking to the outskirts. More bike lanes and slower roads for driving. Person-first design rather than car-first. • If the city wants a natural gas tax revenue stream, add it to our property tax bill because it's a tax. • I'm pretty happy as it is. • Improved bicycle facilities • Increase library hours • Keep 5G out of Palo Alto, or at the very least keep it out of residential areas and away from schools. • keep cars from speeding and running stop signs in the neighborhoods, especially on routes that kids use for biking and walking • Kindness and respect in all dealings • Leave Churchill Ave open and readjust lights to be demand based to allow traffic to flow more easily • less property crime, better tree maintenance • Less restaurants and more normal small businesses downtown, like it used to be. Music shop, book stores, not those high end shops. • less traffic • Limit cars commenting in our city and educating business commuters to follow traffic rules(ex speed limit) and respect bikers and walkers when they enter our city boundary. • Limit multi-unit housing to transit centers (University and Cal Ave) and major thoroughfares (El Camino, University, Oregon Expressway). Offer bigger rebates for heat pumps and more flexibility for placement of the outdoor components • listen to the neighborhood groups who spend time and money on figuring out solutions to issues (i.e. the NevCap and PNQL groups) • Make biking and public trans more accessible • MAKE GAS LEAF BLOWERS ILLEGAL- ENFORCE TICKETS FOR VIOLATIONS- I SEE (HEAR) SO MANY VIOLATIONS. • Make our library system part of the Santa Clara county library system • Make the streets smoother for bicycles. Too many holes, uneven surfaces (Not due to road under construction) on the streets. Streets get resurfaced then months later it gets dug up and the street is no longer smooth. • More competitive grocery stores • More afforable housing for low/middle income folks • more affordable housing • More affordable housing • More affordable housing • More affordable housing stock • More affordable housing. • More affordable senior housing • More protected bike lanes • More responsive city council: get stuff DONE • More traffic enforcement • NA • NA City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 134 • Palo Alto is so slow to complete the road work on arastradero between el Camino and Gunn. Has there been a period of even 6 months in the last 10 years where there wasn't an unfinished project? It took 6 months to replace a bike lane this year. There have been ditches by the El Camino stoplights for nearly 6 months. Come on! It's a safe route to school that serves 4 schools and probably at least 1000 kids. Don't start a project and take months to finish it. This literally happens no where else in Palo Alto. Why do you hate our neighborhood! • Permanent ability to offer public comment via zoom/remotely. • Plant more trees • Please find sites to build LARGE-SCALE affordable housing. Duplexes/fourplexes in single-family neighborhoods is a very bad idea (I know it's the State's idea). I think it's very important to build affordable housing quickly for lower-income people who work here. The city seems to be in no hurry. • Police lower utility cost and taxes; schools are terrible • politically, don't go extremes either left or right • Prioritize and expedite the approval of deeply affordable homes/apartments for those in need, including those living without homes on the street. • Provide fiber internet service to all Palo Alto homes. • Redesign the ridiculous outdated, University Ave./train station loop. • Reduce crime, don't approve building projects that give developers outs re: res zoning, adequate parking and traffic impacts • Require the PA Public Library to respond to citizen interests, such as returning to the pre-COVID hours, now that their budget has been almost completely restored. The absence of a citizen advisory board has been a disaster as far as assessing the public's needs and interests for the library. • returning to at least 5 years ago it used to be • revitalizing our downtown area, redwood city, los altos, menlo park all have better services in downtown area. • Safer neighborhood and in shopping malls, better organized parking for RVs • Slow down growth, possibly even reduce space dedicated to offices. • Stop increasing the population and adding more high rise buildings • Stop ugly large building--Palo Alto is becoming a nondescript city. It's never going to be a cheap place to live -- just accept that. Build housing for local first responders and service providers but NOT drab and crowded mega cinder blocks. • Streamline building permit application process. • street repair • Vigorous enforcement of gas leafblower ban • Work on the pricing of home utilities to residents. Provide shredding event like you used to. Question 19: As a resident of Palo Alto, what one thing do you believe the City does well and would want to maintain? • 311 services • Answers above that were positive • City utilities • Communication • Communication with residents • Continued maintenance of streets and street trees and sidewalks. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 135 • Create an updated version of Cubberly that has educational and recreation classes, art, dance, FOPAL, including a few non-profits. Ask what the residents near Cubberly what they want in additon to city wide responses. Resolve the Cubberly issue. • Customer service of city employees • Diversity of experiences in terms of support for art and recreation. Love the park, bike paths, library and art investments that have been made. • ELECTRIC UTILITY • Embrace diversity • encourage green energy • Engaging with the community on issues. • environmental concerns • Excellent programs for children, great education, great libraries • Free Outdoor spaces and bike-ability • Great communication, good availability for meeting (electeds; not staff) • Great parks, libraries and school system • hear from voice of palo alto • I appreciate Foothills Park and the many community parks available to all. • I love all the trees, parks, great schools and carbon-neutral electricity! • I really appreciate the trees in Palo Alto, the green space in the Stanford dish area, and access to wonderful Foothills Park. • I regularly use the public spaces at Cuberley. This is a tremendous benefit to the community. It is clear that this space needs to be updated and I think that it should continue to be utilized by the Public - playing fields, gyms, studios, music rooms, auditorium. It's a wonderful asset and it could be so much more but I don't want to see it used solely by the PAUSD or sold for housing development. • Infrastructure • Keep up the weekly reports...starting during the COVID lockdown...good info in them--we read them every week. • Keeping our parks and green spaces open and cared for. • Keeping the city looking neat and inviting. • keeping up maintenance where there are needs • Libraries • Libraries • Libraries, athletic facilities (tennis, swimming, etc.), parks • Listening to residents. • Maintain and add more park space to catch up to what the comprehensive plan says you should have for each resident in Palo Alto. • Maintain natural recreation areas, e.g. the baylands, Byxbee Park, Foothills Park, local city parks. • Maintain public parks • Maintain the character of the city. • Maintaining recreation services • Maintains the trees and parks • Much of what's valuable in the community comes via proximity to the Stanford campus. So • NA • NA • NA • NA • NA City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 136 • NA • NA • NA • NA • natural spaces • Open spaces, the Baylands, the natural environment. Also the schools. • Owning own utilities so that we can have it be from renewable sources (solar, wind) • Owns its own utilities. • Parks • Parks • parks • Parks and Community Recreation Activities • Parks and libraries • Parks and libraries • parks and libraries and Cubberley. • Parks and libraries! • Parks and open space • Parks and park maintenance • Parks and recreation department programs are great. A good variety of classes are offered. • Parks, open spaces • parks. libraries. bike paths • Peace, quieteness, safety • Police presence. • Promoting greener transportation options • Protect our open space • Provides excellent libraries and we have our own utilities which is huge! • Public Library • public works departrment • Public works. • Recycling • Responds to community feedback • Safe route to school. • Safe Routes to School program • Safe Routes to School program • schools, parks, libraries • Sense of community...people like to know each other and do things together • Street signs • Supporting bicyclists • The ability of all residents to easily access local services by foot, bike, pedicab or bus/shuttle. • The city works to make good long term solutions for problems • The public-facing administrative staff are respectful, polite, and responsive. We are fortunate to have good people providing public service. • The school system here is good and the only reason we moved here is because my fiance went to school here. If the education system becomes less rigorous, we would likely live in a different city. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 137 • There are a lot of things the city used to do very well, including hiring experienced, skilled staff who were willing and able to engage productively with citizens. Hire good people, train them and hold onto them... reward excellent performers. Encourage staff to proactively work with citizens and be less guarded. Staff up to plan to support all the new housing. A lot of work needs to be done in preparation for that. We are very understaffed right now. This city has great bones. Please maintain that by making sure we have high quality staff in sufficient numbers to do necessary comprehensive planning--something that the city , until recently, did very well. Get out of the office and engage with citizens--especially in south PA--which seems increasingly, to be an afterthought for the city. Stop treating Cubberley like the basement the city uses to store stuff while you are fixing facilities in other parts of the city. The school district is now following the city's lead on that. Cubberley MUST be functional to provide community services and a future school site for thousands of new residents who will be living in much smaller spaces than current residents. They are going to NEED community services and spaces. • Utilities • utilities seem to work well. i worry that change will only make them worse. especially overly ambitious ESG goals that while well intentioned may not be effective and just end up being a waste of money • Utilities! • Utilities, all of them. • Utilities. • utility and library services • Utility Dept is a wonderful asset • Walkability • Walkable, bikeable, safe environment • With the exception of the gas tax, the utilities department seems to be rather well run! • wonderful parks and open spaces • Zoning of small shopping centers, easily accessible to the neighborhoods. City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 138 Appendix E: Communities Included in National Benchmark Comparisons The communities included in the Palo Alto comparisons are listed on the following pages along with their population according to the 2017 American Community Survey. Adams County, CO ................ 509,844 Albany city, OR ........................ 54,442 Albemarle County, VA ........... 108,819 Albert Lea city, MN .................. 17,804 Alexandria city, VA ................ 158,309 Allegan County, MI ................ 117,104 American Canyon city, CA ..... 20,256 Ankeny city, IA ......................... 64,744 Ann Arbor city, MI ................. 121,093 Apache Junction city, AZ ........ 41,863 Arapahoe County, CO............ 649,980 Asheville city, NC .................... 92,328 Ashland city, OR ...................... 21,138 Ashland town, MA ................... 17,787 Ashland town, VA ...................... 7,819 Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), . 124,962 Auburn city, AL ........................ 65,508 Aurora city, CO ...................... 379,434 Avon town, IN .......................... 18,056 Avondale city, AZ .................... 86,091 Bainbridge Island city, WA ...... 24,859 Baltimore County, MD ........... 828,193 Basehor city, KS ........................ 6,225 Batavia city, IL ......................... 26,479 Battle Creek city, MI ................ 51,084 Baytown city, TX ..................... 76,089 Beaumont city, CA .................. 48,272 Bedford city, TX....................... 49,145 Berthoud town, CO .................... 8,574 Bethlehem township, PA ........ 24,122 Bettendorf city, IA ................... 36,214 Billings city, MT ..................... 109,705 Bloomington city, IN ............... 84,691 Bloomington city, MN ............. 85,226 Bonner Springs city, KS............. 7,846 Borger city, TX ......................... 12,534 Boulder city, CO..................... 108,777 Bowling Green city, KY ............ 71,628 Bozeman city, MT ................... 48,330 Brighton city, CO ..................... 38,355 Broadview village, IL ................. 7,677 Brookline CDP, MA .................. 59,223 Brooklyn Center city, MN ........ 30,755 Brooklyn city, OH ..................... 10,788 Broomfield city, CO ................. 69,444 Brownsburg town, IN .............. 26,560 Buckeye town, AZ ................... 74,467 Buffalo Grove village, IL .......... 40,804 Canandaigua city, NY .............. 10,241 Cannon Beach city, OR ............. 1,554 Cañon City city, CO ................. 16,369 Cape Coral city, FL ................ 189,633 Carol Stream village, IL ........... 39,447 Cartersville city, GA ................. 21,331 Cedar Park city, TX ................. 77,181 Cedar Rapids city, IA ............ 133,125 Celina city, TX ......................... 13,608 Centennial city, CO ............... 111,331 Chanhassen city, MN.............. 25,965 Chapel Hill town, NC ............... 61,912 Chardon city, OH ....................... 5,168 Charles County, MD .............. 161,448 Charlotte County, FL ............. 185,926 Charlottesville city, VA ............ 47,217 Chatfield city, MN ..................... 2,690 Chattanooga city, TN ............ 181,370 Chesterfield County, VA ....... 348,500 Clackamas County, OR ......... 415,084 Clatsop County, OR ................. 39,656 Clayton city, MO ...................... 16,763 Clearwater city, FL ................ 115,975 Cleveland Heights city, OH ..... 44,176 Clive city, IA ............................ 17,246 Clovis city, CA ....................... 112,663 College Park city, MD ............. 32,221 Collegedale city, TN ................ 11,402 Colleyville city, TX ................... 26,766 Collinsville city, IL ................... 24,489 Columbia city, MO ................ 122,659 Commerce City city, CO.......... 55,891 Conshohocken borough, PA..... 8,039 Coolidge city, AZ ..................... 13,016 Coral Gables city, FL ............... 49,937 Coronado city, CA ................... 24,526 Corvallis city, OR ..................... 58,612 Coventry town, CT .................. 12,434 Cupertino city, CA ................... 59,799 Dacono city, CO ........................ 6,167 Dakota County, MN............... 425,271 Dallas city, OR ......................... 16,612 Dallas city, TX .................... 1,338,846 Danvers town, MA .................. 27,549 Danville city, KY ...................... 16,801 Davenport city, IA ................. 102,199 Davidson town, NC ................. 12,920 Daviess County, KY ............... 101,001 Dayton city, OH ..................... 140,444 Decatur city, GA ...................... 24,814 DeLand city, FL ....................... 33,620 Delhi charter township, MI ... 27,817 Denison city, TX ...................... 24,851 Denton city, TX ..................... 139,734 Denver city, CO ..................... 715,878 Des Peres city, MO ................... 8,654 DeSoto city, TX ....................... 53,170 Dothan city, AL ........................ 68,608 Dover city, NH ......................... 31,922 Dublin city, OH ........................ 47,824 Durham city, NC .................... 276,341 Durham County, NC .............. 317,665 Dyer town, IN .......................... 15,933 Eagan city, MN ........................66,377 Eden Prairie city, MN ...............64,481 Edina city, MN .........................52,215 Edmond city, OK ......................93,101 El Cerrito city, CA .....................25,280 El Mirage city, AZ ....................35,702 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) city, CA ............................31,480 Elbert County, CO ....................26,230 Elgin city, IL .......................... 112,062 Elk Grove city, CA ................. 173,370 Englewood city, CO .................34,840 Erie town, CO ...........................27,157 Escambia County, FL ........... 316,691 Escondido city, CA ............... 150,396 Estes Park town, CO .................. 6,504 Farmers Branch city, TX ..........42,659 Farmington Hills city, MI .........80,937 Fate city, TX .............................14,300 Fayetteville city, GA .................17,902 Fayetteville city, NC .............. 211,201 Ferguson township, PA ...........19,540 Fernandina Beach city, FL .......12,622 Flagstaff city, AZ .....................73,319 Florence town, AZ ...................26,777 Flower Mound town, TX ..........78,854 Fort Collins city, CO .............. 166,069 Franklin city, TN.......................80,675 Frederick town, CO ..................10,414 Fremont city, CA ................... 234,829 Frisco town, CO ......................... 2,928 Fruita city, CO ..........................14,068 Gaithersburg city, MD..............67,878 Gardner city, KS .......................21,936 Georgetown city, TX ................75,470 Gilbert town, AZ .................... 248,349 Glen Ellyn village, IL .................27,741 Glencoe village, IL ..................... 8,836 Glendora city, CA .....................51,087 Golden city, CO ........................20,391 Goodyear city, AZ ....................83,519 Grand Rapids city, MI ........... 199,417 Grand Traverse County, MI .....92,640 Greeley city, CO .................... 107,445 Greer city, SC ...........................32,229 Gulf Breeze city, FL ................... 6,725 Gunnison County, CO ..............17,119 Hamilton city, OH ....................62,162 Hanover County, VA ............. 106,538 Hastings city, MN ....................22,796 Highlands Ranch CDP, CO .. 107,017 Homer Glen village, IL .............24,521 Honolulu County, HI ............. 979,682 Hopkinton town, MA ...............18,030 Horry County, SC .................. 344,186 Huntsville city, TX ....................41,664 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 139 Hutchinson city, MN ............... 13,935 Independence city, IA................ 6,085 Iowa City city, IA ...................... 75,849 Issaquah city, WA ................... 38,707 Jackson city, MO .................... 14,893 Jackson County, MI .............. 158,174 Jerome city, ID ........................ 11,824 Johnson City city, TN .............. 66,934 Johnson County, KS.............. 597,574 Johnston city, IA ..................... 22,077 Jupiter town, FL ...................... 65,139 Kalamazoo city, MI ................. 76,106 Kansas City city, KS .............. 153,014 Kansas City city, MO ............. 491,158 Kerrville city, TX ...................... 23,511 Kingman city, AZ ..................... 30,433 Kingsport city, TN ................... 53,699 La Mesa city, CA ..................... 60,208 La Vista city, NE ...................... 17,081 Laguna Beach city, CA ............ 22,991 Lake Elsinore city, CA ............. 64,201 Lake Forest city, CA ................ 84,666 Lake Havasu City city, AZ ....... 55,463 Lake in the Hills village, IL ...... 28,617 Lake Zurich village, IL ............. 19,912 Lakeville city, MN .................... 65,710 Lakewood city, CO ................ 155,733 Lakewood city, WA.................. 60,564 Lancaster County, SC ............. 95,378 Larkspur city, CA ..................... 12,363 Las Cruces city, NM .............. 102,950 Las Vegas city, NV ................ 644,594 Lawrence city, KS .................... 97,348 Lehi city, UT ............................. 66,980 Lenexa city, KS ........................ 54,804 Lewes city, DE ........................... 3,266 Lincolnwood village, IL ........... 12,338 Lindsborg city, KS ..................... 3,294 Little Elm city, TX .................... 49,792 Littleton city, CO ...................... 46,208 Livermore city, CA ................... 91,763 Longmont city, CO .................. 95,864 Los Alamos County, NM ......... 18,976 Loudoun County, VA ............. 405,312 Louisville city, CO .................... 19,342 Loveland city, CO .................... 81,774 Lynchburg city, VA .................. 80,970 Lynnwood city, WA.................. 38,538 Manassas city, VA .................. 41,038 Mankato city, MN .................... 42,685 Maple Grove city, MN.............. 71,569 Maplewood city, MN ............... 40,684 Marin County, CA .................. 259,441 Marion city, IA ......................... 39,910 Mariposa County, CA .............. 17,319 Marshalltown city, IA .............. 26,957 Maryland Heights city, MO ..... 26,996 Maui County, HI..................... 166,657 McKinney city, TX ................. 191,197 Mecklenburg County, NC ... 1,095,170 Menlo Park city, CA ................. 35,211 Mercer Island city, WA ............ 25,820 Meridian charter township, MI 42,853 Mesquite city, TX .................. 142,429 Middleton city, WI ................... 19,764 Middletown town, RI ............... 15,982 Milford city, DE ........................ 11,463 Milton city, GA ........................ 39,252 Minnetrista city, MN ................. 7,989 Minturn town, CO ...................... 1,149 Missoula County, MT ............ 119,062 Missouri City city, TX .............. 75,348 Moline city, IL .......................... 41,213 Monroe city, MI ....................... 19,543 Montgomery County, MD .. 1,047,661 Moorpark city, CA ................... 36,443 Morristown city, TN ................ 29,887 Morrisville town, NC ............... 27,582 Mount Prospect village, IL ...... 54,165 Mountlake Terrace city, WA ... 21,328 Muscatine city, IA ................... 23,661 Needham town, MA ................ 31,177 Nevada County, CA ................. 99,417 New Braunfels city, TX ........... 84,622 New Brighton city, MN ............ 22,663 New Concord village, OH .......... 2,530 New Orleans city, LA ............ 391,249 Nichols Hills city, OK ................ 3,910 Niles village, IL ........................ 29,198 Noblesville city, IN .................. 64,430 Norfolk city, NE ....................... 24,410 North Bend city, OR .................. 9,708 North Kansas City city, MO ... 4,606 North Mankato city, MN ......... 13,903 North Port city, FL ................... 68,779 Northglenn city, CO ................. 39,201 Novi city, MI ............................ 60,439 O'Fallon city, IL ........................ 29,487 Oak Park village, IL ................. 52,102 Oakdale city, MN..................... 27,925 Oklahoma City city, OK ......... 649,821 Olmsted County, MN ............ 156,446 Oregon City city, OR ................ 37,057 Orland Park village, IL ............. 58,380 Oshkosh city, WI ..................... 66,753 Overland Park city, KS .......... 193,412 Paducah city, KY ..................... 24,947 Palm Coast city, FL ................. 88,222 Palm Springs city, CA ............. 48,390 Palo Alto city, CA .................... 67,973 Panama City Beach city, FL ... 12,747 Papillion city, NE ..................... 24,310 Park City city, UT....................... 8,467 Parker town, CO ...................... 55,460 Pasco city, WA ........................ 74,266 Pasco County, FL .................. 539,885 Pearland city, TX ................... 125,817 Perryville city, MO ..................... 8,500 Philadelphia city, PA .......... 1,581,531 Pinehurst village, NC .............. 16,382 Plano city, TX ........................ 288,870 Plymouth city, MN .................. 78,879 Port St. Lucie city, FL ............ 195,773 Portage city, MI ....................... 49,224 Portland city, TX ..................... 17,807 Powhatan County, VA ............. 29,253 Prairie Village city, KS ............. 22,255 Prior Lake city, MN ................. 26,775 Pueblo city, CO ..................... 111,776 Puyallup city, WA .................... 41,666 Raleigh city, NC ..................... 469,698 Ramsey city, MN ..................... 27,201 Raymore city, MO ................... 21,676 Redlands city, CA .................... 71,680 Reno city, NV ........................ 250,903 Richfield city, MN ....................36,253 Richland city, WA .....................57,353 Richmond city, CA ................ 110,051 Richmond city, VA ................ 229,233 Richmond Heights city, MO ...... 8,581 Rio Rancho city, NM ................97,976 River Falls city, WI ...................15,870 Riverside city, CA .................. 327,569 Rochester city, MN ............... 117,134 Rochester city, NY ................ 206,357 Rock Hill city, SC .....................74,410 Rockville city, MD ....................68,155 Roeland Park city, KS ................ 6,747 Rohnert Park city, CA ..............42,559 Rosemount city, MN ................24,792 Roseville city, CA .................. 138,860 Round Rock city, TX ............. 128,812 Royal Palm Beach village, FL ..39,615 Sacramento city, CA ............. 503,482 Salem city, OR ...................... 171,806 Sammamish city, WA ..............65,265 San Carlos city, CA ..................29,647 San Diego city, CA .............. 1,414,545 San Jose city, CA ............... 1,029,409 Sangamon County, IL ........... 195,963 Santa Cruz city, CA ..................65,011 Santa Fe County, NM ........... 150,319 Sausalito city, CA ...................... 7,177 Savage city, MN.......................31,758 Schaumburg township, IL .... 129,604 Schaumburg village, IL ............73,392 Scott County, MN ................. 147,201 Scottsdale city, AZ ............... 254,995 Sedona city, AZ .......................10,341 Sevierville city, TN ...................17,185 Shakopee city, MN ..................41,423 Shawnee city, KS .....................65,844 Shorewood village, IL ..............17,303 Shrewsbury town, MA .............37,683 Sioux Falls city, SD ............... 180,927 Skokie village, IL ......................63,300 Snoqualmie city, WA ...............13,550 Snowmass Village town, CO ..... 2,786 Somerset town, MA .................18,160 South Bend city, IN ............... 102,686 South Portland city, ME ...........25,665 Spring Hill city, KS ..................... 6,992 Springville city, UT ...................33,251 St. Augustine city, FL...............15,065 St. Charles city, IL ....................32,612 St. Cloud city, MN ....................68,390 St. Croix County, WI .................89,702 St. Louis County, MN ............ 199,499 St. Lucie County, FL.............. 320,914 Stafford County, VA ............. 150,185 State College borough, PA ......42,100 Steamboat Springs city, CO ....13,048 Sugar Land city, TX .............. 118,563 Sunnyvale city, CA ................ 152,569 Surprise city, AZ ................... 139,007 Suwanee city, GA.....................20,444 Tacoma city, WA .................. 215,766 Takoma Park city, MD .............17,703 Tempe city, AZ ..................... 191,607 Temple city, TX ........................76,590 The Woodlands CDP, TX ...... 114,532 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 140 Thomasville city, NC ............... 26,834 Thousand Oaks city, CA ........ 127,648 Tinley Park village, IL .............. 56,082 Tracy city, CA .......................... 91,462 Tualatin city, OR ...................... 27,601 Tustin city, CA ......................... 80,815 Twin Falls city, ID .................... 49,819 Unalaska city, AK ...................... 4,758 Urbandale city, IA .................... 43,879 Vallejo city, CA ...................... 121,275 Victoria city, MN ........................ 9,787 Vienna town, VA ...................... 16,532 Walnut Creek city, CA ............. 69,836 Warrensburg city, MO ............. 20,313 Washington County, MN....... 259,072 Washington County, RI ......... 126,139 Washoe County, NV .............. 464,182 Washougal city, WA ................ 15,927 Waukesha city, WI .................. 72,419 Waunakee village, WI .............. 13,903 Wellington village, FL .............. 64,990 West Bend city, WI .................. 31,587 West Chester township, OH ... 64,420 West St. Paul city, MN ............ 19,805 Westminster city, CO ............ 114,832 Westminster city, MD ............. 18,649 Wheat Ridge city, CO ...............31,889 White House city, TN ...............12,258 Wichita city, KS ..................... 390,566 Williamsburg city, VA ..............15,034 Wilmington city, NC .............. 122,162 Wilsonville city, OR ..................24,413 Windsor town, CO ....................23,679 Winston-Salem city, NC ........ 245,787 Winter Garden city, FL .............44,888 Woodbury city, MN ..................71,298 Woodinville city, WA ................13,038 Wyoming city, MI ....................... 75,99 City of Palo Alto Community Survey January 2023 Report of Results Page 141 Appendix F: Survey Materials The following pages contain copies of the survey materials sent to randomly selected households within the City of Palo Alto. Dear Palo Alto Resident, Our annual Community Survey is a critical community feedback tool that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. You can go online and complete the survey now at: https://polco.us/xxplaceholder Please do not share your survey link. This survey is for randomly selected households only. The City will conduct a separate survey that is open to all residents just a few weeks from now. For additional ways to join the conversation and provide input, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/engage Sincerely, Ed Shikada City Manager Dear Palo Alto Resident, Our annual Community Survey is a critical community feedback tool that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. You can go online and complete the survey now at: https://polco.us/xxplaceholder Please do not share your survey link. This survey is for randomly selected households only. The City will conduct a separate survey that is open to all residents just a few weeks from now. For additional ways to join the conversation and provide input, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/engage Sincerely, Ed Shikada City Manager Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Dear Palo Alto Resident, Just a reminder—if you have not yet completed Palo Alto’s 2022 Community Survey, please do so. If you have completed it, thank you. Please do not respond twice. Our annual Community Survey is a critical community feedback tool that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. You can go online and complete the survey now at: https://polco.us/xxplaceholder Please do not share your survey link. This survey is for randomly selected households only. The City will conduct a separate survey that is open to all residents just a few weeks from now. For additional ways to join the conversation and provide input, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/engage Sincerely, Ed Shikada City Manager Dear Palo Alto Resident, Just a reminder—if you have not yet completed Palo Alto’s 2022 Community Survey, please do so. If you have completed it, thank you. Please do not respond twice. Our annual Community Survey is a critical community feedback tool that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. You can go online and complete the survey now at: https://polco.us/xxplaceholder Please do not share your survey link. This survey is for randomly selected households only. The City will conduct a separate survey that is open to all residents just a few weeks from now. For additional ways to join the conversation and provide input, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/engage Sincerely, Ed Shikada City Manager Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Dear Palo Alto Resident, Our annual Community Survey is a critical community feedback tool that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. A paper survey will arrive in a few days, or you can go online and complete the survey now at: https://polco.us/xxplaceholder Please do not share your survey link. This survey is for randomly selected households only. The City will conduct a separate survey that is open to all residents just a few weeks from now. For additional ways to join the conversation and provide input, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/engage Sincerely, Ed Shikada City Manager Dear Palo Alto Resident, Our annual Community Survey is a critical community feedback tool that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. A paper survey will arrive in a few days, or you can go online and complete the survey now at: https://polco.us/xxplaceholder Please do not share your survey link. This survey is for randomly selected households only. The City will conduct a separate survey that is open to all residents just a few weeks from now. For additional ways to join the conversation and provide input, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/engage Sincerely, Ed Shikada City Manager Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Presorted First Class Mail US Postage PAID Boulder, CO Permit NO. 94 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 October 2022 Dear Palo Alto Resident: Please help us shape the future of Palo Alto! You have been selected at random to participate in the 2022 Palo Alto Community Survey. Please take a moment to share your feedback about our community. The annual Community Survey is a critical community feedback effort that helps the City Council and City staff understand community perspectives on current services and programs, as well as unmet needs and priorities. The survey is one way among many through which we gain insights from residents throughout our community. Please take a few minutes to fill out the enclosed survey. Your participation in this survey is very important—especially since your household is one of only a small number being surveyed. The survey results are reviewed by the City Council and City staff and community input helps shape the City’s decision-making processes and changes to City services. A few things to remember: • Responses are completely anonymous. • In order to hear from a diverse group of residents, the adult 18 years or older in your household who most recently had a birthday should complete this survey. • You may return the survey by mail in the enclosed postage-paid envelope, or you can complete the survey online at: https://polco.us/xxplaceholder If you have any questions about the survey, please call (650) 329-2392. For additional ways to engage with the City, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/engage Thank you for your time and participation! Sincerely, Ed Shikada City Manager 2022 Community Survey Page 1 of 5 Please complete this survey if you are the adult (age 18 or older) in the household who most recently had a birthday (the year of birth does not matter). Your responses are anonymous and will be reported in group form only. 1. Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Palo Alto. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Palo Alto as a place to live ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Your neighborhood as a place to live ............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Palo Alto as a place to raise children.............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Palo Alto as a place to work .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Palo Alto as a place to visit ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Palo Alto as a place to retire .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The overall quality of life in Palo Alto ............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 2. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Overall “built environment” of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) .............................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto .............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto ......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto .................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Residents’ connection and engagement with their community ....................... 1 2 3 4 5 3. Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following. Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Don’t likely likely unlikely unlikely know Recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks .................... 1 2 3 4 5 Remain in Palo Alto for the next five years .................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Recommend Palo Alto’s libraries to friends .................................... 1 2 3 4 5 4. Please rate the job you feel the Palo Alto community does at each of the following. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Making all residents feel welcome ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Attracting people from diverse backgrounds .................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Valuing/respecting residents from diverse backgrounds ................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Taking care of vulnerable residents (elderly, disabled, homeless, etc.) ........... 1 2 3 4 5 5. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Overall quality of business and service establishments in Palo Alto ................. 1 2 3 4 5 Variety of business and service establishments in Palo Alto ............................ 1 2 3 4 5 Vibrancy of downtown/commercial area ........................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Employment opportunities ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Shopping opportunities ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Cost of living in Palo Alto ............................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall image or reputation of Palo Alto ........................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Traffic flow on major streets ......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of public parking ................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of travel by car in Palo Alto ................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of travel by public transportation in Palo Alto ......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of travel by bicycle in Palo Alto .............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of walking in Palo Alto .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Variety of housing options ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of affordable quality housing ........................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Overall quality of new development in Palo Alto ............................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of paths and walking trails ........................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Fitness opportunities (including exercise classes and paths or trails, etc.) ....... 1 2 3 4 5 Recreational opportunities ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Availability of affordable quality mental health care ........................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music activities ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Page 2 of 5 6. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Palo Alto as a whole. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool ....................................... 1 2 3 4 5 K-12 education ............................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Adult educational opportunities ..................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities .............................. 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to participate in community matters ......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds.............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Opportunities to learn about City services through social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook ..................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 7. Please indicate whether or not you have done each of the following in the last 12 months. No Yes Used Palo Alto recreation centers or their services ................................................................................... 1 2 Visited a neighborhood park or City park ................................................................................................. 1 2 Used Palo Alto public libraries or their services ......................................................................................... 1 2 Participated in religious or spiritual activities in Palo Alto .......................................................................... 1 2 Attended a City-sponsored event ............................................................................................................ 1 2 Participated in a club .............................................................................................................................. 1 2 Talked to or visited with your immediate neighbors ................................................................................. 1 2 Done a favor for a neighbor .................................................................................................................... 1 2 Used the City’s website to conduct business or pay bills ........................................................................... 1 2 Used the Utilities website to conduct business or pay bills ........................................................................ 1 2 Contacted the City of Palo Alto (in-person, phone, email or web) for help or information .......................... 1 2 Contacted Palo Alto elected officials (in-person, phone, email or web) to express your opinion ................. 1 2 Attended a local public meeting (of local elected officials like City Council or County Commissioners, advisory boards, town halls, HOA, neighborhood watch, etc.) ................................... 1 2 Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting .......................................................................... 1 2 Volunteered your time to some group/activity in Palo Alto ....................................................................... 1 2 Voted in your most recent local election .................................................................................................. 1 2 Used bus, rail, or other public transportation instead of driving ................................................................ 1 2 Carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone ............................................................... 1 2 Walked or biked instead of driving .......................................................................................................... 1 2 Observed a code violation or other hazard in Palo Alto (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) ...................... 1 2 Household member was a victim of a crime in Palo Alto .......................................................................... 1 2 Reported a crime to the police in Palo Alto .............................................................................................. 1 2 Stocked 14 days’ worth of supplies in case of a major disaster where you have no electricity, water, internet, or telephone service .................................................................................. 1 2 8. Please rate the following categories of Palo Alto government performance. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know The value of services for the taxes paid to Palo Alto ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The overall direction that Palo Alto is taking .................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 The job Palo Alto government does at welcoming resident involvement ......... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall confidence in Palo Alto government ................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Generally acting in the best interest of the community ................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Being honest ................................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Being open and transparent to the public ...................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Informing residents about issues facing the community ................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Treating all residents fairly ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Treating residents with respect ..................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 9. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know The City of Palo Alto ..................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 The State Government ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 The Federal Government .............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 2022 Community Survey Page 3 of 5 10. Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Palo Alto. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Traffic enforcement ............................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Traffic signal timing ............................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Street repair ....................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Street cleaning ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Street tree maintenance ..................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Sidewalk maintenance ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Land use, planning, and zoning ........................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) ....................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands and greenbelts) ................. 1 2 3 4 5 Building and planning application processing services .......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Affordable high-speed internet access ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Electric utility ...................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Gas utility ........................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Utility payment options ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Drinking water .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Sewer services ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Storm water management (storm drainage, dams, levees, etc.) ......................... 1 2 3 4 5 Refuse collection (garbage, recycling, yard waste, and e-waste) .......................... 1 2 3 4 5 Police emergency services .................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Crime prevention ................................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Animal control .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Ambulance or emergency medical services .......................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Fire emergency services...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Fire prevention and education ............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Palo Alto open space (e.g Foothills, Baylands) ..................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 City parks ........................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Recreation programs or classes ........................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Recreation centers or facilities ............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Public library services (e.g., hold requests, storytimes, teen events, bookclubs) .... 1 2 3 4 5 Library facilities (buildings, computer equipment, accessibility) ............................. 1 2 3 4 5 Variety of library materials (books, e-books, streaming, databases, audiobooks) ... 1 2 3 4 5 Art programs and theater ................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 City-sponsored special events ............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 City website (cityofpaloalto.org) .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Public information services (Police/public safety) ................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Public information services (non-Police/public safety) .......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Overall customer service by Palo Alto employees (police, receptionists, planners, etc.) ............................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 11. Please rate the following as they relate to Palo Alto Utilities’ services: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Reliability of utility services ................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Affordability of utility services ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Community value received from the City owning and operating its own municipal utility services ......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Utilities online customer self-service features ..................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Providing opportunities for energy and water efficiency at home or business ...... 1 2 3 4 5 Working hard to keep utilities prices competitive ............................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Value of all the services Palo Alto Utilities provides for the price you pay ............ 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of obtaining information or performing a transaction through the City’s website ................................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Value of Palo Alto Utilities’ customer communications ........................................ 1 2 3 4 5 Ease of contacting Utilities department staff ...................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Speed of response after contacting Utilities department staff ............................. 1 2 3 4 5 Page 4 of 5 12. Please rate how important, if at all, you think it is for the Palo Alto community to focus on each of the following in the coming two years. Very Somewhat Not at all Essential important important important Overall “built environment” of Palo Alto (including overall design, buildings, parks and transportation systems) .................................................. 1 2 3 4 Overall economic health of Palo Alto ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 Overall feeling of safety in Palo Alto .................................................................. 1 2 3 4 Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto ............................................. 1 2 3 4 Overall health and wellness opportunities in Palo Alto ........................................ 1 2 3 4 Overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts .................................... 1 2 3 4 Residents’ connection and engagement with their community ........................... 1 2 3 4 Reducing community greenhouse gas emissions ............................................... 1 2 3 4 Increasing local solar generation capacity within city boundaries ........................ 1 2 3 4 Increasing electric storage capacity within city boundaries ................................. 1 2 3 4 Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for Utilities billing issues, efficiency tips, outage information ............................................. 1 2 3 4 Faster notification systems (online, mobile or email) for public safety issues ....... 1 2 3 4 13. In a typical week, how likely are you to: Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Don’t likely likely unlikely unlikely know Participate in organized group activities (such as clubs, sports teams, volunteer your time, attend church/temple) ......................... 1 2 3 4 5 Spend quality time with local friends, family, and/or neighbors ........... 1 2 3 4 5 14. What mode of transportation do you use most for your typical daily needs for getting around town?  Driving  Biking  Train  Taxi  Carpooling  Walking  Bus  Free shuttle  Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service 15. If you did not have access to a car for your usual daily transportation around town, how convenient (based on time and proximity) would you consider each of the following methods of getting around? Very Somewhat Somewhat Very convenient convenient inconvenient inconvenient Walking ............................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 Biking ................................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 Bus ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Train ................................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 Free shuttle ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Taxi................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare service ................................................. 1 2 3 4 Carpooling ......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 16. If you plan to purchase a car within the next two years, what is the likelihood of it being one of the following: Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Don’t likely likely unlikely unlikely know All-electric ......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Plug-in hybrid .................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Hydrogen fuel cell .............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 Other:_____________________________________________ .......... 1 2 3 4 5 17. Palo Alto is committed to addressing climate change by engaging in strategies that reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). Space heating is the largest source of GHG in most Palo Alto homes, followed by water heating. What is the likelihood of you… Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Don’t likely likely unlikely unlikely know Replacing your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when you are ready to replace the water heater? ............................ 1 2 3 4 5 Replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system (that provides heating and cooling) when you are ready to replace the furnace? ................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 18. As a resident of Palo Alto, what one change could the City make that would make you happier? 2022 Community Survey Page 5 of 5 19. As a resident of Palo Alto, what one thing do you believe the City does well and would want to maintain? Our last questions are about you and your household. Again, all of your responses to this survey are completely anonymous and will be reported in group form only. D1. What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be:  Very positive  Somewhat positive  Neutral  Somewhat negative  Very negative D2. What is your employment status?  Working full time for pay  Working part time for pay  Unemployed, looking for paid work  Unemployed, not looking for paid work  Fully retired  College student, unemployed D3. Do you work inside the boundaries of Palo Alto?  Yes, outside the home  No  Yes, from home D4. How many years have you lived in Palo Alto?  Less than 2 years  11-20 years  2-5 years  More than 20 years  6-10 years D5. Which best describes the building you live in?  One family house detached from any other houses  Building with two or more homes (duplex, townhome, apartment or condominium)  Mobile home  Other D6. Do you rent or own your home?  Rent  Own D7. About how much is your monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners’ association (HOA) fees)?  Less than $500  $5,500 to $5,999  $500 to $999  $6,000 to $6,499  $1,000 to $1,499  $6,500 to $6,999  $1,500 to $1,999  $7,000 to $7,499  $2,000 to $2,499  $7,500 to $7,999  $2,499 to $2,999  $8,000 to $8,499  $3,000 to $3,499  $8,500 to $8,999  $3,500 to $3,999  $9,000 to $9,499  $4,000 to $4,499  $9,500 to $9,999  $4,500 to $4,999  $10,000 or more  $5,000 to $5,499 D8. Do any children 17 or under live in your household?  No  Yes D9. Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older?  No  Yes D10. How much do you anticipate your household’s total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Total income from all sources for all persons living in your household.)  Less than $25,000  $250,000 to $299,999  $25,000 to $49,999  $300,000 to $349,999  $50,000 to $99,999  $350,000 to $399,999  $100,000 to $149,000  $400,000 to $449,999  $150,000 to $199,999  $450,000 to $499,999  $200,000 to $249,999  $500,000 or more D11. Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino?  No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino  Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino D12. What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what you consider yourself to be.)  American Indian or Alaskan Native  White  Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander  Other  Black or African American D13. In which category is your age?  18-24 years  45-54 years  65-74 years  25-34 years  55-64 years  75 years or older  35-44 years D14. What is your gender?  Woman  Man  Identify in another way  go to D14a D14a. If you identify in another way, how would you describe your gender?  Agender/ I don’t identify  Transgender man with any gender  Transgender woman  Genderqueer/gender fluid  Two-spirit  Non-binary  Not listed, I identify as:_________________ D15. What is your sexual orientation?  Heterosexual  Bisexual  Lesbian  Identify in another way  Gay  go to D15a D15a. If you identify in another way, how would you describe your sexual orientation?  Asexual  Questioning  Pansexual  Not listed, I identify as:  Queer ____________________________ Thank you! Please return the completed survey in the postage-paid envelope to: National Research Center, Inc., PO Box 549, Belle Mead, NJ 08502 Results for Palo Alto, CA Community Survey January 2023 Civic Communication & Analytics Platform Smarter, better connected communities. A civic surveying, policy polling, and constituent communication tech platform. Advanced Survey Science & Performance Analytics Data insights to help communities move forward. The premiere provider of professional civic surveys and performance benchmarking analyses. Exclusive partners of:Questions about our product? Visit www.polco.us to learn more Monitor trends in resident opinion Measure government performance Benchmarking to other communities Inform budget, land use, strategic planning decisions Role of Resident Surveys in Local Governance Polco’s Benchmarking Database More than 500 comparison communities across the nation. Representing the opinions of more than 50 million residents. ●18th time conducting the Palo Alto Community Survey ●Previous surveys in 2003-2018; 2020 ●Survey conducted from October 26 to December 19, 2022 ●“Hybrid” mailing approach employed: ●Probability-based sample of 3,600 households ●1,800 postcard/web invite only; 1,800 paper surveys ●398 total responses received (12% overall response rate) ●2020: 768 responses, 22% response rate ●Non-probability, open-participation sample: 116 responses ●Results statistically weighted to reflect Palo Alto overall ●95% confidence interval with a +/-5% margin of error Survey Methodology Overview of Survey Results Comparisons to National Benchmarks 68 received similar ratings 8 received ratings lower than the benchmarks 21 received ratings higher than the benchmarks Comparisons to Previous Survey Year 113 received similar ratings 27 received lower ratings 24 received higher ratings Key Findings Residents rate the quality of life in Palo Alto highly. Key Finding #1: About 9 in 10 residents gave excellent or good ratings to: Overall Community Quality About 8 in 10 residents also: -Gave favorable ratings to Palo Alto as a place to work -Would recommend living in Palo Alto to someone who asks -Palo Alto as a place to raise children -Neighborhood as a place to live -Overall quality of life in Palo Alto Higher than national benchmarks While residents value City services and events, civic participation has decreased. Key Finding #2: Use of City Services & Civic Participation Percent that have done each in the past 12 months 21% 23% 45% 47% 60% 72% 77% 0%20%40%60%80%100% Attended a local public meeting Watched (online or on television) a local public meeting Attended a City-sponsored event Used Palo Alto centers or their facilities Used the City's website to conduct business or pay bills Used Palo Alto public libraries or their services Voted in your most recent local election Civic Engagement & Communication 56%56%51% 46% 2017 2018 2021 2022 THE JOB PALO ALTO GOVERNMENT DOES AT WELCOMING RESIDENT INVOLVEMENT 58% Contacted the City for help or information Percent that have done each in the past 12 months Residents value Palo Alto’s natural environment. Key Finding #3: Natural Environment City parks Palo Alto open space Preservation of natural areas83% Percent excellent or good 88% Overall quality of natural environment in Palo Alto 93% 92% Affordability and cost of living continue to be community concerns. Key Finding #4: Affordability & Cost of Living 6% Availability of affordable quality housing 41% Affordable high-speed internet Percent excellent or good 21% Variety of housing options 5% Cost of living Residents are supportive of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Key Finding #5: Public Trust Greenhouse Gas Emissions Somewhat important 10% Not at all important 14%Essential 42% Very important 34% How important, if at all, you think it is for the Palo Alto community to focus on reducing community greenhouse gas emissions? About 8 in 10 residents would be somewhat or very likely to: •replace their gas furnace with a heat pump HVAC system when ready to replace the furnace •replace their gas water heater with a heat pump water heater when ready to replace the water heater 1.Residents rate the quality of life in Palo Alto highly. 2.While residents value City services and events, civic participation has decreased. 3.Residents value Palo Alto’s natural environment. 4.Affordability and cost of living continue to be community concerns. 5.Residents are supportive of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Conclusions Questions? Thank you! Jade Arocha, MSDirector of Survey Research jade@polco.us Kim Daane, MSSurvey Research Associate kim@polco.us