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GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY
PERSPECTIVE
thegrandvision.org
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A Grand Traverse County PerspectiveThis summary report includes information from previously released reports.
Original reports were prepared by:
Fregonese Associates
Mead&Hunt
Harris Interactive
Grand Vision Public Involvement Committee
Public Policy Associates, Inc.
Information was compiled by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments for the purposes of this
summary in September 2009.
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Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Public Participation and Outreach 6
Values Survey Data and Comparison with Regional Results 12
Scorecard Results 20
Follow Up Survey 28
The Grand Vision 34
Appendices
Appendix A: Grand Vision Coordinating Group Representative Agencies 38
Appendix B: Grand Vision Consultant Team 39
Appendix C: Grand Vision Champions 40
Appendix D: Scorecard Responses 41
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 1
The Grand Vision is a citizen-led vision for the
future of transportation, land use, economic de-
velopment, and environmental stewardship in
Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Lee-
lanau, and Wexford Counties. The Grand Vision
was created with input from thousands of citi-
zens and was supported by dozens of commu-
nity partners throughout the regionincluding
private, nonprofit, and public agencieswith
financial backing from local, county, state, and
federal units of government as well as both pri-
vate and public organizations This unprece-
dented collaboration has resulted in a vision for
the regions future that will enhance our sense of
place, building the foundation for a strong econ-
omy while preserving those parts of our commu-
nities that are most important to residents.
This report summarizes the process and results
of the Grand Vision region-wide, while highlight-
ing Grand Traverse County results in
terms of public participation, the
Grand Traverse County workshop,
values survey data, scorecard results,
and follow-up survey data. Grand
Traverse County data are shown in a
side-by-side comparison with regional
data, to demonstrate how Grand
Traverse County results play out in
the regional Grand Vision. It is hoped
that this information will be valuable in
any Grand Vision implementation ac-
tivities that may occur in the County
and in other future planning efforts in the com-
munity.
Data and analysis was excerpted from previ-
ously released reports including:
Grand Vision Public Involvement Committee
2007-08 Report
Values research survey; analysis conducted
by Harris Interactive, Inc., November 2008
Scorecard results; analysis by Fregonese
Associates, January 2009
Grand Vision 2009 Public Opinion Survey
Results; conducted by Public Policy Associ-
ates, Inc., March-April 2009
Copies of the reports are provided as an attach-
ment to this summary and are also available
online at www.thegrandvision.org.
Introduction
The Grand Vision:
A Grand Traverse County Perspective
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 2
Please note that a transportation-specific report,
Travel Demand Model Methodology, is forthcom-
ing; data was not available at the time this report
was completed.
History
The process leading up to the Grand Vision be-
gan with a conflict over a proposed connection
of Hartman and Hammond Roads in Grand
Traverse County, south of Traverse City. Be-
cause of disagreement over the advantages and
disadvantages of this connection, the proposal
was put on hold to allow the community to study
its impacts in more detail. In the spring of 2005,
$3.3 million in federal transportation money wasreallocated from plans for the bypass and given
to the Grand Traverse area for the creation and
implementation of a comprehensive, multimodal
transportation plan.
To ensure that this planning process would be
accountable, transparent, representative, and
citizen-focused, the Grand Traverse County
Board of Commissioners created and appointed
the Land Use & Transportation CoordinatingGroup (LUTS), now known as the Grand Vision
Coordinating Group. This body included a
broadly representative group of citizens con-
cerned about transportation and land use issues
including county representatives from Antrim,
Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau,
and Wexford Counties; transportation agencies;
business leaders; environmental organizations;
township, city, and tribal representatives; educa-
tional institutions; nonprofits; and the general
public (list of representatives included in Appen-
dix A). These members acted with the following
mission:
Our mission is to use a transparent and citizen
led discussion and process to ensure the devel-
opment of a community vision, plans for the fu-
ture, and projects that address land use and
transportation challenges facing the region.
The Coordinating Group developed a request for
proposals for a study and process that wouldmeet the groups mission of transparency and
public involvement while addressing transporta-
tion and land use in a comprehensive plan. Us-
ing $1.3 million of the reallocated transportation
dollars, the Coordinating Group hired a consult-
ant team led by Mead & Hunt that included
Robert Grow and John Fregonese, the nations
foremost experts in scenario planning and public
participation (for consultant bios, see Appendix
B). The process was to begin with public plan-
ning workshops that would ask citizens to de-
velop different scenarios for the future. Consult-
ants would show how these scenarios would
move traffic, develop land, and supply housing;
then the public would be asked to choose the
scenario that best fits the future of the region.
The LUTS Coordinating Group recognized early
on that transportation issues in Grand Traverse
County were directly and significantly impacted
by surrounding counties. In 2007 and 2008, the
study was expanded to include Antrim, Benzie,
Kalkaska, Leelanau, and Wexford Counties. The
expansion of the study increased the total cost
of the study by $240,000. The added cost was
funded by a combination of sources including
the Michigan Department of Transportation
($100,000), the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa
and Chippewa Indians ($50,000), Traverse City
Area Chamber of Commerce ($10,000), North-
western Michigan College ($10,000), MunsonHealthcare ($10,000), and county contributions
from Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska, Leelanau, and
Wexford counties, totaling $30,000.
Study Process
In September 2007, LUTS became The Grand
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 3
Vision; and the citizen input phase of the project
began on October 17,2007, with a scenario
planning workshop at the Park Place Hotel in
Traverse City. The event was widely publicized
throughout the region, resulting in high atten-dance: over 500 participants from all counties in
the region worked in groups of 6-10 to create
maps showing their vision for land use over the
next 50 years. Subsequent workshops were held
throughout the winter and spring of 2008. Small
area workshops, focusing in-depth on Traverse
City, Acme, and Interlochen were held in Febru-
ary 2008; and two regional transportation work-
shops were held on March 20, 2008. Participa-
tion levels for all workshops were high, totaling
several hundred participants (see Table 4,
Grand Vision Participation, page 11). Work-
shops focusing specifically on Antrim, Benzie,
Kalkaska, Leelanau, and Wexford Counties were
held in each county in May 2008.
At the scenario planning workshops, consultants
presented information on current growth patterns
and discussed how our population will change in
the coming years. Citizens were provided with a
large map and asked to identify transportation
changes and future locations of agriculture, open
space and different development types using
special stickers, or chips, that reflected the
amount of population growth the region will ex-
Grand Vision Scorecard
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 4
perience through 2060. Participants worked in
groups of 6-10, discussing chip locations in de-
tail along with their values and concerns relative
to each land use type; comments were written
on the maps and were included in later analysesof the maps. Results and methodology for the
workshops in Grand Traverse County are de-
tailed in the Socio-Economic Report developed
by Mead&Hunt (currently in draft form). Work-
shop maps are available online at
www.thegrandvision.org.
Based on the input received at the workshops, a
random-sample survey was designed by Harris
Interactive, a national polling firm. This survey
questioned participants on their values and con-
cerns. Results were accurate to the county level.
Survey results and workshop maps were ana-
lyzed to develop four different scenarios that
would reflect different public preferences and
development patterns. Each scenario included
indicators relative to housing units, land con-
sumed, annual driving hours and gas expenses,
and cost of lane miles (see Table 1 for scenarios
and descriptions).
These scenarios were presented in a Grand Vi-
sion scorecard that asked for input on the four
scenarios. The scorecard provided information
and graphics on how each scenario would im-
pact the number of housing units, investments in
road lane miles, and acres of land consumed.
Questions asked participants to choose which
scenario they felt did the best job of promoting
the values that were identified during the valuessurvey and workshop process; and additional
questions asked for input on transportation in-
vestments, housing types, and other land use
patterns.
The Grand Vision scorecard was printed and
distributed throughout the region in early Octo-
ber 2008, and was also made available online at
www.thegrandvision.org. A total of 11,603 score-
cards were received in a three week time period.
Results were reviewed and analyzed to develop
the preferred scenario, which included ele-ments of all scenarios with a focus on scenario
C otherwise known as the village-based sce-
nario. This preferred scenario was presented to
the public in February 2009 with a public com-
ment period open through March 2009. After
additional public input was received, the sce-
nar io was fur ther ref ined into a
preferred scenario that became the Grand Vi-
sion. The Grand Vision was further tested in
April 2009 through a random-sample survey that
asked respondents questions based both on the
survey, and on the final Grand Vision.
The Grand Vision
The Grand Vision is a vision of regional growth
that is built on public input. While it represents
one of the regions most far-reaching planning
efforts and reflects our communitys highest pri-
orities, the Grand Vision has no authority to re-
quire change. Making the Grand Vision a reality
will require policy changes, new models for de-
velopment, and innovative new programsall of
which will require cooperation between organiza-
tions and across governmental boundaries. In
precisely the same spirit of cooperation that cre-
ated the Grand Vision, implementation of the
Grand Vision will depend on the participation
and collaboration of local and county govern-
ments, citizens, and private, nonprofit, and pub-
lic organizations. To facilitate this collaboration,
Grand Vision stakeholders have endorsed an
implementation structure that will invite broad
participation and representation through a Grand
Vision partnership and working group structure.
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 5
NewHous-
ingUnits
in
Walk-
ableAreas
Acresof
Farmand
ForestLand
Consumed
NewHomes
andMulti-
familyUnits
Annual
HoursSpent
DrivingPer
Person
Total
Costof
Lane
Miles
Needed
Annu
al
Housh
old
GasE
x-
pendit
ure
Annual
Tonsof
CO2
Emis-
sions
ScenarioA:Futuregrowthwillfollowtheexistingtrendof
low-densitydevelopmentin
ruralareas,withminimalgrowth
inexistingcitiesandvilla
ges.Transportationinvestments
willbelargelyinwidened
roadwaysforcommuters,and
includesomemulti-usetrails,butminimalinvestmentsin
busserviceandwalkability.
2,010
6,566
(farmland)
7,460(forest)
3,296
(multi-family
)
21,041
(single
family)
227
$142
million
$2,83
5
1.2
million
ScenarioB:Futuregrowth
willoccurinruralareas,butwith
newhomesclusteredtomaximizeopenspace,andminimal
growthinexistingcitiesan
dvillages.Transportationinvest-
mentswillbelargelyinneworwidenedroadwaysforcom-
muters.Thisscenarioinclu
dessomeinvestmentinwalking
andbicyclingtrailsbutthe
effectivenessoftransitandwalk-
abilityforcommutingislimitedbylowdensities.
4,666
8,244
(farmland)
14,232
(forest)
6,049
(multi-family
)
18,581
(single
fam
-
ily)
212
$86mil-
lion
$2,72
1
1.14
million
Scenario
C:Futuregrowthwilloccurprimarilyinthere-
gionscitiesandvillages,w
ithadditionalgrowthinthemain
citiesofTraverseCityand
Cadillac.Largeamountsofrural
openspacearepreserved.Thisdevelopmentpatternwill
requireinvestmentsinregionalbusservice,sidewalks,and
biketrailsinvillagesand
cities,withsomeinvestmentsin
neworwidenedroadways.
4430
2,079
(farmland)
2,469(forest)
10,100(multi-
family)
15,466
(single
family)
208
$78mil-
lion
$2,60
8
1.13
million
Scenario
D:Futurehousingdevelopmentandjobgrowth
willoccurprimarilyintheregionstwomaincities,Traverse
CityandCadillac.Largea
mountsofruralopenspaceare
preserved.Thisdevelopme
ntpatternwillrequireinvestment
inurbanbuscirculators,
sidewalks,andbikingpathsin
thosetwomaincities.This
scenariohaslimitedinvestment
inneworwidenedroadway
s.
5,970
1,968
(farmland)
2,173(forest)
10,100
(multi-family
)
15,466
(single
family)
189
$58mil-
lion
$2,38
1
1.04
million
Table1:FutureGrowthSce
narios:DescriptionsandMeasu
rements
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 6
Public input and involvement formed the founda-
tion of the Grand Vision process. To help en-
courage this involvement, a subcommittee of the
Coordinating Group, known as the Public In-
volvement Committee (PIC), became active in
October 2007. The group included consultants,
staff, and volunteers throughout the six-county
region, and met weekly to develop strategies
that would result in maximum participation levels
and awareness throughout the region. The com-mittee developed a comprehensive marketing
and communications plan that focused on
hands-on involvement through a series of large
and small events, direct communication, earned
media exposure, and targeted communications
to youth and seniors.
Public events. Numerous presentations
were provided to the general public, local
service groups, human service collaborativegroups, chambers of commerce, local and
county governments, and many
other organizations. Presentations
were provided by a speakers
bureau consisting of consultants
and PIC members.
Displays and materials. Informa-
tional displays including banners,
posters, update newsletters,
bumper stickers, informational
tool kits, PowerPoint presenta-
tions, and distribution and collec-
tion boxes were made available to
all interested citizens; with dis-
plays and materials set up at
high-traffic community events and
locations.
Direct mail. Postcards were mailed to every
household in each county announcing the
scorecard kickoffs and encouraging readers
to fill out their scorecard. An additional post-
card with a similar message was sent to
each American Association of Retired Per-
sons (AARP) member household, allowing
the PIC to reinforce the message with an
audience that was less likely to use the
Internet. Earned media. Regular press releases
were issued to update the public on the lat-
est Grand Vision events and progress.
Email blasts. Viral networking was used to
communicate directly with groups and indi-
viduals; announcements and updates were
frequently emailed to interested parties and
passed on to associated individuals, and
stories were shared in newsletters and
meetings.
Public Participation & Outreach
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 7
www.thegrandvision.org. A website was
developed to store and promote the project,
including comprehensive information such
as:
Reports and maps Opportunities for engagement
Update emails generated through an
automated mailing list
Easy-to-use forums
Videos
Dynamic calendar of events
Social networking links
Connection to resources
Paid media. Advertisements were printed in
newspapers and aired on television; bill-board advertisements were displayed along
South Airport Road and U.S 31 in East Bay
Township.
Champions. Champions are community
leaders with the ability to convene key local
constituenciesincluding representatives
from businesses, philanthropy, and other
community organizations. Champions were
committed to an open, citizen-led planning
process, willing to speak in support of the
project, and dedicated to ensuring measur-
able outcomes that would benefit future gen-
erations. These individuals were instrumen-tal in building public support for the project.
Youth Outreach. A comprehensive out-
reach effort was directed towards the re-
gions youth, through assemblies, classroom
presentations, online networking sites, and
school scorecard distribution. Every local
school program in the region was able to
involve their high school students in the
scorecard process in October 2008.
Senior Outreach. More than 21,700 AARPmember households received Grand Vision/
AARP postcards.
Scorecard distribution. A scorecard distri-
bution strategy was created to ensure
awareness and availability of the scorecard
to all audiences in the region.
Event Description Date Location
Regional VisioniongWorkshop
Visioning Workshop October 17,2007
Park Place Hotel
Small Area Work-shopTraverse City
Visioning Workshop January 23,2008
NMC Hagerty Cen-ter
Small Area Work-shopAcme
Visioning Workshop January 24,2009
Grand TraverseResort
Small Area Work-
shopInterlochen
Visioning Workshop January 24,
2008
Great Wolf Lodge
Transportation Work-shop (2)
Visioning Workshop March 20,2008
Grand TraverseCounty Civic Center
Grand Vision Score-card Kickoff
Presentation on scorecard to encouragemaximum response
October 7,2008
Traverse City StateTheater
Table 2: Grand Vision Events in Grand Traverse County
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 8
These activities were critical in achieving the
Grand Visions unprecedented level of public
participation. However, because they were not
funded by the original contract, a great deal of
fundraising was necessary to cover the ex-penses of communication activities. $160,000
was raised by the PIC from local foundations.
Report Card
More than 15,700 people participated in some
way in the Grand Vision processmore than
8.5% of the regions population. The participa-
tion on a per capita basis exceeds some of the
most highly successful public involvement plan-
ning efforts ever conducted across the country.
Data collected by the PIC shows that youth and
senior outreach was particularly effective, with
nearly 27% of scorecards completed by individu-
als age 15-19; and 14% completed by those
aged 65 years and older.
The Grand Vision outreach and communication
efforts were analyzed by the PIC through various
demographic surveys and reports in order to
determine the level at which various populations
participated. The demographic breakdowns of
Grand Vision participants are shown in Table 3.
The PIC report detailing activities, including the
groups marketing plan and budget, accompa-
nies this report and is also available online at
www.thegrandvision.org.
Grand Traverse County Participation
To encourage public involvement in each
county, the regional PIC engaged stakeholders
in each county to identify strategies specific to
that county. These county stakeholders worked
with the PIC to schedule event dates and loca-
tions, distribute scorecards, and plan presenta-
tions and events (see Table 2 for events and
dates).
Public events were held in Grand Traverse
County throughout 2007-2008.
Grand Traverse County Scorecard Outreach
Scorecards were easily available both in printand online. Postcards were also mailed to every
household in October 2008 announcing the
scorecard, directing readers to the website, and
encouraging them to fill out their scorecard. For
those without internet access, a toll free number
was provided on the scorecard, allowing readers
to call and have a scorecard mailed directly to
them.
Scorecard kickoffs were held in each county to
provide an update and to introduce the score-
card. These events successfully energized the
community, provided an opportunity for earned
media coverage, and kicked off the three-week
scorecard collection period. The Grand Traverse
County Scorecard Kickoff was held October 13,
2008.
A key element of the scorecard strategy was the
need to make scorecards easily available to all
individuals throughout the region. Scorecard
distribution and collection boxes were set up in
high-traffic locations including:
Fieldstone DeliLong Lake
Rics Food CenterInterlochen
Government CenterTraverse City
Chamber of CommerceTraverse City
Fife Lake Village Market
Olesons Food StoreTraverse City
Toms Food MarketWest Bay
Toms Food MarketEast Bay
Toms Food MarketAcme
Northland FoodsKingsley
Osterlin LibraryNMC
BATA Transfer StationTraverse City
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 9
Grand Traverse Mall
Traverse Area District Library
Peninsula Township Library
Fife Lake Library
Interlochen Library
East Bay Library
Kingsley Library
Buckley Community Schools
Grand Traverse Academy
Kingsley Area Public Schools
Traverse City West Senior High School
Traverse City Central High School
TBA-Career Technical Center
Traverse City College Preparatory Academy Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools
Traverse City Christian Schools
Public involvement and scorecard distribution
efforts in Grand Traverse County and throughout
the region resulted in an enormous scorecard
response. 6,447 scorecards were received from
Grand Traverse County, or about 8% of the
Countys population; 11,600 responses were
received region-wide. These response ratesdemonstrate a level of awareness and interest in
a planning process that is unprecedented in our
region.
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 10
Table3:GRA
NDVISIONSCOR
ECARDS
D
emographicbreakdown
AsofDecember3,2008
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
COUNTYOFRESIDENCE
#
%
ofallre-
spondents
Goal(
10%of
population)
Population
%
of6-
county
total
Antrim
1209
10.0%
2,311
23110
12.5%
Benzie
963
7.9%
1,600
15998
8.7%
GrandTraverse
6486
53.4%
7,765
77654
42.0%
Kalkaska
536
4.4%
1,657
16,571
9.0%
Leelanau
1772
14.6%
2,112
21,119
11.4%
Wexford
755
6.2%
3,048
30,484
16.5%
Others
420
3.5%
0.0%
TOTAL
12141
100.0%
18,494
184936
AGE
#
%
ofallre-
spondents
6-countytotal
%
of6-
county
total
An-
trim
Ben-
zie
Grand
Traverse
Kal-
kaska
Lee-
lanau
Wex-
ford
15-19
3188
27.3%
12,959
8.8%
1
,497
950
5566
1155
1414
2377
20-24
552
4.7%
8,868
6.0%
969
679
4118
835
741
1526
25-44
2263
19.4%
51,613
35.2%
5
,843
4331
23044
4734
5106
8555
45-65
4067
34.9%
46,068
31.4%
6
,139
4127
18627
4060
5980
7135
65+
1598
13.7%
27,205
18.5%
4
,033
2803
10144
2278
3669
4278
TOTAL
11668
100.0%
146,713
100.0%
18,481
12,890
61,499
13,062
16,910
23,871
LENGTHOFRESIDENCE
TOTAL
%
ofallre-
spondents
Full-time
10646
94.0%
Part-time
674
6.0%
TOTAL
11320
100.0%
RURAL/SUBURBAN/CITY
TOTAL
%
ofallre-
spondents
Rural
5142
45.2%
Surburban
2625
45.2%
City
3604
31.7%
TOTAL
11371
122.1%
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 11
Table 4: Grand Vision ParticipationAs of December 3, 2008
EVENT DATE Atten-dance Scenario mapscreated
Forum posts as of 5/1/08 27 0
Opening Workshop 10/17/2007 450 41
Central City Workshop 1/23/2008 240 30
East Arm/Acme workshop 1/24/2008 144 18
Southwest-Interlochen workshop 1/24/2008 120 15
TC West High School Workshop 3/10/2008 410 0
TC Central High School Workshop 3/10/2008 320 0
Transportation workshop - afternoon 3/20/2008 168 21
Transportation workshop - evening 3/20/2008 224 28
Antrim County Workshop 5/27/2008 150 16
Benzie County Workshop 5/28/2008 180 19
Kalkaska County Workshop 5/7/2008 195 18
Leelanau County Workshop 5/8/2008 205 20
Wexford County Workshop 5/27/2008 75 10
Community Values Survey - phone June 2008 476 n/a
Values survey participants 5/1/2008 504 n/a
Advanced Strategy Lab 6/2/2008 50 n/a
TOTAL SCENARIO MAPS 236
TOTAL SCORECARDS 11,603
Comments on draft Vision spring 2009
Random survey on draft Vision spring 2009
TOTAL PARTICIPANTS* 15,541
POPULATION PROVIDING INPUT 8.5%
Total information session participants 2007-2008
*Includes duplicates
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 12
A values survey was conducted by Harris Inter-
active in July 2008, with a goal of assessing val-
ues of those living in the region. The survey was
conducted to ensure that regional planning and
visioning process of the Grand Vision will protect
and promote the things about which the popula-
tion cares most. 547 interviews were conducted
by phone across the region. 163 interviews were
conducted in Grand Traverse County, enabling
county-level analysis. Data was weighted to
match US Census information for age, gender,
race/ethnicity, household income and county.
The margin of error is +/- 5.6%.
Following is an excerpt from the Harris Interac-
tive survey report, with additional charts and in-
formation specific to Grand Traverse County.
Complete survey results by county accompany
this report and are also available online at
www.thegrandvision.org.
Methodology
Harris designed a two-stage research study. The
qualitative research stage identified values im-
portant to residents. These values were con-
firmed in quantitative surveys representing the
population of the six-county Grand Traverse re-
gion.
The survey showed that residents in the regionhave similar values, despite their county of resi-
dence, and enjoy a high quality of life from living
in a scenic area, having access to nature, sur-
rounded by friends and family, and experiencing
little crime. Some of the themes that emerged for
the region include (excerpted from the Harris
report):
Residents of the Grand Traverse Region are
more positive about their quality of life than
the rest of the country and are more optimis-
tic about their futures.
Residents in the region are more
likely to feel their communities are
headed in the right direction than therest of the country 52% vs. 39%.
They are less likely to believe their
children and grandchildren will ex-
perience a decrease in quality of life.
Differences exist between counties:
Overall residents of Leelanau,
Grand Traverse, Wexford have a
more positive orientation, while An-
trim residents lean more negatively.
Kalkaska residents say they are
headed in the wrong direction pres-
ently, but are optimistic it will im-
prove. Wexford residents are am-
bivalent, with no clear orientation
emerging.
A number of issues figure prominently in
residents minds. The strong positive feel-
ings about local natural beauty/outdoor rec-
reation and friends and family clearly out-
weigh the concerns over availability of jobs
and a somewhat high cost of living.
In the eyes of most residents, economic
growth and developmentoutweigh the need
to protect the environment. While this is
common during periods of economic turmoil,
Values Survey
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 13
Of the following, what is MOST Important to you?
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18%
Having fr iends or f amily in the area
Plenty of jobs or w ork available
Scenic beauty of the region and having access to nature
Low crime
High cost of living
A family-f riendly environment
High quality education system
Clean lakes and rivers
Rural areas and open space
Outdoor recreation opportunities
Friendly people or neighbors
Planning for grow th
The weather or c limate
Adequate roads and transportation infrastructure
Being close to places like schools, stores or f reew ays
Quiet neighborhoods
Grand Traverse
Region
Quality of Life (QOL): Present, Past and Future
1 = Worst; 10 = Best
6.6
6.8
7
7.2
7.4
7.6
7.8
8
Present QOL QOL 5 yrs ago QOL 5 yrs in future
Grand Traverse
Region
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 14
the level of importance placed on protecting
the environment is uncommonly high in the
Grand Traverse region compared to senti-
ments across the rest of the nation. More-
over, momentum over the past few years
has been has been towards greater support
for environmental protection.
Residents throughout the region express
high levels of support for smart growth
strategies such as clustering homes on
smaller lots, creating walkable communities,
building affordable housing, and expanding
public transportation. Harris reports that ex-
perience in other smart growth research
around the country reveals that the Grand
Traverse region demonstrates uncharacter-
istically high levels of smart growth support
for a region that has such a high number of
rural residents.
Residents place a high priority on regional
planning and creating a vision for the region
and feel that efforts up to this point have
mostly been only fair or poor.
The core value that shapes feelings and
choices about life in the Grand Traverse re-
gion centers around a feeling of peace of
mind. Residents of this region feel a keen
Of the following, what is the SECOND most important to you?
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%
Scenic beauty of the region and having access to nature
A family-f riendly environment
Plenty of jobs or w ork available
Having friends or family in the area
Low crime
High cost of living
High quality education system
Clean lakes and rivers
Outdoor recreation opportunities
Rural areas and open space
Friendly people or neighbors
Quiet neighborhoods
Planning for grow th
The w eather or c limate
Adequate roads and transportation infrastructure
Being close to places like schools, stores or f reew aysGrand
TraverseRegion
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 15
sense of peace of mind that emanates pri-
marily from their enjoyment of the scenic
beauty and access to the outdoors. In addi-
tion, the strong sense of community and
family of the region also contributes to their
peace of mind.
Life in the Grand Traverse Region
Quality of Life (QOL) Assessment of
Grand Traverse Region
When this survey was conducted in July 2008,
residents of the Grand Traverse Region were
generally more optimistic than the rest of the
country. One in two said things in their commu-
nity are going in the right direction (GT: 52%;
US: 39%). When thinking about the more dis-tant future, residents of the Grand Traverse Re-
gion also express a more sanguine outlook: they
are less likely than Americans nationwide to say
that the quality of life for their children and
grandchildren would decrease (42% vs. 56%).
Perspectives, however, differ by county: a major-
ity of residents in Leelanau, Benzie and Grand
Traverse counties have a generally positive out-
look; those in Antrim and Kalkaska counties aresomewhat more pessimistic, while residents of
Wexford County are largely split.
There is a timeless high quality of life in the
Grand Traverse region. Residents of the Grand
Traverse region are satisfied with the quality of
life today and believe it will improve in the next
five years. Other Americans, while also content,
do not rate their quality of life as highly. On a ten
point scale, with 10 representing the best possi-
ble lifeand 1 representing the worst possible life,
residents of the Grand Traverse Region rate
their quality of life presently as 7.1, about 1 point
higher than other Americans (6.1). Thinking
about five years in the future, residents of the
Grand Traverse Region believe their quality of
life will climb to 7.5 ahead of the rest of the na-
tion at 6.8.
Quality of life differs across the region: Leelanau
residents report the highest QOL for the present
and the future (8.1; 8.1). Kalkaska residents say
they have the lowest QOL in the region presently
(6.3), but are most optimistic about its improve-
ment in the future (Present: 6.3; Future: 7.2; In-
crease: +0.9). Residents of Antrim county noted
a decline in overall quality of life, reporting QOL
of 7.8 five years ago, 7.1 currently and 6.8 in the
future the sole county to register a negative
trend from the present to the future.
Factors in Quality of Life AssessmentQuality of life is subjective an issue that is
most important to one resident may be trivial to
her neighbor. Through qualitative work in the
Grand Traverse Region, Harris Interactive identi-
fied the key drivers of qualify of life mentioned by
area residents. From this list of factors, residents
in the quantitative survey were asked which ele-
ments have the most significant impact on their
quality of life.
Overall, residents mention the area's scenic
beauty most often (39%), followed by the family-
friendly environment (32%), availability of jobs
(32%), the presence of family and friends (31%)
and the high cost of living (31%).
As each resident could list up to three elements
that impact their quality of life, it is often useful to
look at which issues were mentioned first. These
'top of mind' issues are more salient in resident's
minds than they may appear in the rankings
overall. Having friends and family in the area
(16%) and the availability of jobs (15%) were
mentioned first most often, followed by scenic
beauty (11%), the high cost of living (10%) and
low crime (10%). The differences in the rank or-
dering of these issues depending on whether the
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 16
first mention or all mention are tallied indicates
that the relative position of the issue is less im-
portant rather these issues together can be
viewed as playing an important role in how resi-
dents assess their quality of life.
Attitudes Toward Growth
Economic Development versus Envi-
ronmental Protection
A majority of residents of the Grand Traverse
Region prioritize economic growth and develop-
ment over protecting the environment. Nonethe-
less, there is evidence of the important role that
nature and the environment play in how resi-
dents think about the region. Forty-two percent
of residents assert protecting the environment isof greater importance fifteen points higher than
Americans nationwide (27%) despite the eco-
nomic downturn.
Opinion on the role of the priority of economic
development varies by county. Two-thirds of
residents of the Antrim, Kalkaska and Wexford
counties say economic development is more
important versus less than half of resident of the
other counties. In Benzie, Leelanau and GrandTraverse, all of which border the water, residents
split nearly evenly as to whether the environ-
ment or the economy should take priority.
Both of these issues have become more impor-
tant over the past five years according to resi-
dents. Those who prefer protecting the environ-
ment are somewhat more likely to believe that it
has become more important in the past five
years than those supporters of economic growth
and development (72% vs. 60%). Most notable,
however, is that a majority of both groups indi-
cate that their respective issue has gained in
importance, evidence that neither is the domi-
nant priority of the region.
Density of Future Development
Greater density in future development enjoys
widespread support in the Grand Traverse Re-
gion. By a margin of two to one, residents say
they would prefer to see future growth occur in
existing communities rather than through the
creation of new towns in yet undeveloped areas
(69% vs. 27%). The margin contracts somewhat
when asked about their preference on specific
housing design clustering homes on smaller
lots to preserve space (55%) versus using
homes on larger lots without neighborhood parks
(39%) -- however, a majority still support greater
density in housing development.
Support for greater density is greater among
residents with higher educational attainment.
Ninety percent of residents with a post-BA edu-
cation prefer to see future growth occur in exist-
ing communities and nearly three-quarters would
select communities that cluster homes to pre-
serve open space (73%).
Strategies for Growth
There are exceptionally high levels of support fora variety of smart growth strategies. Over four in
five residents of the Grand Traverse Region sup-
port creating walkable neighborhoods (90%),
locating places of residential and employment
areas closer together (88%), preserving agricul-
tural and open space (85%; 82%), encouraging
more affordable housing (85%) and locating new
growth in existing development areas (80%).
Support for these growth strategies is relatively
consistent across the different counties.
Less popular strategies, however, reveal differ-
ences in preferences and priorities across the
region:
While preserving open space generally
receives high marks, building homes
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 17
with smaller yards to preserve forest
land garners significant support in Lee-
lanau and Benzie counties (78%, 68%),
but markedly less support in Wexford
and Kalkaska counties (47%, 44%).
Overall, highway related strategies are
not popular but widening existing free-
ways earns support from two in three
residents of Antrim and Kalkaska resi-
dents (63%, 60%). Residents of Wexford
county in particular offer little support for
this strategy (37%).
Locating growth in the Traverse City
area is, not surprisingly, more popular in
Grand Traverse county (55%). Resi-
dents in Kalkaska and Wexford countiesoffer less support (28%, 34%)
Multi-family housing enjoys mixed support as a
growth strategy for the Grand Traverse Region.
Seventy percent of area residents agree that a
range of housing types should be planned and
built and three-quarters of residents would en-
courage mixed-use housing. When asked about
building multi-family housing in their community
or area, residents are largely split --- fifty-twopercent would support this type of construction,
while forty-three percent would oppose.
Providing affordable housing options is the main
driver behind support for multi-family housing.
Nine in ten area residents say that providing an
affordable option to young people and seniors
would make multi-family housing more accept-
able. Multi-story buildings are the least attractive
potential aspect of multi-family housing with
barely half of residents (54%) saying that it
would make such a proposal more acceptable.
Grand Traverse County Results
Complete survey results, and the accompanying
report from Harris Interactive, are attached to
this report. Some highlights for Grand Traverse
County include:
The two most important quality of life attrib-
utes in Grand Traverse County were having
friends or family in the area and the scenic
beauty of the region.
Grand Traverse County respondents indi-
cated the strongest support for the following
two growth strategies:
It should be convenient to walk or
bike in new developing areas (91%
agree)
New jobs should be located closer
to where people live (90% agree)
The two least popular growth strategies for
Grand Traverse County are most new
housing should be separated from jobs and
existing centers, with 54% of respondents
in disagreement with this statement; and
more regional freeways should be built,
with 47% of respondents in disagreement
with this statement.
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 18
Total Somewhat/Strongly AGREE
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100
%
It should be convenient to w alk or bike in new developing areas.
New jobs should be located closer to w here people live
The development of more affordable housing should be encouraged
Agriculture should be preserved even if it means limiting some
development opportunities
Open space should be preserved even if it means limiting some
development opportunities
New grow th should be directed primarily to existing cities, tow ns
and villages.
Q1210K More mixed use development should be encouraged
Regional mass transit should be expanded
New grow th should be focused along major roads and highw ays.
range of housing types or sizes should be planned for and built
New housing and jobs should be spread out to avoid crow ding.
Cities and tow ns should build more homes w ith smaller yards or
apartments in order to preserve farm and forest lands.
Existing regional freew ays should be w idened
Grow th should be located mainly in the Traverse City part of the
region
Most new housing should be separated f rom jobs and existing
centers
More regional freew ays should be built Grand Traverse
Region
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 19
Total Strongly/Somewhat DISAGREE
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
More regional freew ays should be built
Most new housing should be separated f rom jobs & existing
centers
Grow th should be located mainly in the Traverse City part of the
region
Existing regional freew ays should be w idened
Cities & tow ns should build more homes w / smaller yards/
apartments to preserve farm & forest lands.
New housing & jobs should be spread out to avoid crow ding.
A range of housing types or sizes should be planned for & built
New grow th should be focused along major roads & highw ays.
New grow th should be directed primarily to existing cities, towns
& villages.
Regional mass transit should be expanded
More mixed use development should be encouraged
Open space should be preserved even if it means limiting some
development opportunities
Agriculture should be preserved even if it means limiting some
development opportunities
The development of more affordable housing should be
encouraged
New jobs should be located closer to w here people live
It should be convenient to w alk or bike in new developing areas. Grand Traverse
Region
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 20
To determine the publics preferred growth sce-
nario, Grand Vision consultants developed a
scorecard that asked for input on the four sce-
narios. The values survey results and workshop
input formed the basis for the scenarios and
questions that were presented in the scorecard.
The scorecard provided information on how
each scenario would affect land use and trans-
portation indicators such as the number of hous-
ing units, investments in road lane miles, and
acres of land consumed. Questions asked par-
ticipants to choose which scenario they felt did
the best job of promoting the values that were
identified during the values survey and workshop
process; and questions in the second portion of
the scorecard asked for input on transportation
investments, housing types, and other land use
patterns.
Scorecard responses were self-selected; that
is, similar to an election or public hearing, the
responses reflect the opinions of residents who
took the time to get involved. An extensive out-
reach campaign was used to build awareness of
the scorecard process and to ensure that score-
cards were readily available, both in print and
online, to all interested citizens.
Approximately 11,603 responses were received
region-wide; 6,447 responses were received
from Grand Traverse County residents, repre-
senting about 8% of the countys total popula-
tion. The scorecards asked respondents to
choose a scenario in five questions that were
based on accompanying scenario descriptions
and graphs. An additional seven questions
asked respondents to state how much they
agreed with statements regarding transportation
and development types.
Scorecard results are generally consistent
across county boundaries, age, income, and
other factors. However, there are some minor
differences between regional and county re-
sponses to individual questions. This section will
review the questions asked in the scorecard and
will show the overall picture along with Grand
Traverse County responses. Results by number
of responses for each question and by percent-
age, for each county, are included in Appendix
Responses Population Percentage
Antrim 1,209 24,463 4.94%
Benzie 962 17,652 5.45%
Grand Traverse 6,447 84,952 7.59%
Kalkaska 536 17,330 3.09%
Leelanau 1,771 22,112 8.01%
Wexford 678 31,994 2.12%
Total Responses 11,603 198,503 6%
Scorecard Results
Table 5: Scorecard Responses by County
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 21
Question #1: I think the scenario thatdoes the best job of preserving the re-
gions farmland and open space is:
[Scenario A, B, C, or D]
Scenario D resulted in the least amount of
rural land converting to urban. Scenario C
followed closely. The village focus of Sce-
nario C was partially intended to minimize
pressure on agricultural land while also being
visible and accessible to residents living in
and visiting the villages. While they both
scored highly, the selection of scenario D asthe regional favorite indicated a desire to
minimize pressures in rural areas, including
housing growth and traffic, as much as possi-
ble.
D.
In the second part of the scorecard, respondents
were given a statement and asked to what de-
gree they agreed or disagreed. The questions
were all directly related to scenario evaluations
described in the scorecard document, which fo-
cused on measuring future impacts based on
public values, as determined through the Grand
Vision values survey.
Responses, by number and percent, are shown
for each question by county in Appendix C.
Analysis is excerpted from Fregonese and Asso-
ciates top line memo from January 2009. Thememo accompanies this report and is also avail-
able online at www.thegrandvision.org.
Grand Vision Scorecard ResponsesNarrative provided by Fregonese Associates, January 2009
Question #1
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Resul ts
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
A B C D
Grand Traverse
Total
Responses
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 22
Question #2. I think the scenario that does
the best job at balancing our needs for mo-
bility with our desires for thriving cities and
towns and a cleaner environment is:
Scenario C was by far the most popularchoice. One of the more significant compo-
nents of the village based scenario was intra-
regional transit service. Many participants in
the workshops asked for such an amenity. Sce-
nario D, with the highest concentrations of peo-
ple, involved the highest level of transit service.
However, with limited congestion in any sce-
nario, the option to have multiple choices for
traveling between villages and towns seemed
to prevail. At the same time, it is clear that sim-
ply building more roads alone will not be well
received.
Question #3: I think the scenario that best pro-
vides jobs and affordable housing for working
families is:
The popularity of Scenarios C and D echo con-
cernsvoiced during the Grand Visions values
research and at the public workshopsabout ris-
ing home prices rising and the need to see more
housing options so that people can afford to re-
main in the region. Respondents see homes with
acreage as too expensive for many residents in-
cluding working families, young people and senior
citizens. Smaller yards and other options such as
townhomes and apartments offer the benefit of
being more affordable.
Question #2
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Resul ts
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
A B C D
Grand Traverse
Total
Responses
Question #3
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional
Results
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
A B C D
Grand
Traverse
Total
Responses
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 23
Question #5: I think the scenario that does the
best job depicting a future I support is:
Cleary Scenario C received the most support
when ranked overall. The focus on town and vil-lage life was expected to perform well because it
embodies much of what people say they like in the
region. Town and village living is easy to imagine
for people on both ends of the spectrum, from
Traverse City to rural homes along Torch Lake.
There was also significant support for the more
urban lifestyle portrayed in scenario D. More than
one-third of respondents identified themselves as
living in rural areas. However, Scenarios A and B
which represent the more rural development pat-
terns of the set together received less than 10% of
the overall tally for support. People were evidentlyvoicing the opinion of what they want to see, not
just what they are used to. The cities, towns and
villages of the region are well regarded by people
in all living situations.
Question #4: I think the scenario that does the
best job of enhancing our regions cities and
villages is:
Scenario C had by far the largest support. It isclear that people do not want the future to simply
be a continuation of the patterns seen today whichcould result in additional sprawl, loss of the rural
lifestyle and potential decay of the towns and vil-
lages. There is significant support for the very ur-
ban lifestyle exhibited by Scenario D. However,
most are looking for change that enhances the
many towns and villages of today, rather than sig-
nificantly transforming just a few areas. The strong
villages of Scenario C also resound with partici-
pants desires for shared prosperity among the
counties of the region.
Question #4
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Results
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
A B C D
Grand Traverse
Total
Responses
Question #5
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Resul ts
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
A B C D
Grand Traverse
Total Responses
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 24
Question #6: I think transportation invest-
ments should prioritize new and widened
roads.
The strong disagreement to this statement
says three things: 1. Dont spend too muchmoney on new and widened roads, and 2.
Maintain the system we have, and 3. Invest
more money on transit, walking a biking. Par-
ticipants in the public transportation workshops
were generally conservative about spending on
any new infrastructure, highlighting the need
for careful consideration of future investments.
Question #7: I think new transportation in-
vestments should include biking and walk-
ing facilities even if it means some roads
arent widened.
It is abundantly clear that residents want to see
additional spending on bike and walk facilities.
The question goes a step further and states
specifically that the funding may be at the ex-
pense of investment in road widening for ca-
pacity. That the answers were this close to
unanimous, given the tradeoff, shows signifi-
cant support for public investments. Such in-
vestments will assure safer and more conven-
ient biking and may attract additional people to
utilize this mode of transportation.
Question #6
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Results
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
Strongly
Disagre
e
Disagre
e
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Grand Traverse Total Responses
Question #7
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Resul ts
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%45.0%
Strongly
Disa
gree
Disa
gree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Grand Traverse
Total
Responses
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 25
Question #8: I think new transportation
investments should include enhanced
transit, including in-town buses and
regional bus service, even if it means
some roads arent widened.
This section was also engineered to probe
deeper into people attitudes about trans-
portation investment. People have the
same strong feelings of support for transit
as they do for bike and walk amenities.
The question purposely limited the transit
options to in-town and regional bus ser-
vice which are both modest investments
compared to rail transit.
Question #9: I think increased traffic con-
gestion in our cities and villages would be
okay if I could park once and walk to
shops, jobs, schools and parks.
People generally support the notion of trad-
ing slightly more congestion for the benefits
of full service towns and villages where they
could walk between jobs and shopping. How-
ever, the number of people disagreeing, or
remaining neutral shows that this style of
growth is not for everyone. Additionally, it
may hint at the internal conflict between a
desire to do the right thing and a belief that
people will be able to stick to it when the
wind is blowing and snow is falling.
Question #8
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Resul ts
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%35.0%
40.0%
Strongly
Disag
ree
Disag
ree
Neutra
l
Ag
ree
StronglyAg
ree
Grand Traverse
Total Responses
Question #9
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Results
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%40.0%
Strongly
Disa
gree
Disa
gree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Grand Traverse
Total Responses
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 26
Question #10: I would consider living in a
neighborhood with smaller yards and some
multi-family buildings if it meant that I could
walk or ride my bike to shops, jobs, schools
and parks.
Walking and biking were two things that scored
well in the scientific research. They were at-
tached to smaller yards, apartments and con-
dos to intentionally force a tradeoff. However,
the results point to a much greater acceptance,
and even desire, for multi-family housing than
might be expected.
Question #11: I oppose taller buildings in
our cities and villages even if it means that
we need to build on farm and forest lands.
With this statement participants were asked to
reflect on the dramatic changes that might beseen in cities and towns. The scorecard even
mentioned 8-story buildings in places such as
Traverse City and Cadillac. The overwhelming
response hints at two things. First, 6- and 8-
story buildings do not cause the panic or con-
cern that might have been expected. Coupled
with the desire for an improved urban fabric as
evidenced by previous questions, one could
presume that downtown buildings taller than 10
stories would indeed by embraced by many.
Although, the roughly even split between
strongly disagree and disagree suggests thatsupport will wane proportionately as building
heights go up. This again reveals that there
may be more desire for urban lifestyle in some
specific locations than there is region-wide.
Second, this response indeed affirms residents
desire to retain the farming, forestry and rural
lifestyle that is present in the region.
Question #10
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Res ults
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Strongly
Disa
gree
Disa
gree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Grand Traverse
Total
Responses
Question #11
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Resul ts
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
Strongly
Disa
gree
Disa
gree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Grand Traverse
Total
Responses
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 27
Question #12: I think people should be able
to have a home on rural acreage even if it
increases new public investment in roads,
sewers and schools.
This statement forces people to link planning
with personal decisions and limits to private
property rights. Generally, people do not fully
link the two. This is the only question in the
entire scorecard with such an even divide. Re-
sponses indicate approximately equal support
for two different positions in this matter. On one
hand, some believe that they should be able to
locate a home on, or even subdivide their rural
property no matter what. On the other hand,
some feel that they are not willing to support a
lifestyle that has cost impacts on the rest ofsociety. Note that many people chose to re-
main neutral. This could be because linking
individual property decisions with public costs
and benefits is not intuitive. Alternatively, it
could reflect people being truly torn between
the notion of the public good and the private
good.
Question #12
Grand Traverse County vs. Regional Resul ts
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Strongly
Disa
gree
Disa
gree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Grand Traverse
Total
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 28
To compare the preferences expressed in the
Grand Vision scorecard results with the prefer-
ences of the general public, a telephone survey
was conducted by Northwestern Michigan Col-
lege in April and May 2009, using a random-
digit-dial sample of residential telephone num-
bers. The survey tested 10 questions from the
scorecard; in some cases, the questions that
were tested were exact duplicates of the score-
card questions. In other cases, the statementwas paraphrased to make the question more
easily understood during a telephone survey.
The survey, which resulted in 578 valid re-
sponses, was accurate to the county level, with
a margin of error for regional results estimated at
+/- 5.1%. Following is an excerpt from the ex-
ecutive summary. The full survey report is at-
tached to this document.
Key Regional Findings
The survey results provide strong confirmation
that regional residents at large share the pref-
erences and priorities of scorecard partici-
pants.
Both survey and scorecard participants were
most likely to favor future development vi-
sion C, with its emphases on growth in
the regions cities and villages; preserva-
tion of open space; and investment in
trails, public transportation, and roads.
Vision D, the most compact development
option, was also frequently chosen (see Fig-
ure 1).
Residents of the region expressed strong
support for future investments in trails
and sidewalks and in public transporta-
tion, even if it means some roads arent
widened. More than 75% of participants in
both processes supported these choices.
Eighty percent of survey participants and
67% of scorecard participants would toler-
ate more traffic in cities and villages if
they could park once and walk to theirdestinations. Many regional residents would
also consider a neighborhood with smaller
yards and some apartments and condomini-
ums if they could walk or ride a bike to
work, school, shopping, and amenities.
Residents would prefer taller buildings in
cities and villages to developing farm
and forestlands. Only about one in four
participants in either process agreed withthe statement, I oppose taller buildings in
our villages and cities even if it means that
we need to build on farm and forest lands.
The region is most divided on the issues
of new pavement for roads and new resi-
dential development in areas lacking
supportive infrastructure. Fifty-nine per-
cent of survey respondents and 46% of
scorecard participants agreed strongly orsomewhat that building new roads and
widening existing roads should be the first
priority for transportation spending in the
region. Similarly, 46% of survey respon-
dents and 53% of scorecard participants
agreed strongly or somewhat with the
statement, I think people should be able to
Follow-up Survey Report
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 29
build new homes in country areas, even if it
means we have to spend tax dollars to build
roads, sewers and schools.
Most issues explored in the survey show no per-sistent or sharp differences in opinion on the
basis of personal characteristics including
age, gender, income, education, own/rent status,
employment status, type of home community, or
county. For example, support for investment in
public transportation and interest in vision C
was drawn from younger and older respondents,
males and females, higher- and lower-income
families, residents of all types of communities,
and residents of all counties. The lone excep-
tion to this pattern was prioritization of invest-
ment in new and wider roads, which was sensi-
tive to respondents home counties.
Survey respondents support their communi-
ties involvement in the regional Grand Vi-
sion process. Respondents were strongly sup-
portive whether they had past direct involvement
in the Grand Vision, familiarity without involve-
ment, or no prior familiarity with the process (see
Figure 2). More than 90% also agreed strongly
or somewhat that, to help create a future that Iwant, I want my local elected officials to partici-
pate in the Grand Vision.
Grand Traverse County Results
Grand Traverse County results were very closely
aligned with regional response patterns. Grand
Traverse County residents were more likely to
disagree with statement #5, which indicated op-
position to taller buildings in cities and villages.
Complete survey results are available online at
www.thegrandvision.org.
Statement #1 corresponds to question #7 on theGrand Vision scorecard, which asked participantsto rank their support of the statement, I think newtransportation investments should include bikingand walking facilities, even if it means some roadsarent widened. Regional scorecard responses,excluding neutral responses, showed that 84% ofparticipants strongly agreed or agreed with thisstatement. The PPA survey results were consis-tent, with approximately 80% of respondents re-gion-wide and 89% of Grand Traverse County resi-
dents expressing agreement .
Grand Vision Follow-up Survey ResponsesNarrative provided by Public Policy Associates, May 2009
Statement #1: "I think future investments in
transportation should include trails and
sidewalks for biking and walking, even if it
means some roads aren't widened." (%
Agree "Strongly" or "Somewhat")
89%
80%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 30
Statement #2 corresponds to question #8 on theGrand Vision scorecard, which asked participantsto rank their support of the statement, I think newtransportation investments should include en-hanced transit, including in-town buses and re-
gional bus service, even if it means some roadsarent widened. Excluding neutral responses, 80%of regional scorecard participants strongly agreedor agreed with this statement. PPA survey resultsat both the regional and county level were consis-tent with scorecard responses.
Statement #3 corresponds to question #9 on theGrand Vision scorecard, which asked participants torank their support of the statement, I think in-creased traffic congestion in our cities and villageswould be okay if I could park once and walk toshops, jobs, schools, and parks. Regionally, score-card responses, excluding neutral responses,showed that 67% of participants strongly agreed oragreed with this statement. Support was substan-tially higher in responses to the PPA survey, withapproximately 80% of respondents region-wide ex-
pressing agreement and 86% of Grand TraverseCounty residents supporting the statement.
Statement #4 corresponds to question #6 on theGrand Vision scorecard, which asked participantsto rank their support of the statement, I think newtransportation investments should prioritize newand widened roads. Regional scorecard re-
sponses, excluding neutral responses, showed that46% of participants strongly agreed or agreedwith this statement. Support for this statement wassomewhat higher in the PPA survey.
Statement #2: "I think future investments in
transportation should include more public
transportation, including in-town buses and
regional bus s ervice, even if it means some
roads arent widened." (% Agree "Strongly"
or "Somewhat")
78% 76%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
Statement #3: "I think increased traffic in
our villages and cities would be okay if I
could park once and walk to shops, jobs ,
schools and parks ." (% Agree "Strongly"
or "Somewhat")
86%80%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
"I think building new roads and widening
existing roads should be the firs t priority for
transportation spending in the region." (%
Agree "Strongly" or "Somewhat")
56% 59%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 31
Statement #5 does not have an exact scorecardparallel. The question asked respondents to choosea priority between repairing and improving existingroads, or expanding capacity with new roads. Therewas significant support for prioritizing maintenance,
on both a regional and county-wide level.
Statement #6 corresponds to question #10 onthe Grand Vision scorecard, which asked par-ticipants to rank their support of the statement,I would consider living in a neighborhood withsmaller yards and some multi-family buildingsif it meant that I could walk or ride my bike toshops, jobs, schools, and parks. Regionalscorecard responses, excluding neutral re-sponses, showed that 64% of participantsstrongly agreed or agreed with this state-ment.
Statement #7 corresponds to question #11 on theGrand Vision scorecard, which asked participants torank their support of the statement, I would opposetaller buildings in our cities and villages even if itmeans that we need to build on farm and forestlands. Regional scorecard responses, excluding neu-tral responses, showed that 21% of participantsstrongly agreed or agreed with this statement. In
the PPA survey results, Grand Traverse County re-spondents showed substantially less support (26%)for this statement than the region as a whole (39%).
Statement #5: Percentages prioritizing
maintenance of existing roads over
expanding capacity with new and wider
roads
90%86%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grand Traverse Region "I would consider living in a neighborhood
with smaller yards and s ome apartments orcondominiums if I could walk or ride a bike to
shops , jobs, schools and parks." (% Agree
"Strongly" or "Somewhat")
55% 53%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
Statement #7: "I oppose taller bui ldings
in our villages and cities even if it
means that we need to build on farm
and forest lands."
(% Agree "Strongly" or "Somewhat")
39%
26%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 32
Statement #9 tested responses to thevision of creating a group of unique villagesand cities that are active and charmingplaces with a main street and downtown.Support was very high in all counties and
demographics for the statement.
Statement #8 corresponds to question #12on the Grand Vision scorecard, which askedparticipants to rank their support of the state-ment, I think people should be able to havea home on rural acreage even if it increases
new public investment in roads, sewer, andschools. Regional scorecard responses,excluding neutral responses, showed that55% of participants strongly agreed oragreed with this statement.
Statement #8: "I think people should be able
to build new homes in country areas, even if
it means we have to spend tax dollars to
build roads, sewers, and schools." (% Agree
"Strongly" or "Somewhat")
46%42%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
Statement #9: "As the region develops in the future, it
is im portant that we create a group of unique villages
and cities that are active and charming places with a
main s treet and a downtown." (% Agree "Strongly" or
"Somewhat")
84%80%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grand Traverse Region
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 33
"As the region develops in the future, it is important that we protect and
preserve the farm land, orchards, forests, water quality, and scenic
beauty of the region."
Don't Know
0.5%
Agree Strongly
81%
Agree Somew hat
18%
Disagree Somewhat
0.6%
Statement #10 tested responses to the vision of protecting and preserving the farm land, orchards, for-ests, water quality, and scenic beauty of the region. Of the nearly 600 people responding tho the survey,three disagreed somewhat and three volunteered the response of I dont know. Given the overwhelm-ing support for this principle, no demographic analysis was pursued.
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 34
Through the Grand Vision process, the commu-
nity identified six issue areas and action state-
ments that together will help move the vision into
reality:
Create a group of unique villages and cities
that are active and charming places with a
main street or a downtown.
Provide more variety in housing choices tomatch peoples needs and preferences for
lower cost, higher efficiency, central location
and low-maintenance lifestyle options.
Strengthen the local economy with more
jobs offering security and a living wage in
cities and villages around the region. Train
the workforce for Michigans new economy
with a quality education and opportunities for
lifelong learning.
Maintain and improve the existing road sys-tem and place new investment in public
transportation, bicycling and pedestrian in-
frastructure to provide choices in mobility,
support energy conservation and maximize
system efficiencies.
Protect and preserve the farm land, or-
chards, forests, open water, and other natu-
ral areas and particularly water quality and
the scenic beauty of the region.
Make decisions today that support sustain-able development for the environment, the
economy and the community for tomorrow
and the next fifty years.
Implementation
Community efforts are now beginning to move
these Grand Vision principles into action. Like
the creation of the Grand Vision, this effort will
be a collaborative, region-wide, bottom-up ap-
proach that will require commitment and action
from citizens, public agencies, nonprofits, and
the private sector.
Grand Vision Supporters
Individuals throughout the region are invited to
publicly support the Grand Vision through astatement of support. Supporters receive regular
updates on progress and activities related to the
Grand Vision, and also commit to activities such
as participating in a working group; working as a
volunteer at Grand Vision events and with out-
reach; advocating for Grand Vision policies and
projects; and participating in an annual summit
Partnership
All organizations, groups, and agencies that sup-port the principles of the Grand Vision are invited
to sign a Partnership Agreement. Through the
agreement, partners agree that it is in the best
interest of the community to:
Cooperatively engage in activities that will
result in progress toward the goals of the
Grand Vision
Attend the annual Grand Vision community
event to share progress
Provide assistance as available to support
Grand Vision related activities and events
Participating organizations receive support from
other Grand Vision partners in communicating
their mission and activities to the public through
marketing avenues including media releases,
The Grand Vision
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 35
online information, and viral networking.
All Grand Vision partners will receive regular
updates on progress and activities related to the
Grand Vision. Partners will be publicly identified
as supporters of the Grand Vision.
Working Groups
Because many organizations throughout the
region are involved in activities that are consis-
tent with the principles of the Grand Vision, a
Grand Vision working group structure has been
developed to support these organizations and
activities. Working groups will function as col-
laborative councils on specific subject areas and
will include diverse regional participation, with
members including citizens and representatives
from public agencies, nonprofits, and the private
sector that are involved in the subject area. Con-
veners will host initial meetings and provide staff
support in terms of meeting agendas and other
resources.
Growth and Investment Areas: ensure that
both public and private investments are made in
areas that are suitable for new growth and that
will give the region the best return on the dollar
for strengthening the economy and designing
vibrant communities.
Convener: New Designs for Growth/
Northwest Michigan Council of Governments
Housing: offer a diverse mix of regional housing
choices with affordable options that fit in with the
small town character of the neighborhoods, vil-
lages, and cities as well as rural housing.
Convener: Housing Task Force and North-
west Michigan Council of Governments
Transportation:maintain and improve the exist-
ing road system, increase public transportation
services between cities and villages in the re-
gion, and expand infrastructure serving pedestri-
ans and bicyclists both in and out of town.
Convener: Traverse City Area Chamber of
Commerce
Food and Farming: preserve agriculture as a
viable economic practice in the region by pro-
tecting farmland, enhancing the affordability of
farms, and supporting agricultural infrastructure
in the region.
Convener: Taste the Local Difference and
Michigan Land Use Institute
Natural Resources: protect and enhance the
region's natural environment, especially the
abundant freshwater resources that define the
region.
Convener: Watershed Center
Energy: create energy options through energy
conservation and the development and promo-tion of alternative energy sources.
Convener: SEEDS
Communications-Organization-Resources-
Education (CORE):will serve as a resource to
the other working groups providing resource de-
velopment, identification of strategic alliances
and opportunities within working groups, training
and education, and communications and out-
reach through oversight of the communications
committee. This group to be made up of one
representative from each of the working groups
and one representative from each county.
Convener: Rotary Charities
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The Grand Vision: A Grand Traverse County PerspectivePage 36
Each of the working groups will conduct open
and transparent meetings, and all of their activi-
ties will be well documented and described on
t h e G r a n d V i s i o n w e b s i t e ,
www.thegrandvision.org. The site currently con-
tains basic information about each of the work-
ing groups,