Virginia Voter Survey
July 2000

NPG - Virginia Questionnaire

Hello, my is _________________ and I'm calling from Mason-Dixon Opinion Research and we are conducting an important survey about the impact of growth on traffic, schools, taxes and other quality of life issues in the state of Virginia. Would you have a few minutes to help us out?

Great, thanks.

1. Are you currently registered to vote in Virginia?

  1. YES? SKIP - Q3
  2. NO
  3. DK/REFUSED

2. Is there someone in the household I could speak with who is registered to vote?

  1. YES- RE-SCREEN
  2. NO - TERM
  3. DK/REFUSED

3. Which party are you registered to vote with, the Democratic, Republican or Independent?

  1. DEM
  2. REP
  3. IND
  4. DK/REF

4. When there is general election in Virginia, do you vote:

  1. ALWAYS
  2. MOST OF THE TIME
  3. OCCASIONALLY [TERMINATE]
  4. RARELY OR NEVER [TERMINATE]

5. How would you rate the quality of life in Virginia? Is it excellent, pretty good, only fair, or poor?

  1. EXCELLENT
  2. GOOD
  3. FAIR
  4. POOR
  5. DK/REFUSED

6. What do you consider the most important issue facing your community today? [DO NOT READ LIST]

  1. TRAFFIC CONGESTION
  2. SPRAWL/DEVELOPMENT
  3. POPULATION GROWTH/OVERCROWDING
  4. EDUCATION QUALITY
  5. ENVIRONMENT/AIR/WATER
  6. COST OF HOUSING
  7. ECONOMY/JOBS/ WAGES
  8. CRIME
  9. HEALTH CARE
  10. OTHER - VERBATIM
  11. DK/REFUSED

7. Thinking about the number of people in your region of the state, and the impact on the environment, traffic, schools and other infrastructure, would you say that the population is;

  1. TOO LARGE
  2. JUST ABOUT RIGHT
  3. TOO SMALL
  4. DK/REFUSED

8. Now I'd like to give you a few statistics:

According to the U S Census Bureau, between 1982 and 1997 Virginia's population grew by 16%, or nearly one million people. According to the Census Bureau, between 1982 and 1997 Virginia's population grew by 18%, or 1.3 million people.

As a result of population growth and developmental pressures, Virginia lost 3.3 million acres, or over 20%, of its farmland; during the same period of time, Virginia also lost almost 100,000 acres of forestland. According to the American Farmland Trust, Virginia's Piedmont region is the second most threatened agricultural region by development in the United States.

In addition to the pressures on agricultural and forest lands, per capita water consumption in Virginia increased from 762 million gallons a day in 1990 to 826 million gallons a day in 1995, an 8 percent increase. Because of developmental pressure, Virginia and Maryland went to the U.S. Supreme Court in a dispute over regional water resources.

Now, the Census Bureau projects that from 1995 to 2025, Virginia will grow by 1.8 million persons; from 6.7 million to 8.5 million, a 21 percent increase, ranking it as the 12th most populous state.

Now, if current growth and population trends continue, do you think that the quality of life in Virginia will improve, deteriorate, or stay about the same?

  1. IMPROVE
  2. STAY ABOUT THE SAME
  3. DETERIORATE
  4. DK/REFUSED

9. In your opinion, how would you describe the rate of new houses being built in your community? Is it growing much too fast, a little fast, at about the right pace, or too slow?

  1. MUCH TOO FAST
  2. A LITTLE FAST
  3. ABOUT THE RIGHT PACE
  4. TOO SLOW
  5. DK/REFUSED

10. How would you describe the rate of commercial growth and development in your community? Is it growing much too fast, a little fast, at about the right pace, or too slow?

  1. MUCH TOO FAST
  2. A LITTLE FAST
  3. ABOUT THE RIGHT PACE
  4. TOO SLOW
  5. DK/REFUSED

11. Currently, do you believe there is an appropriate balance between development and maintaining a high quality of life in Virginia?

  1. YES
  2. NO
  3. DK/REFUSED

12. How confident are you that elected officials in the state of Virginia understand and can effectively balance development and population growth with maintaining the quality of life in Virginia. Are you;

  1. VERY CONFIDENT
  2. SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT
  3. NOT TOO CONFIDENT
  4. NOT AT ALL CONFIDENT
  5. DK/REFUSED

13. I'm going to read two specific approaches that state governments use to manage growth and development and I would like for you to tell me which one you would support the most. (READ CHOICES)

Here is state A's approach:

State A has an office that develops planning policies and coordinates growth issues statewide. It also has a law that requires all state departments to direct infrastructure and other growth related spending to "Smart Growth" or "Priority Funding" areas which local governments designate for growth.

The state's Smart Growth policy is designed to meet three specific goals:

  1. To revitalize older developed areas
  2. To preserve natural resources and open space lands, and
  3. To save tax dollars by maximizing use of existing infrastructure and by reducing spending on new infrastructure.

In addition, state law grants local jurisdictions the power;

  • to assess impact fees on developers,
  • to require that roads, schools and other public facilities exist before development is approved, and
  • to give developers transferable development rights that encourage the preservation of farmland and open space.

Here is state B's approach:

All planning is done at a local level. There is no statewide office or statewide coordination of development or growth issues. In addition, the state does not grant local jurisdictions the ability to:

  • assess impact fees on developers,
  • require that schools, water, sewer and other public facilities exist before development is approved,
  • allow developers the use of transferable development rights that encourage the preservation of farmland and open space.

Now, which one do you support most?

  1. STATE A'S POLICY
  2. STATE B'S POLICY
  3. DK/REFUSED

14. Would support or oppose a candidate that favored giving local communities more authority to manage growth and development.

  1. SUPPORT
  2. OPPOSE
  3. DK/REFUSED

15. Virginia's current population is roughly 6.7 million people. The population is expected to surpass 8.5 million people in 25 years, or a 21% increase. How urgent a problem do you consider this pace of population growth? Is this an extremely urgent problem, a·

  1. EXTREMELY URGENT
  2. SOMEWHAT URGENT
  3. NOT TOO URGENT
  4. NOT URGENT AT ALL
  5. DON'T KNOW/REFUSED

16. Now I'm going to give you the latest government statistics about immigration in Virginia;

According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, in 1998, Virginia ranked as the 9th largest immigrant-receiving state, with over 15,000 legal immigrants moving into the state. In addition, the INS estimates that more than 50,000 illegal aliens resided in Virginia in 1996 in Virginia, ranking it 9th in the nation for illegal alien residents.

How concerned are you about the level of immigration to the state of Virginia?

  1. EXTREMELY CONCERNED
  2. SOMEWHAT CONCERNED
  3. NOT TOO CONCERNED
  4. NOT AT ALL CONCERNED
  5. DON'T KNOW/REFUSED

17. Now, I'm going to read a list of statements and I would appreciate your telling me if you agree or disagree with each. The first statement is:__________________________ Is that STRONGLY (agree/ disagree), or SOMEWHAT (agree or disagree)

The federal government should lower immigration levels to reduce the environmental impact and development pressures on communities across Virginia and the rest of the country.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

18. I would be more likely to support a candidate for congress who supported a reduction in national immigration levels.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

19. The current pace of development and population growth is necessary to maintain a sound economy and a high quality of life.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

20. The current pace of development and population growth primarily benefits a narrow group of developers and related industries.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

21. The current pace of development and resulting traffic congestion has resulted in my family spending more time in traffic and less time with each other.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

22. The current pace of development and population growth is overcrowding schools and threatens the quality of education children receive.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

23. The current pace of development and resulting overcrowding of schools means that taxpayers will spend more money on school construction instead of improving the quality of education for current students.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

24. The current pace of development and population growth has negatively impacted and threatens Virginia's natural resources like the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia's rivers, forestlands and open space.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

25. I would be willing to pay more in taxes in exchange for less population density and the preservation of open space and farmland.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

26. Over-population here in Virginia is a major problem.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

27. State and federal leaders have a responsibility to enact policies that reduce development and slow population growth so that a high quality of life, a healthy environment and a sound economy can be maintained.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

28. The current pace of population growth threatens the quality of life in Virginia.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

29. Development and sprawl can never be controlled unless the state's population stops growing.

  1. STRONGLY AGREE
  2. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  3. SOMEWHAT DISAGREE
  4. STRONGLY DISAGREE
  5. DK/REFUSED

Demographics

30. How long have you lived in Virginia?

  1. <5 yrs
  2. 5-9 yrs
  3. 10-19 yrs
  4. 20+ yrs
  5. dk/efuse

31. do you have any children in the household under the age of 18?

  1. yes
  2. no
  3. dk/efused

32. age

  1. 18-24
  2. 25-34
  3. 35-44
  4. 45-54
  5. 55-64
  6. 65-74
  7. 75 or older
  8. refused

33. sex [note sex]

  1. male
  2. female

34. political views

  1. liberal
  2. moderate
  3. conservative
  4. dk/ef

35. education

  1. high school or less
  2. some college
  3. college grad
  4. graduate degree
  5. dk/efused

36. income

  1. <$15,000
  2. $15,000-$29,999
  3. $30,000-$49,999
  4. $50,000-$79,999
  5. $80,000+
  6. refused

37. region [do not ask- derived from sample]

  1. northern
  2. shenandoah/iedmont
  3. hampton roads
  4. richmond metro
  5. lynchburg southside
  6. roanoke/outhwest
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