Poll: Virginia Voters Say Future Population Pressures Will Destroy Quality of Life

Significant Majorities Think Current Pace of Development Threatens State's Natural Resources, Education

Washington D.C. (Sept. 12) - By wide margins, Virginia voters in a new poll see a deterioration in their future quality of life because of projected over-development and overpopulation, saying they doubt the state's political leadership can handle the projected increase of a million and a half people between now and 2025.

The poll is one of the most comprehensive ever taken in Virginia of voters' views on population pressures and sprawl.

By significant margins, voters' top community issues are closely associated with Virginia's rapid population growth and development: Traffic, education, overcrowding, sprawl, crime and the environment.

Less than two percent of voters believe the state needs to expand its population at all, yet the state is projected to increase its population from 7 million today to 8.5 million in 25 years.

The poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research for Negative Population Growth (NPG) from July 27 through August 3, 2000. The poll surveyed 636 registered "likely" voters in Virginia, and has a margin of error _4%.

"Virginia voters want their local communities to be empowered to discourage sprawl and over-development while looking to the national leadership to reduce overall immigration levels - a key source of in-state population growth," says Sharon Stein, executive director of NPG. "The link between the state's top issues - especially education - and expected population increases suggests an explosive linkage that cannot be ignored."

Key findings include:

Nearly 70 percent believe that "the current pace of development and population growth is overcrowding schools and threatens the quality of education children receive."
Nearly 65 percent agree with the statement that "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."
Nearly 80 percent believe "the current pace of development and population growth has negatively impacted and threatens Virginia's natural resources like the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia's rivers, forest-lands and open space."
Over 60 percent believe "the current pace of development threatens the quality of life in Virginia."
Top issues cited as community concerns: Education 21.9 percent; Traffic 17.1 percent (40.4% in Northern Virginia) (strong majorities say traffic has cut into family time); crime 12.1 percent; social values 6.5 percent; Overcrowding 6.1 percent; and the environment 6.0 percent.
57.5 percent would describe the rate of new houses being built in their communities as "too fast" or "a little fast."
Over 53 percent are not confident 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."

Voters want more local control to manage growth: "An astounding 71.5 percent across the state support candidates who favor giving local communities more authority to manage growth and development," said Stein. "This is in sharp contrast to the state's current approach of central control to encourage and promote maximum sprawl," she said.

Over 73 percent consider the pace of population growth to be an urgent problem (when presented with current projections).
Nearly 70 percent consider the level of immigration to the state to be a concern.
Over 60 percent say "the current pace of development and population growth benefits a narrow group of developers and related industries."

NPG's Stein says the survey suggest Virginia voters would support the following:

New controls on the rate of new residential development.
New federal limits on immigration.
Funding to improve existing schools for current students.
New controls on building and development throughout the state - especially around threatened natural resources.