1995 Telephone SurveyPROPERry OF
City of Carmel
Perceptions Of Growth And Development In
Carmel And Clay Township:
Presented To
Mike Hollibaugh, Director of Long Range Planning
Department of Community Development
The City of Carmel, Indiana
425 University Blvd. Indianapolis, IN., 46202
Report Of A Telephone Survey
Prepared by
Christopher L. Gavette
and Brian Vargus
�y
March 28, 1995
Table of Contents
Page Number(s)
Introduction 1
The Sample 1 3
Rating of Carmel 4
Reasons Live In Carmel 5 6
Issues Facing Carmel 7 9
Growth Rate of Carmel 10
Development of Carmel 11
Attributes 11 12
Concerns 13
Type of Housing 14
Commercial Development 15
Other Development 15
Downtown Carmel 16 17
Public Transportation 18 19
Satisfaction w /City Services 20
Parks and Recreation 21 22
Anything To Add 23 24
Conclusions 25 26
Methodology Appendix A
The Questionnaire Appendix B
Full Marginal Tabulations Appendix C
Selected Cross Tabulations Appendix D
Introduction
The Sample
1
The following constitutes a report on a telephone survey of a random sample of 417
residents of the city of Carmel and Clay Township. The research was initiated by the Carmel Plan
Commission to measure several important aspects of peoples' perceptions of the Carmel/Clay area
in regards to infrastructure, growth, and development. While the development of the
questionnaire, as described in the methodology section appended, was a joint effort and designed
to provide multiple indicators of all aspects of important factors of public opinion, it was the
Indiana University Public Opinion Laboratory at IUPUI that held sole responsibility for the data
collection and this analysis.
Hamilton County is one of the fastest growing Counties in Indiana, according to recent
population figures. Obviously, the Carmel/Clay area has grown, and in some cases, more rapidly
than other parts of the County. Public satisfaction with currently provided city services, attitudes
toward the future growth of the area, and desire for additional services are important concerns of
planning officials. Knowing how the public feels about these issues is paramount to
decision makers in the Carmel/Clay area. The goal of this research is to provide officials with
concrete measures of constituent opinion to augment city planning and to incorporate citizen's
opinions where feasible.
The sample was selected randomly from all known telephone prefixes operating in the
salient area, but screened for quotas to assure a representation of citizens proportional to known
demographic indicators. The sample reflects the demographic characteristics of the area: 49%
were male and 51% female; 30% were between the ages of 18 -34, 47% between the ages of
35 -54, and 24% aged 55 years or older. The majority of residents reported they lived in a house
(82 About one half (49.9%) of the residents we spoke with reported they have lived in Carmel
5 years or less, 22% 6 -10 years, 14% 11 to 20 years, and 14% over 20 years. Also worth noting,
54% of the residents we spoke with reported having children in their household. Throughout this
document, these primary demographic indicators will be compared to answers to other questions
to develop a picture of public opinion in Carmel Indiana.
TABLE 1
Respondent Age
Age Percent
18 -34 28.8%
35 -54 47
55+ 24.2
TABLE 2
Respondent Gender
Gender Percent
Male 48.7%
Female 51.3
TABLE 3
What Type Of Housing Live In
House
Apartment/
Condominium
Years Percent
•82%
18%
TABLE 4
How many years have you lived in Carmel
or Clay Township?
1 -5 49.9%
6 -10 21.6
11 -15 6.7
16 -20 7.4
21+ 13.9
Refuse 0.5
2
TABLE 6
How many years have you lived at your
present address?
Years Percent
1 -5 62.8
6 -10 17.7
11 -15 5.0
16 -20 5.8
21+ 8.2
Refuse 0.5
TABLE 6
Do you have any children aged 17 or
younger living in your household?
Percent
Yes 54.0
No 45.8
No Answer 0.2
3
Each person contacted for this research was read an introduction statement that identified
who we were, why we were calling, and explained the confidential nature of their answers (see
Questionnaire, Appendix A). The first set of questions established where each respondent lived in
order to assure that only citizens in Carmel/Clay were interviewed for this research. Next,
respondents were asked several demographic questions (age, gender) to assure a representation
proportional to known demographic population distributions in the salient area.
1 4
1 Main Findings
The first substantive question asked respondents how they felt about life in the city of
Carmel and Clay township. As shown in the graph below, residents of Carmel hold a relatively
high evaluation of their city. In fact, the rating Carmel residents give their city averages about
5 -10% points higher than ratings given by residents of other central Indiana cities.
TABLE 7
Overall, how would you rate the quality of life
in the Carmel /Clay community? Would you
say it is...?
50
Excellent
1
40 F,
Good
30 Fair
20 II Poor
DKtNA
10
Answers to the next question, "Compared to other areas of the country where you have
lived or visited, is the overall quality of life in Carmel/Clay much better, somewhat better, about
the same, somewhat worse, or much worse have a similar response pattern with 32.6% saying
the city of Carmel was "much better" than other places. Another 32.6% said life in Carmel/Clay
was somewhat better, while less than 3% of the respondents reported they thought Carmel/Clay
was worse than other areas they had lived or visited.
1
Reasons For Living In Carmel
5
Respondents were asked to tell us some of the reasons they lived in Carmel. Question #7
read "People have different reasons they give for living in the Carmel/Clay area. What are the
three most important reasons why you live in Carmel/Clay?" The distribution of responses for the
first' of the three possible reasons are shown in the table below (Table 8).
TABLE 8
People have different reasons they give for living in the Carmel/Clay area. What are the three
most important reasons why yei live in Carmel/Clay?
Reason Percent Reporting
Excellent quality of schools 36%
Convenience of locale to work 19
Convenience to family /friends 7
Low crime rate/high safety 6
Good location in general 6
Quality of life 5
Its where I grew up 4
Nice homes/nice neighborhoods 3
Property value/Home resale 2
Affordable housing 2
Other 10
The quality of schools in the Carmel/Clay community was the most mentioned (36
reason for living in Carmel. This reflects several things about the community, including the large
number of families with children that live in Carmel. Still, one must note that "convenience" and,
more important perhaps, "quality of life" (mentioned by 10% as their second "reason" why they
live in Carmel) are also strong motivations reported by residents. The combination of these three
answers accounts for almost one half of all the explanations given for residing in the community.
If one were to total all the reasons given that reflect some aspect of "quality of life" it seems
apparent that the general character of life in Carmel is seen by residents as far better than any
nearby communities. It is apparent that the people we interviewed are PROUD of living in the
Carmel, Indiana area.
Many only gave one answer. For a full distribution of answers to all three options, see Appendix C.
Selected Answers Reasons for living in Carmel
"The first and most important reason is the schools, the second housing, and third is good
shopping and restaurants."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Three year resident of Carmel.
"It has a catholic school for my children, easy access to expressways, the right kinds of prices
for the home we wanted"
Male between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Eight year resident of Carmel.
"Good school system. Low crime rate. Convenience to where we do most of our stuff like
shopping and friends."
Female between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Two year resident of Carmel.
Associations Reasons for living in Carmel
Residents 55 years of age or older, were more likely to report "convenience to family /friends
Females were more likely to report "schools males were more likely to report "proximity to work
2
These were typical responses, though they were not selected randomly.
6
Issues Facing Carmel
7
Though proud of their community, residents we spoke with also had several key concerns
about the future of the area involving the city of Carmel. We asked respondents to tell us what
they thought would be "...the three most significant issues facing Carmel/Clay over the next 5
years." In the following two tables (Table 9 and Table 10) we show the respondents' first "issue"
answered, and also the top issues when we combine choices one through three. Since we can
infer that the first issue given is the most important one for respondents, Table 9 may be the most
instructive.
TABLE 0
What do you feel will be the three most significant issues facing
Carmel/Clay over the nfxt 5 years?
-1st Response
Issues Percent Reporting
Population Growth- Overpopulated 19.0
Maintaining School Quality 18.2
Growth Of Schools/Redistricting 15.5
Traffic Growth Congestion 12.3
Don't Know 9.4
No Answer 5.2
Taxes General 3.2
City Dev. Expansion General 2.7
Housing Increase Growth 2.2
Crime Drugs 1 7
Balance Of Homes Businesses 1.5
Over Development Commercial 1.2
Improving Parks And Rec. 4.2
Improvement Of City Serv./Police 1-9
Zoning In General 1.0
TABLE 10
What do you feel will be the three most significant issues facing
Carmel/Clay over the next S years?
—3 Responses Grouped—
Issues Percent Reporting
Traffic Growth Congestion 1 5%
Population Growth Overpopulation 13
Maintaining School Quality 13
Growth Of Schools/Redistricting 11
Taxes General 7
Improving Parks And Recreation 4
Crime And Drugs 3
Water Treatment And Availability 2
Housing Increases And Growth 2
Over Development Commercial 2
City Development And Expansion 2
Improvement Of City Services Like Police 1
Economic Structure Of City 1
Balance Of Homes And Businesses 1
8
With 40% of the "first choice" answers related to "growth" or "congestion it is clear that
residents of Carmel/Clay are very concerned about over expansion of their area. Also of
importance to residents (congruent with the reasons given for choosing Carmel/Clay as a place to
live) was "maintaining the quality of schools" in their area.
Selected Answers Issues next 5 years
"High schools, ill planning of development (particularly where traffic and schools are
concerned). Growth is out of control."
Female between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Five year resident of Carmel.
"The growth -how to control it. How to cover cost of growth. Prioritize tax dollars, not so much
on cops and fire department, but more on recreation. Police are hard on minorities."
Male aged 55 no children in household. Twelve year resident of Carmel.
"Building thats going on and the crowded condition in the schools. The lack of recreational
areas in the city."
Female between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Six year resident of Carmel.
"The schools overcrowding, overbuilding, and um, perhaps the fact the roads are going to
have to be enlarged to handle the traffic."
Female aged 55 with children. One year resident of Carmel.
"The school system, overcrowding and redistricting. The water treatment plant.
Over- building congested roads."
Female between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Four year resident of Carmel.
"Lack of good traffic flow. Keeping the school system to keep up with population. Availabity of
services such as police and fire, and ability of (those services) to keep up with growth."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Four year resident of Carmel.
Associations Issues next 5 years
Those 55 years of age or older were less likely to report "maintaining school quality" and more likely
to report concerns about "taxes".
Younger residents, aged 18 -34, were more likely to report they "don't know" what concerns they have
for the future of Carmel.
Females more likely to mention "school quality/growth" concerns, while males were more likely to
report "population growth" as a concern.
'Maintaining schools" was a concern of both families with children and families without children,
however, those with children were more likely to be concerned with the "growth" of schools.
9
10
Growth Rate of Carmel
Respondents were asked "Thinking about the current growth rate of your community,
would say the growth rate is just about right, occurring too fast, or occurring too slow
TABLE 11
Thinking about the current growth rate of your
community, would you say the growth rate is
just about right, occurring too fast, or
occurring too slow?
70
60
50 s.� r
Too Fast
40 1 lAbout Right
3 Too Slow
r5
y
20
DK /NA
10
As shown, residents were clearly uncomfortable with the growth rate of Carmel. If the city of
Carmel is to maintain its perceived high quality of life, city planners will have to consider the
1 opinions of the citizenry when making decisions regarding expansion and growth. Later in this
document, we will discuss some of the fundamental areas in which respondents feel growth is
1 occurring too fast.
1 Associations Growth rate of Carmel
Those between the ages of 18 -34 were more likely to say the growth rate is "about right" and less
likely to say it is occurring "too fast
There was not a relationship between opinion of the growth rate and respondent gender, or between
opinion of growth rate and whether or not there were children in the household.
Though not necessarily a causal relation, respondents concerned about traffic congestion were more
likely to say the growth rate was occurring "too fast
Development Of Carmel
11
The next set of questions asked respondents to rate particular areas of possible
development and expansion. They were asked; "Now I am going to read you a list of attributes of
Carmel/Clay community and life. Please tell me whether you view the development of these
attributes as being very positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, very negative, or not
applicable." The complete distribution of answers is provided in Table 12, below.
TABLE 12
Please tell me whether you VIEW the development of these attributes as being very positive,
somewhat positive, somewhat negative, very negative, or not applicable
Attribute
Percent Reporting
Very Somewhat Somewhat Very DK
Positive Positive Negative Negative INAP
Activities For Youth 27% 34% 16% 6% 18%
Parks And Recreation 20 38 25 8 8
Retail Shopping Opp. 34 46 14 3 2
Schools 50 35 7 2 7
Cultural Activities 18 48 18 4 13
Job Opportunities 26 42 11 1 19
Services From Taxes 13 49 21 4 13
Housing Availability 42 44 8 2 3
Medical Facilities 49 42 5 1 4
The development of "schools" received the highest number of "very positive" mentions
(50 by respondents, with "medical facilities" and "housing availability" also mentioned as "very
positive" by a large percentage (49% and 42 respectively) of people we spoke with. However,
the order of importance changes slightly when examining the grouped' responses, with "medical
3 Throughout this document and in the marginal tabulations, DK means "Don't Know" and NA means "No
Answer INAP means the question was "Inapplicable" to a particular respondent.
4 For this, and every, question in which a list was read, the computer randomized the order in which the
items were presented.
Table 13, "very" and "somewhat" were grouped to create a single "positive" and a single
"negative" category.
12
facilities" and "housing availability" receiving more overall "positive" mentions than did "schools"
(see Table 13, below).
TABLE 13
Please tell me whether you VIEW the development of these attributes as being very positive,
somewhat positive, somewhat negative, very negative, or not applicable."
Grouped
Percent Reporting
Attribute Positive Negative INAP
Medical Facilities 91% 5% 4%
Housing Availability 87 10 3
Schools 85 8 7
Retail Shopping Opp. 80 17 2
Job Opportunities 68 13 19
Cultural Activities 65 22 13
Services From Taxes 62 25 13
Activities For Youth 60 21 18
Parks And Recreation 58 34 8
The next section of the questionnaire addressed respondent "concerns" related to new
development in the Carmel/Clay area. The text of that set of questions (Question #13) and the
expanded distribution of answers is provided in Table 14, below.
TABLE 14
The following issues have come up in the past when a new development has
been proposed For each of them, please tell me if you are very concerned,
somewhat concerned, somewhat un- concerned, or not at all concerned
Percent Reporting
Very Somewhat Somewhat Not At All DK/NA
Concern Concerned Concerned Un- Concerned Concerned
Traffic Congestion 65% 27% 3% 5% .2%
Impact On Schools 49 33 4 10 4
Activities And Safety 45 34 6 10 5
For Youth
Loss Of O pen Space 39 41 7 11 3
Housing Density 39 42 5 12 2
Compatibility Of New 32 44 6 13 5
Developments
Signage 18 36 11 26 9
Landscaping 18 49 10 22 2
Commercial Architecture 14 41 14 28 3
Commercial Lighting 12 35 18 30 6
Again, it is helpful to group the answer categories. The table below shows the grouped
distribution of answers to the questions.
TABLE 16
Percent Reporting
Concern Concerned Un- Concerned DK/NA
Traffic Congestion 92% 8% 0%
Impact On Schools 82 14 4
Activities And Safety for Youth 79 16 5
Loss Of Open Space 80 17 3
Housing Density 81 17 2
Compatibility Of New 76 19 5
Developments
Signage 54 37 9
Landscaping 66 32 2
Commercial Architecture 55 43 2
Commercial Lighting 46 48 6
13
I 14
1 As shown in the preceding two tables (Table 14 and 15) it is "traffic congestion" that
I concerns Carmel residents the most when it comes to new developments. Other top concerns
included the impact such development would have on schools, housing density, and loss of open
I space.
Several questions #14 and #15) were asked in an attempt to gauge the types of
I development Carmel residents would favor. Question #14 asked respondents about their
preferences for new housing in the Carmel area (see Table 16, below). As can be seen, "single
I family homes" were preferred by the majority of residents we interviewed (65.9 with
apartments and condominiums each mentioned by 9% of the respondents
1 TABLE 16
As the Carmel /Clay area continues to develop, what
I type of housing do you feel Carmel /Clay
needs most? (OPTION 1)
I 70
60 MI tmj Single Family
0 Homes
I 50
Apartments
Condominiums
1 30
Low Income
20 j414
D K
un
Don't now
1
1 Associations Type of housing does Carmel needs
Those preferring the development of apartments were more likely to be between the ages of I8 -34,
while those preferring the development of "Condominiums" were more likely to be between the
1 ages of 35 -54.
Females aged 55 or older who have lived in Carmel for more than 15 years were more likely to report
1 a need for `low income" type housing opportunities in Carmel. Fourteen percent of those aged
55+ reported more low income housing was needed This does not necessarily mean that older
females "need" more low income housing.
1 6
Respondents were allowed to give two types of housing preferences. For a complete distribution of
answers to choice #2, see Marginal Tabulations at Appendix C
1
Question #15 asked respondents about the types of commercial developments they would
like to see in Carmel. Each respondent was allowed to give up to 5 responses on this question,
though many only chose to mention one or two. When asked "In your opinion, what type of
commercial developments do you feel Carmel/Clay needs many (23.7 said they did not favor
any more commercial developments. Those who reported wanting some kind of commercial
development favored department stores/shopping malls, sit -down restaurants, heavy/light
industry, and office space'.
Because of the difficulties associated with single measures, we included multiple measures
of opinion for particular topics. Respondents were asked (Question #16) "Do you think that local
government in Carmel/Clay should do more to encourage... and then read a list of possible areas
of governmental action. The complete distribution of these answers is shown in Table 17, below.
7
TABLE 17
Do you think that local government in Carmel/Clay should do more to encourage...?
Area To Encourage
Yes
Percent Reporting
No DK/NA
Protection Of Remaining Woodlands 82% 13% 5%
Development Of Trails Greenways 80 15 5
Services And Activities For The Elderly 74 16 10
Revitalization Of Downtown Carmel 54 38 8
Modest Neighborhood Commercial Services 43 34 23
More Diverse Housing Opportunities 43 50 7
15
The responses to these questions reveal the concern residents have for protecting their
natural environment 82% said the city should do more to encourage such protection. Also
evident in Table 17 is residents' desire to expand existing greenways and trails, with 80%
reporting further development in this area is needed. Though less well received, the expansion of
commercial services and non single family housing was supported by 43% (respectively) of the
respondents.
Please refer to Marginal Tabulations at Appendix C for a full distribution of answers.
r 16
Downtown Carmel
The next set of questions asked respondents to give their opinions about the historic
downtown area of Carmel. As shown in the graph below (Table 18), public opinion was evenly
split on the issue of Carmel having a "strong" downtown. However, respondents were generally
r
r TABLE 18
Do you, personally, feel it is important that
Carmel have a strong downtown?
50
40
Yes
30 30
Y
5
No
4
DK/NA
W
r
positive toward the idea of preserving the downtown. As shown in the graph below (Table 19),
61% said they would prefer that the buildings and atmosphere of the downtown area be
"preserved Only 14% said they thought the buildings in the historic area should be replaced.
r
r
r
r
r
II 17
TABLE 19
Do you think the buildings and atmosphere should
be preserved, the buildings should be replaced, it
should be left alone, or what?
60
50 Preserve
40
Replace
30 Leave Alone
20.x' DK/NA
10
Associations Future of historic downtown Carmel
Females, and those between 18 -34 were more likely to want a strong downtown.
Those living in Carmel between 6 -10 years were less likely to support strong downtown.
Respondent age, and whether there were children in the household were not factors in preference for
downtown.
Males were more likely to want to leave the downtown alone, while females were more likely to report
a preference for "preserving downtown Carmel.
Length of residence and years at current residence were positively correlated with wanting to preserve
the downtown.
1
1
1
1
1 18
1 Public Transportation
1 When asked, "If a public transportation system was implemented, such as a bus line, how
I often do you think you or others in your household would use it? Would you say always,
frequently, sometimes, or never the majority of respondents (62 said they would "never" use
1 such a system. Evidence of support for public transportation does exist with 27% saying they
would use it "sometimes", though only 7.4% said they would use the system on a regular basis
1 (reports of "frequently" or "always The distribution of responses is shown in the graph below.
1 TABLE 20
If a public transportation system was
I implemented how often would you use it?
1 70
60 Always
Frequently
1
40
30 I Sometimes
I 20 Never
10
1
1
1 Those who said they would use such a public transportation system were asked "Would
you prefer this system to run only within Carmel/Clay or extend outside of the area A large
1 percentage (84 of those who said they would use the transportation system, reported a
preference that the routes extend outside the Carmel/Clay area. If public transportation is to be
1 implemented in the Carmel/Clay, it should include routes that extend outside the area.
1
8 When asked (earlier in the interview, question #8) what they thought the most important "issues" facing
1 Cannel were, about 2% mentioned public transportation.
1
I
Associations Projected use of a public transportation system
Those reporting they would use a public transportation system in Carmel at least sometimes were not
unique in terms of age, gender, years of residence, or geographic location of residence.
Those who reported being "very concerned" with traffic congestion were not anymore likely to report
potential use of public transportation.
Respondents in households with children were somewhat more likely to report they would use public
transportation. It may be that these residents envision their children as benefactors of public
transportation.
19
i 20
Satisfaction With City Services
To gauge citizen satisfaction with existing city services and delivery, we asked
respondents to rate several currently provided city services. The answers, shown below, indicate
concerns respondents have about traffic congestion in their area 37% rated
i
TABLE 21
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "excellent" and 5 being "poor", how
would you rate the following areas of the Cannel /Clay area?
40
1= Excellent
30 —111
2 =Very Good
20
3 =Good
4 =Fair
ernatr
10 5 =Poor
in Don't Know
i
x�
Handling Of Traffic Diversity of Econ. Retail Choices
I 1
1
Carmel /Clay handling of traffic congestion as "fair" or "poor The most highly evaluated area
was "satisfaction" with the existing number of "retail choices" in Carmel/Clay.
1
1
1
1
1
1 21
Parks And Recreational Facilities
The next section of the questionnaire addressed parks and recreational opportunities
available in the Carmel/Clay area. The first question in this section asked "Currently, the
Carmel/Clay Parks and Recreation Board maintains three park sites totaling 32 acres. Are you in
1 favor of creating additional parks, natural areas, and public recreation facilities in your
community As shown in the graph below, residents are very positive toward creating additional
park and recreational facilities in Carmel.
It is important to note the strength of support for additional parks and recreational
facilities in Carmel/Clay. In every sub sample males, females, younger, older, with children,
1 without children support was shared by at least 75% of the group.
TABLE Yl
Are you in favor of creating
additional parks, natural areas,
and public recreation facilities
in your community?
Yes
F S No
Y
1
Associations Support for additional parks and recreational facilities
Support for the creation of additional parks and recreational facilities is strong among nearly every
segment of the Carmel /Clay population, including those without children.
1
1
1
22
Each respondent was asked "...what types..." of natural, recreation, or parks facilities they
would like to see developed. As shown in the graph on the following page, "parks, playgrounds,
and picnic areas" were mentioned by 34% of respondents. Both "nature trails" (for walking and
biking), and "recreational facilities for youth" were mentioned by 20%.
TABLE 23
Types of Recreational
Facilities
1
1 I
1
•F Otter
1
1 10 20 30 40
Percent Reporting
1
Associations What types of park/recreational desire
Those between the ages of 18 -34 were more likely to report a desire for more parks.
Those between the ages of 35 -54 were more likely to report a desire for more nature centers and trails.
Females were more likely to report "trails for biking or hiking" while males were more likely to report
"nature centers
Having children in the household was not related to park/recreational choices.
1
Anything Else
23
The last question in the survey asked "Is there anything you would like to add about the
Carmel/Clay area and its future About 30% of those we spoke with offered a comment, with
8% of the sample saying Carmel/Clay "is a nice place to live." Others offered more detailed
explanations of earlier positions. Below, we selected several of the more descriptive comments
that we feel "summed up" the opinions of many we spoke with.
"1 would like to live in it (Cannel) the rest of my life."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Fifteen year resident of Carmel.
"The area has a great future because people are taking care of things and it has many
opportunities for the young."
Female 55+ years of age, no children. Three year resident of Carmel.
"It (Carmel) has enough commercial development. I'm pleased with the schools and people,
and the low crime is wonderful. I'm pleased with the way things are now/ there seems to be
more housing. I don't know, I guess that's good but it would be nice if there were open
woodlands and bike trails."
Female between the ages of 18 -34, with children. One year resident of Carmel.
"Lets not end up like Castleton, no unregulated growth. If it could be more like Zionsville it
would attract more retail traffic. I do not want to see every square inch covered with houses. And
no big shopping malls."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, no children in household. Eighteen year resident of
Carmel.
"The growth (in Carmel) is at the right pace. The growth rate seems to have a modest more
sustainable growth. I'm from Southern California and am used to "boom and bust" growth."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, no children in household. Seven year resident of Carmel.
"They need to get there act together with the schools, we really need to get two high schools.
It's too competitive as far as sports, etc."
Female between the ages of 35 -54, with children. One year resident of Carmel.
"I just have a hard time with the building of a new high school and the cost. There has to be a
limit. but the main attraction of Carmel is the schools, but the cost is too high."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, no children in household. Twenty one year resident of
Carmel.
24
"They need to control the growth and I'm concerned about the low income housing next to
me I am unhappy about high schools going to a block schedule program."
Female between the ages of 18 -34, with children. One year resident of Carmel.
"I think as long as the growth rate is regulated, everything will be fine. But if population
goes up then there will be more crime and it will be harder to control traffic. etc...
Male between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Three year resident of Carmel.
"1 am concerned that developers have too much political influence. Homeowners should have
more influence over development in the community."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, with children. Eleven year resident of Carmel.
"If services don't improve and population increases, the area will go down. And the Carmel
police are too aggressive with the motorists."
Male between the ages of 35 -54, no children in household. Twenty year resident of
Carmel.
Conclusions
Over 90% say that Carmel Indiana is the same or better than any other place they
have lived or visited.
25
The examination of the data collected from telephone interviews with more than 400
residents of the Carmel/Clay community allows us to draw several conclusions: Residents of
Carmel/Clay rate their community very positively.
Several strengths have helped Carmel achieve this position in the eyes of it's residents,
with the school system being the most frequently mentioned. Others prefer the location, the low
crime rate, the people, the shopping and retail opportunities, and the overall "quality of life"
afforded in the city of Carmel. The general notion of "quality of life" is clearly multi dimensional.
One citizen's "good" is often another's "evil." Still, the satisfaction displayed is remarkable in its
magnitude and the fervor with which it is expressed.
The strengths mentioned do not come without an important caveat.
Serious concerns exist among the residents relating to population growth,
commercial developments, school growth and redistricting, and traffic congestion.
It is important to note that 63% of the residents we spoke with felt that growth in Carmel
was occurring "too fast Yet, the same citizens also want the advantages that go with a strong
economy and population base. Large segments of respondents indicated desires for allocation and
expansion of city services in several areas. A plurality of the population interviewed indicated
they wanted additional park and recreational facilities. Strong support also exists for preserving
the historic downtown area of Carmel. This duality of preserving the "old downtown" while
expanding services and parks highlights the difficulties of an expanding traditionally suburban
area. The Carmel/Clay area is moving beyond being merely a suburb of Indianapolis. It is a
dynamic community developing its own economy and social base. Thus, there is an inevitable
tension among citizens between development and stability. In many ways, the people we
interviewed want both things to be characteristic of their community. This is not something that is
26
either always possible or will necessarily contribute to economic stability. How community leaders
deal with this dilemma in the coming years will help determine whether or not Carmel/Clay can
maintain its high level of citizen satisfaction.
Appendix A
Methodology
The interviews were conducted by professional interviewers at the Public Opinion
Laboratory from our special telephone /computer facilities in Cavanaugh Hall on the Indiana
University- Purdue' University, Indianapolis campus. All interviews were administered on our 22
Novell® network using a Sawtooth CATI (Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing) software
system. The latest in computer /interviewing technology, the CATI system helps to reduce
interviewer related errors, track productivity, and keep accurate records of every call. All
interviewers were specially trained on the instrument used and received at least six hours of
general interviewer training in addition to the 2 hours of specific training on the instrument. The
majority of the interviewers for this project were "veteran" interviewers in the sense that most had
participated in several other survey research projects and some have been interviewers for the
Public, Opinion Laboratory for over two years. The interviewers used were also specially selected
from our large pool of potential interviewers (over 100 people have been trained in interviewing
and had experience in implementing survey research in our laboratory in the past year) in order to
maximize the use of those who had the most complete and diverse experience in surveys requiring
special sensitivity to errors that may be introduced through pace of speech and/or interviewer
effects.
The instrument (questionnaire) was developed by the Public Opinion Laboratory and
implemented in the field in its entirety. The maximum statistical error for the sample is 5.0 at a
95% confidence rate. That means that if the same questions were asked of a similar sample, 19
out of 20 times you would receive answers within 10.0 percentage points of those evidenced in
the data. Additional errors may result from things such as question wording, respondents'
inattention, respondent perception, pace of speech by the interviewer and various other elements.
Each of these is given special attention during the data collection phase so they are minimized to
the maximum extent possible. We have no reason to believe there are any significant biases in the
data analyzed in this report. As a further precaution, 10% of all calls were verified by recalling
the subject at a different time and or a different day to assure they had been interviewed. This
10% was randomly selected from the database of telephone numbers of completed calls.
The survey of a random sample of residents in the city of Carmel and Clay township conducted
by the Indiana University Public Opinion Laboratory from its facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana was
from March 13, 1995 through March 16, 1995. Interviews on Monday through Thursday were
conducted only between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (EST).
Each interviewer was given a set of answers "What the Respondent Might Like to Know"
to provide standard answers to any question raised by the people contacted for an interview.
Residents we conducted interviews with were generally polite, according to our interviewers.
Below, the disposition of each dialing attempted in the study is reported.
DISPOSITIONS
No Answer 1844.
Answering Machine 1328
Refusals 267
Callbacks 355
Disconnects 544
Not In Service 671
Busy 891
Not In Quota 1617
Breakoff 41
Complete 417
TOTAL DIALINGS 7975
Appendix B
The Questionnaire
CARMEL /CLAY COMMUNITY SURVEY
Hello, my name is (INSERT NAME) and I am calling from Indiana University's Public
Opinion Laboratory. We are calling you this evening to get your evaluations and opinions of
some important issues facing the city of Carmel. This is your chance to have your ideas and
opinions heard, and this will only take a couple of minutes. All of your answers will be kept
strictly anonymous and completely confidential, and I promise you we are not selling anything.
1. Do you live in the City of Carmel or Clay Township?
1 YES
2 NO (Thank and Terminate Call)
We need to get an idea of where you live.
2. Which of the following best describes where you live? (CHECK MAP GRID.
VERIFY LOCATION)
Do you live North Or South of 116th Street
Do you live
North
South
East of Keystone
Between Keystone and Meridian
West of Meridian Cl
DK/NA
OTHER
What is your zip code?
3. What is your age?
1 18 -34
2 35 -54
3 55+
Appendix C
Full Marginal Tabulations