KAET-ASU Poll

For Release:
Monday, April 6, 1998

KAET POLL:
POLL SHOWS ARIZONA VOTERS
WANT CONTROL ON GROWTH

A statewide poll of 533 registered voters conducted by KAET-TV and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication at Arizona State University found strong support for two growth initiatives.

These initiatives will likely be on the ballot in November. By a nearly seven-to-one margin (69% for, 11% against), voters favored the Citizens Growth Management Initiative.

This initiative requires cities and counties to adopt growth plans, to set aside land around cities which could not be developed and requires developers to pay impact fees covering the full costs of new services.

The Growing Smarter Initiative also received strong support. Fifty-six percent (56%) approved the amendment, 22% opposed it and 22% were undecided. This amendment would ask voters to approve $20 million dollars a year for 10 years to buy land to preserve open spaces and would allow the state to swap land with the federal government for preservation purposes. Support for both initiatives cut across all political and demographic categories.

According to the poll director, Dr. Bruce D. Merrill, "For some time we have found that 'quality of life' issues have been gaining in popularity. Now that Maricopa County is the fastest growing county in the U.S. and Arizona is the second or third fastest growing state, people have decided that something must be done about growth before it gets completely out of hand."

The poll, conducted March 25-29, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2%, and is statistically weighted to reflect the proper balance of voters in each Arizona county. Forty-four percent (44%) of the sample was Republican, 43% Democrat and 13% registered "other" than Republican or Democrat. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of the sample was in Maricopa County, 20% in Pima County and the remainder (22%) in the other Arizona counties.

Q1. Another issue relates to how to manage growth in Arizona. One plan called the Citizens Growth Management Initiative would require cities and counties to adopt growth-management plans by 2001, to set aside land around cities which could not be developed, developers would have to pay impact fees covering the full costs of new services, and all but minor changes in growth plans would require voter approval. If this initiative comes up for a vote this fall, would you tend to vote: 1. For it 2. Against it 3. Undecided/Don't know

Q2. Another plan being considered by the legislature, the Growing Smarter Initiative, would ask voters to approve $20 million dollars a year for 10 years to buy land to preserve open spaces, would allow the state to swap state land for federal land for preservation purposes, would require cities and counties to adopt growth plans every ten years and would create a Growing Smarter commission to recommend new ways to handle growth. Would you probably vote 1. For 2. Against this initiative? 3. Don't know