A big new survey of Laguna Beach residents and business is complete, and the results are not great.
If you dig under the glass-half-full hype, you will see an underbelly of discontent. There was a similar study done in 2012, so there are apples-to-apples comparisons with repeat questions.
For example, here’s a key question:
That’s a fairly significant drop and portends a consistent pattern which any clear-eyed resident will tell you: Laguna is losing its appeal.
People are worried. Affordability is shot. Hope is a never-ending dream.
Need more proof? There are pages of it – 114 to be exact.
That is one of the biggest drops in the entire report and a stunning indictment of Laguna Beach government.
It raises the question: How is it possible to screw up the crown jewel of coastal Southern California so much that the majority of residents believe Laguna is heading in the wrong direction? Where is the disconnect?
Perhaps the survey will tell us. (A low number is bad.)
All of these results are much lower than the national average.
This was not hard to predict. If you don’t invest in basic infrastructure for 10 or 20 years, things will break down.
At the risk of overkill, there are many more examples:
That last question is interesting because some would argue, 87% … that’s great! But not when we go from almost an A+ to a solid B.
We call ourselves a world-class destination, but residents believe we are just middling.
People who live in Laguna Beach have high expectations, yet this survey proves that something is rotten in Laguna, and it’s not the kelp.
To read the full results, go here.
