Declining Quality Of Life And Concerns About Overdevelopment Highlight Latest Town Survey

A survey conducted by Barrett Planning Group on behalf of the town of Nantucket for the upcoming Master Plan update found sizable majorities of respondents say that the quality of life on Nantucket has gotten worse since they arrived and they believe it will continue to get worse in the next five years, though most are still satisfied with the island’s overall quality of life. Significant sampling issues mean that the responses should not be considered representative of Nantucket’s population at large, and only limited conclusions can be drawn from the data.

Sixty percent of resident respondents said that they believe quality of life on Nantucket has gotten somewhat or much worse since they arrived on the island, with only 18 percent saying it was somewhat or much better. Similarly, 52 percent expected the quality of life to be worse in five years, while only 7 percent expected it to be better.

“Over 50 percent of the survey respondents reported living on the island for decades, during which time the community experienced significant changes,” Nantucket director of planning Leslie Snell wrote in an email to the Current about the survey results. “While we can’t turn back time, as a community we can guide the recommendations in the current plan to shape the future to make Nantucket a place where the community thrives.”

However, 57 percent of resident respondents still indicated they were very or somewhat satisfied with the quality of life on the island, with only 22 percent indicating the reverse.

The top attraction of Nantucket, according to respondents, was the island’s historic character, listed by 77 percent of residents who took the survey. The two next highest scoring attractions were open space and water-based recreation, listed by 69 percent and 67 percent of resident respondents, respectively. The top concern was too much development, listed by 64 percent of resident respondents, followed by cost of living, traffic and affordable housing at 60 percent, 49 percent and 44 percent. Sixty-one percent reported being worried about their ability to afford at least one basic need.

“Overall, I wasn’t surprised by many of the responses,” Snell wrote. “It is a constant balancing act for the Planning Board, and others, to implement changes to address the needs of the community – like attainable housing and improved infrastructure – without being viewed as encouraging additional development. If the will of the community is to reduce potential development, the Master Plan could be utilized to recommend zoning changes.”

Read the complete survey results by clicking here

Snell also singled out respondents’ concerns with transportation and traffic. “Not surprisingly, transportation and traffic were consistently mentioned as a concern yet 66 percent of year-round respondents report driving alone all or most days,” she wrote. “Transportation improvements proposed over many years have been difficult to approve, fund, and implement, and the result is undeniable.”

Several Planning Board members and Nantucket Planning And Economic Development Commission members who were contacted by the Current declined to comment about the survey.

The survey received 1,638 responses, a robust sample and a high number for Nantucket. However, there are several considerable issues with the sample that make it difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions from the data.

While the survey was advertised through multiple publicity channels, including the town’s website, social media, and newsletter, along with local newspaper ads and social media, and announcements at board and committee meetings, it remained an opt-in sample. This means that no one was directly queried to reply. Instead, they had to choose to do so. Research has shown that even when opt-in surveys attempt to correct for demographic inconsistencies and guarantee that they are surveying a representative sample of the population they are studying, they are often highly inaccurate.

Additionally, Barrett Planning Group’s survey does not correct for demographic inconsistencies and is not a representative sample of Nantucket residents. Seventy-nine percent of resident respondents own their homes, as opposed to roughly 76 percent of residents. Fifty-six percent of respondents identified as female, with only 39 percent identifying as male. Among residents, the ratio is close to even. Only 7 percent reported speaking a language other than English at home, as opposed to over 15% of residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Additionally, only 5 percent of respondents racially identified as anything other than white, far short of the over 16 percent on the Census, and 36 percent were over 65, as opposed to the roughly 17 percent reported by the Census.

These considerable sampling problems mean that if any of the results are impacted by demographic characteristics—for example, if homeowners are less likely to worry about housing insecurity—the survey is not providing accurate information to the town.

“I, and members of the Planning Board, would like to have seen more participation from a sample that truly represents the island community, but unfortunately, it’s a difficult result to achieve,” Snell said. “Public engagement from all residents is important for the Master Plan to be successful, and accordingly, Barrett Planning Group and I are exploring ways to attract more attention to the survey by re-opening the survey in other languages and broadening the public outreach.”

According to Barrett Planning Group’s report, “a Master Plan covers the topics of land use, housing, economic development, natural and cultural resources, open space and recreation, public services and facilities, and transportation. Nantucket’s master plan will also include the topics of community health and sustainability.”

The survey also included a few other interesting pieces of information. The most requested new non-residential development was a grocery store, requested by 49 percent of respondents.