Edgewater workshop survey: respondents prioritize waterfront access and a community center

At a June 24, 2024 Edgewater city workshop, consultant Eliza Harris Giuliano presented results from the city's second visioning survey, telling the mayor and council the effort drew 910 participants and that SurveyMonkey's tools estimated a roughly 3% margin of error for the sample.

'2We had 910 participants,'2 Giuliano said, adding that about 97% of respondents live in Edgewater and roughly 3.9% of the city's population responded. The presenter said 58% of respondents answered 'yes' when asked whether they would like a community center.

The results put waterfront access at the top of residents' priorities: when respondents were asked to rank projects, waterfront access came out most frequently as a first priority, followed by a new community center and sidewalk improvements. Giuliano summarized the most-cited waterfront uses as parks and green space, walking and biking trails, and waterfront dining. She said open-ended location suggestions most often pointed to areas near water, as well as Park Avenue and US 1.

The survey also captured views on development and housing. Giuliano said mixed-use development (described in the survey as housing over retail) was not broadly popular: about 37% supported it and 63% did not. On housing type, single-family ownership ranked highest among responses, while townhomes, apartments and duplexes together accounted for about 23% of preferences. Sidewalk improvements received roughly 65% support in the question about pedestrian infrastructure. Results on undergrounding utilities were mixed, with some respondents prioritizing US 1 and others ranking it as lower priority.

Giuliano highlighted respondent demographics that shape interpretation of the results: about 94% of survey respondents reported owning their home, 45% reported being retired and the largest respondent age group was 65 and older (46% of respondents), a skew Giuliano said would bias results toward the preferences of older residents.

Council reaction focused on how to use the data. Mayor DePhew said the council should workshop Park Avenue and suggested identifying three short-term priorities to advance. One council member noted that residents appear to want more waterfront access but questioned how the city would acquire waterfront land, and another council member said some resident responses may reflect concern over the fate of an existing city-owned building and a hope it might become a community center. A separate council member observed that building a large community center may be more appropriate at the planned new city hall site, where a larger footprint and a lake could accommodate events.

Giuliano reminded the council that a community meeting included in the consultant contract is planned for late July and said the survey results will inform that outreach and discussion. Council members also asked staff to identify potential parcels and to coordinate with the city manager and staff on follow-up.

The workshop concluded with no formal vote; the council adjourned after the discussion.