City survey highlights progress, lingering concerns
CONCORD, CA (Apr. 18, 2025) — Potholes. Cows. Homelessness. Beautiful trails. Housing. What do these have in common? They’re some of the things residents love or dislike about their community.
Here’s the good news: Concordians are happier with their community than they were three years ago, as the city emerged from the pandemic. But they’re not as pleased as they were back in 2018 or even 2016, before COVID-19 ravaged the city and, indeed, the entire nation.
This is all reflected in the 2025 Quality of Life Survey that the city conducted earlier in the year. The results of the Goodby & Associates survey show a positive trend in resident satisfaction, as 63% of respondents rated the quality of life in Concord as good or excellent – a significant increase from 53% in 2022.
Residents’ outlook on the future of the city also improved, with 64% expressing a positive outlook for the future, up from 55% in 2022.
“We were not surprised by the results, but we are pleased with them,” said assistant city manager Justin Ezell, who spearheaded the survey. “The survey reaffirms our understanding of the community’s priorities and highlights the overall progress we’ve made.”
Still, he acknowledged that progress needs to continue. “Our council and staff have been working tirelessly to improve the quality of life in Concord,” he said. “These efforts are closely aligned with the needs of our community, and the survey results indicate that we are making meaningful progress in addressing those needs.”
Citing public safety, homeless
According to the survey, public safety and the long response to 911 calls were the top issues concerning residents.
“It is no surprise that in community surveys, public safety rises to the top of the community’s interest,” Ezell said. “Our surveying firm tells us this is true in just about all cities.”
Chief of Police Mark Bustillos briefed the council on public safety at the April 1 meeting, and it is available to watch at www.cityofconcord.org/965/Public-Meetings-and-Agendas.
Ezell praises the police department for “doing excellent work and it shows in their results.” The Police Department’s scores also improved on the recent survey.
Other top priorities have remained consistent for residents since 2022: homelessness, roadway maintenance and housing affordability.
“Our City Council has taken significant steps to develop and implement local solutions to address the national homelessness crisis,” Ezell said. “They recently developed and adopted a Homeless Strategic Plan with a comprehensive set of strategies to expand access to services and support individuals in securing stable housing.”
Ezell pointed to the city’s allocation of $5.4 million in one-time funds for development and implementation of the plan as well as about $1.2 million annually to support programs such as the Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement (CORE) Team, Rapid Rehousing and other services that assist the homeless.
While homelessness remains a key concern for the council and community, it moved lower on the priority list in the most recent survey – indicating that residents are seeing progress. Concord’s 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) count showed a 20% decrease in homelessness from 2023 as the total number of people experiencing homelessness increased across the region.
“This demonstrates that the policies and programs our City Council has implemented are having a meaningful impact,” Ezell said.
The survey also reflected some dissatisfaction with retail, with responders mentioning the need for a Target or Walmart.
The great outdoors a big hit on Nextdoor
In an informal poll taken on Nextdoor.com, many expressed their frustration with homelessness, public safety, and the roadways but also praised the beauty of the area, the ease of working with city offices, the many trails and parks available, the summer Thursday Music & Market events at Todos Santos Plaza, and the general diversity of the community.
April Graham of the Sun Terrace neighborhood, who has lived all 42 years of her life in Concord, shared her impressions. “One thing I like about living in Concord is the Toyota Pavilion. I also like Hurricane Harbor,” she says, but adds: “I do not like how the homeless situation has gotten out of control.”
After coming here from Los Angeles, Mike McDermott lived in Dana Estates and moved to the Turtle Creek neighborhood in 1988. “There are a lot of things to like about Concord: the climate, the hills and trails, the parks, a downtown with no parking meters. My wonderful neighbors and friends. My welcoming and caring church community at St. Agnes.”
Still, he points to areas that need improvement: “We have a wonderful police department that makes us feel safe here in Concord, but like other cities in California, we have too much retail theft and too many porch pirates. Our roads have been getting better (thanks to measure V), but we still have some very bad ones. Clayton Valley Road, Bailey Road, and others are in deplorable shape.”
Michelle Holtz of the Paso de Rio neighborhood loves being surrounded by open space.
“We’ve been living in Concord for about 30 years. Before that, we were natives of Los Angeles. On the way to our new house, I noticed all the open space. Where was I? Are those cows on the hill one-half mile from where I live now!”
City happy with response numbers
The city sent out 97,000 surveys, alerting residents via phone, email and text. While only 920 responded, the city was thrilled with the results.
“We initially sought a sample size of 500 respondents to achieve a margin of error no greater than ±4.4% at a 95% confidence level,” Ezell explained. “However, we exceeded expectations by securing 920 respondents, reducing the margin of error to ±3.22%.”
He said that Goodby made sure most ethnicities in the city were represented when reaching out for respondents. However, Latino responses were lower than in past surveys, and some members of the council suggested it may be out of fear to participate, given the Trump administration’s deportation initiative.
To encourage more responses, especially from targeted demographics like younger people and the international population, the city will continue using the “hybrid approach,” which combines internet and telephone surveys, along with email and text-to-internet communication.
“There is still work to be done,” Ezell said. “We see the results as a reflection of the hard work that council and staff have put into improving the quality of life in Concord, from road improvements to addressing concerns with homelessness, to new housing developments.”
That’s a large undertaking, but let’s hope the cows are here to stay.
For a full report on the 2025 Quality of Life Survey results, visit www.cityofconcord.org/survey.