Viewing the collective opinion of 295 residents, West Bountiful received survey results from the Utah Wellbeing Project during a city council meeting on Sept. 3.

The report – which was delivered by Utah State University sociology professor Courtney Flint – showed that of the 11 cities in the established/mid-sized group, West Bountiful ranked fourth in personal wellbeing amongst residents and third in community wellbeing.

“I was very encouraged by, it seemed to me like, the people's response of how happy they were,” said Mayor Ken Romney. “Especially in a time where there seems to be so much discord and people just complain. That seems to be what you hear. Maybe that’s just the media making it that way, but it seems like that’s what’s out there is people’s unhappiness, their discord, rather than [people] even be[ing] willing to talk about how good things are.” 

According to the results, people living in the city value the “small town character” and “sense of community” in the area. For questions about recreation, 95% of respondents said that they had walked or biked in West Bountiful over the past 12 months, and 88% said that they had used local trails within that time frame.

The survey addressed concerns amongst citizens as well. Data showed that the three most common issues West Bountiful residents worry about involve air quality, water supply and green space. The results also reported that 52% of residents believe that the city’s population growth is too fast – the seventh highest percentage in the established/mid-sized cities category.

“I think because of the size of our city being smaller, I think it probably has a bigger impact on how we would take their comments or their things into consideration versus if we were a larger city,” said Romney about how much public opinion affects decisions made by the city council.

One finding from the survey that West Bountiful plans to look further into involves feedback on Accessory Dwelling Unit laws. According to the results, a majority of respondents believe that:

• The primary home of Accessory Dwelling Units should be owner-occupied

• Parking availability is a priority for these units

• Proximity of these units to neighboring properties should be taken into consideration

• Units should not be used for short-term rentals

Surveys were sent to residents in the spring, and advertised through “social media, flyers, quarterly newsletters and the city marquee,” according to a report from the Utah Wellbeing Project. More females took the survey than males, and residents in the 40-49 age range had the highest response rate.

Other cities categorized in the established/mid-sized category included Cedar Hills, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Bountiful, North Salt Lake, Pleasant Grove, South Ogden, Cedar City, Midvale and Logan. West Bountiful contributed $500 to the research this year, and will plan to issue surveys for years to come. 

“This is our first year with the survey, and I think the real value in the survey is going to be over multiple years,” said City Administrator Duane Huffman.