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deHaven-Smith & Assoc.
Martin County Survey Report
July 30, 2001

This poll was commissioned by 1000 Friends of Florida to gather the views of Martin County residents about growth management and environmental protection policies and life in their community. Dr. Lance deHaven-Smith and Ms. Westi Jo deHaven-Smith, of deHaven-Smith & Assoc., designed and directed the telephone survey, which was conducted April 13-18, 2001. The sample included 303 registered voters in Martin County. Over half of the respondents voted in the September 5, 2000, primary election for County Commissioners. This number of interviews produces a confidence interval of +/- 6%.

Executive Summary

Martin County residents say… "We should leave behind a clean and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren."

  • Over half of the respondents think that Martin County is being developed too fast and we need to discourage some growth.
  • Voters rank environmental/growth management groups as the most trustworthy in providing fair and accurate information about growth, development and the environment.
  • Environmental issues were important to voters' decisions in the county commission race, and citizens rated water quality as their leading concern.

When asked about growth management policies, Martin County's citizens say… "Stay the Course."

  • Republicans, Democrats and Independents clearly want the county's growth controls to be maintained or strengthened, not relaxed.
  • There is significant support for strengthening growth controls, and when "strengthen" and "keep" are combined, support for key controls--limits on clearing native trees and rural development and wetland mitigation, is above 80 percent.

When asked about a number of specific policies for controlling Martin County's growth and protecting its environment, residents express overwhelming support for strong growth management:

  • Over ninety percent (90%) support four policies central to ‘smart growth'
  • Fully 86% want strict rules on where to locate new development
  • By a seven-to-one margin, voters support limits on building roads into environmentally sensitive areas
  • And over half support paying farmers if they are not allowed to sell their land for development

Voters do not want growth management policies sacrificed in the name of economic development. They believe that Martin County can protect the environment and have a strong economy at the same time.

Survey Results

When asked to rate a list of messages, ninety-seven percent (97%) of respondents rank "We should leave behind a clean and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren" as a powerful or moderately strong argument.

"Please consider the following statements designed to convince voters to support growth management and environmental protection. For each statement, please tell me whether you personally find the statement a powerful argument for supporting growth management and environmental protection, a moderately strong argument or a weak argument."

Level of Support for Each Message
97% -- We should leave behind a clean and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren.
91% -- The St. Lucie River and Martin County's lakes are becoming polluted.
91% -- Ugly and poorly planned development will hurt everyone's property values.
90% -- A clean and healthy environment brings jobs and tourist dollars to Martin County.
86% -- Martin County's drinking water may become polluted unless we have strong protection.
76% -- Managing Martin County's growth will ensure our children's schools are not crowded

When asked about growth management policies, Martin County's citizens say… "Stay the Course."

There is significant support for strengthening growth controls. And when "strengthen" and "keep" are combined, support for key controls--limits on clearing native trees and limits on rural development--is above 80 percent. When asked about a number of specific policies for controlling Martin County's growth and protecting its environment, residents express overwhelming support for strong growth management:

  • Ninety-six percent (96%) say they would strongly support or support a policy that "Makes builders pay their fair share for roads, schools and other public facilities when new developments are built."
  • Ninety-four percent (94%) say they strongly support or support the existing policy that "Protects the St. Lucie River from pollution by keeping the current restrictions on new development along the river."
  • Ninety-one percent (91 %) say they strongly support or support a policy to "Build new schools close to urbanized areas, unless it is to serve a rural community."
  • Ninety-one percent (91%) say they strongly support or support the policy to "Find out what the public thinks about a development decision before it is approved."
  • Eighty-six percent (86%) say they strongly support or support "Strict rules for locating new development."
  • Eighty-six percent (86%) support limiting the clearing of native trees and vegetation to prevent pollution from runoff.
  • Eighty-three percent (83%) support making it more difficult to develop in rural areas so as to better protect farms, wildlife areas and open space. Encourage new development to go in already developing areas.
  • Seventy-one percent (71%) say they strongly support or support "Limits on building roads into environmentally sensitive areas."
  • Fifty-nine percent (59%) say they strongly support or support "Paying farmers for giving up development rights."

Over half of respondents say Martin County is being developed too fast and we need to discourage some growth.

"At this time, would you say Martin County is being developed too fast and we need to discourage some growth, developing at a rate that is good for the community or is Martin County not developing enough and growth needs to be encouraged?"

  • Fifty-six percent (56%) say Martin County is developing too fast.
  • Twenty-nine percent (29%) say Martin County is developing at the right pace.
  • Fifteen percent (15%) say Martin County is not developing enough.

Half of the respondents say Martin County is becoming a better place to live, and nearly eighteen percent see no change. However, one-third say it is becoming worse.

"Overall, do you think Martin County is becoming a better place to live, becoming worse or not changing?"

  • Forty-nine percent (49%) say Martin County is becoming a better place to live.
  • Thirty-three percent (33%) say Martin County is becoming a worse place to live.
  • Eighteen percent (18%) say that Martin County is not changing.

Voters do not want growth management policies sacrificed in the name of economic development. They believe that we can protect the environment and have a strong economy at the same time.

Environmental opponents routinely pit economic arguments and pro-business concerns against environmental protection, but this line of thinking has little credibility with Martin County's voters. Eighty-one percent (81%) of voters reject the argument that there must be a tradeoff between the environment and the economy.

Which statement comes closest to your own views?

"We can have a clean environment and a strong economy at the same time without having to choose one over the other.

(or)

Sometimes a clean environment and a strong economy are in conflict and we must choose one over the other."

Have Both…………..81%
Must Choose………19%


Martin County's citizens rate clean water as their leading concern (36%), followed by sprawl and over development (16%) and distress over losing open space (11%).

"What conservation or environmental concerns do you worry about the most in Martin County?"

  • Water quality -- 36%
  • Sprawl/Overdevelopment -- 16%
  • Other -- 12%
  • Open space/development --11%
  • Water Quantity -- 10%
  • Traffic -- 7%
  • Wildlife/endangered species -- 4%
  • Toxic waste -- 2%
  • Air Quality -- 1%
  • Manatees -- 1%

When asked if they think the Commission made the right decision on the SeaWind Project, seventy-four percent (74%) said "yes."

In 1998, the Martin County Commission turned down a request to build a large subdivision and office complex called SeaWind. The Commissioners voting against SeaWind said the development would harm the environment and contribute to urban sprawl.

  • Seventy-four percent (74%) say the Commission made the right decision to deny SeaWind.
  • Twenty-six percent (26%) say the Commission made the wrong decision to deny SeaWind.

When asked "who do you trust to provide fair and accurate information about growth, development and the environment?" environmental/growth management groups are most trusted.

  • Almost three-quarters (77%) say they are very likely or somewhat likely to trust environmental/growth management groups to provide fair and accurate information about growth, development and the environment.
  • About two-thirds (65%) say they are very likely or somewhat likely to trust the chamber of commerce to provide fair and accurate information about growth, development and the environment.
  • Just over half (52%) say they are very likely or somewhat likely to trust local elected officials to provide fair and accurate information about growth, development and the environment.
  • Almost half (49%) say they are very likely or somewhat likely to trust the news media to provide fair and accurate information about growth, development and the environment.
  • Just under a quarter (23%) say they are very likely or somewhat likely to trust developers to provide fair and accurate information about growth, development and the environment.

Voters expect their County Commissioners to support strong controls over land development and to buy more land for open space.

"Next, I'm going to read to you a list of factors that may or may not be important to you when you are deciding whom to vote for in an election. For each factor, I'd like to know whether it makes it more likely that you would vote for a given candidate, less likely or wouldn't make any difference."

Voters say they are likely to VOTE FOR a candidate who …

  • Favors buying more land for open space (70% more likely to vote for, 18% more likely to vote against, and 12% it makes no difference).
  • Favors strong controls over land development (74% more likely to vote for, 18 percent more likely to vote against, and 8 percent it makes no difference).

Voters say they are likely to VOTE AGAINST a candidate who wants to …

  • Reduce regulation of business (53% more likely to vote against, 25% it makes no difference, and 22% more likely to vote for)

About half of the voters in the September 5, 2000, primary election for county commissioners wanted to see a change in leadership, but one-third said they liked the way the County was being run and saw no need for change.

"If you voted in the September 5, 2000, primary election, which of the following factors influenced the way you voted in the race for the County Commission?"

  • Sixty-one percent (61%) voted for a change in leadership.
  • Thirty-nine percent (39%) saw no need for a change in leadership.