A couple of weeks back, Westlake Revelations conducted a survey of what people would want in the proposed retail project *if it is approved. The survey was never intended to ask whether residents wanted the project. That’s a different and separate question. While broad and very useful, its wasn’t intended to be a strict scientific survey.
The goal of the survey was to involve the broader community in the discussion in advance of an approval, if an approval happens. This allows the council to incorporate feedback in during the process rather than afterwards which is difficult to do.
It’s difficult to do a synopsis of a survey, so below are results for readers to see for themselves:
General
356 responses.
50% from within the City of Westlake Village, the balance from surrounding areas
– Except for responses on In n’ Out burger and individual comments,
results were consistent between living inside and outside of City of Westlake Village
Even though it could be anonymous, 92% of people identified themselves.
Types of Retail Desired
32% would like to see REI, 17% would like to see Dick’s Sporting Goods
5% would like to see Fresh Grocer, 46% would like to see Whole Foods
36% would like to see Farrell’s, 26+% would like to see Dave & Buster’s
Despite not being listed, 7% asked for a bowling alley in the “additional notes” section
25-30%: Womens apparel, shoes, and party supply were leading answers
20-25%: Cards and gifts, electronics and computer were next
17-20%: Mens apparel, fitness/spa, childrens apparel, toy store, and hobby store
Restaurant Types
35-49%: Fresh Fish, Salad Bar, Bakery and Health Food
28-33%: White table cloth, Sushi/Japanese, Mexican, Greek, Fast Casual/Sit Down, Coffee
15-24%: Pizza/Italian, Indian, Deli/Sandwich, Chinese, Juice
In n’ Out Burger
Before the survey started, residents had suggested In n’ Out Burger so often that we broke it out into its own question so that we could specifically look at whether traffic was a consideration in what people wanted, and more easily see what residents inside vs. outside the City limits wanted. In n’ Out is different from other drive thrus because it opens at 10:30am, and therefore avoids AM traffic peak (the City Council could make a limitation of opening after 10am to mandate this). What wasn’t know at the time of the survey is that traffic for a drive through is already built into the EIR.
When respondents were asked if they wanted an In n’ Out Burger, they responded:
Yes, but only if there’s no/negligible traffic impact:
– 21% of City of Westlake Village residents
– 23% of residents outside city
Yes, even if there’s a minor increase traffic:
– 41% of City of Westlake Village residents
– 53% of residents outside city
No, regardless of traffic impact.
– 37% of City of Westlake Village residents
– 24% of residents outside city
Traffic for a drive thru is already incorporated into the EIR. So if people answered using the anticipated impacts as a baseline, the totals inside and outside the city are the most relevant. In total:
– 63% of residents of City of Westlake Village want an In n’ Out.
– 69% of people living outside the City want an In n’ Out.
Additional Comments frequently repeated were that people wanted:
Outside seating, area
Breakfast place
Diner
Those interested in looking at the raw data, and the comments are welcome to it. Simply send an email to Westlake Revelations and we’ll send it to you. About 150 respondents included comments (e.g., less than half, but a significant number).