Clarendon Hills Calls 'Misleading' Patch Analysis On Survey Results

ELMHURST, IL – Clarendon Hills is questioning an analysis of the results of a survey on residents' feelings on downtown.

A few months ago, the village's consultant, Houseal Lavigne, surveyed 550 residents. No direct question was asked on the most contentious downtown issue – replacing the Prospect Avenue triangle with a plaza.

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In its analysis, Patch counted 112 plaza-related comments – 112 were against and 22 in favor.

However, the village's acting manager, Paul Dalen, said that the data mentioned in Patch's story could be "misleading" to some readers and did not give an accurate representation of the survey results.

He said an estimated 5,800 of Clarendon Hills' 8,700 residents are over 18. The 550 responses represent about 9.5 percent of the over-18 population.

"Even assuming that the 134 comments mentioning the plaza were individual responses, this represents only 25% of those who responded and 2.3% of the overall adult population in Clarendon Hills," Dalen said in an email. "What this boils down to is that this was a voluntary survey which was intended to be used as a tool by professionals to create a vision for Downtown Clarendon Hills."

Dalen added that the survey was not intended to be a vote on the plaza, but to gather general sentiments from respondents.

Village officials had pushed for the plaza, saying it would make downtown more inviting. But opponents said it would cause traffic problems.

Now, the village is moving forward with what officials are saying is a compromise. It would involve retractable bollards that would serve as barriers for downtown events.

In an email to Patch, Angela Sartori, who has led the charge against a plaza, questioned why the consultant failed to include a question about the issue. And she noted that nearly 80 percent of survey respondents indicated they were satisfied with downtown now.

"We do not need a plaza, of all things, to satisfy residents more. In fact, a plaza in this location is the last, most irresponsible project this board could ever choose," Sartori said.

She said the survey comment tallies were relevant because they were the only place in the survey to voice concerns about the plaza.

"Comments show that there is no silent majority demanding this plaza, but that there is a measurable rejection of any such notion," she said. "This was the official survey. Why would the village now 'sideline' results from this expensive professional survey that hundreds of residents took time and effort to fill out?"