Food seems to be on the minds of a lot of folks; 75 percent of respondents want more restaurants in town.  Yet of the top five Altadena businesses they frequent, only one is an eatery.  In order, Altadena Hardware is number one, followed by Rite Aid, Steve’s Pets, Super King, and Coffee Gallery.

Other businesses that at least some Altadenans want are big boxes (Home Depot, Costco) and independent book and stationery stores.  

Two questions emerged in the discussions prior to the presentation and the Q & A afterwards.  The first was how the word got out and why so few people seemed to know about it.

“We posted on altadenablog and Patch,” Meyers told altadenablog.  “We passed out cards at Christmas Tree Lane.”  

He emphasized that this is the first survey of any kind that has been done since the 1986 community standards survey, and said, “We will learn and expand where we post.”

Leslie Aitken asked, “How accurate as a representation is this survey? Three-hundred-fifty out 40,000?  How is it skewed?  I’ve been out of the loop and just don’t know how to get into the loop.”

She commented that she thought the survey was out of touch with where people actually go.  She mentioned Baja Fresh market on Fair Oaks (formerly King Ranch and before that Jack’s Apple).  The people who shop there are mostly Latino, she said, and walk to the market.  She also mentioned the heavy traffic at Super King.

“How does it skew to the actual population?” she asked.

Aitken was not the only one who questioned the demographics.  This reporter asked if the survey was available in Spanish and Armenian, which it wasn’t, and if the west side was equally represented with the east side of Altadena.

Location was not part of the demographic information collected, Meyers said, but it might be possible to get an idea from the addresses submitted at the end of the survey in the optional drawing for $150 in cash.  Demographic questions were limited to gender, age, income, household size, and length of residency in Altadena.  

Meyers said that location, at least in terms of west, central, and east, might be considered if a survey is done in the future.  “If we went down that path again, we would try to learn,” he said.  “So spend more time on west, east, or central. This is the first round.”

Lori Webster, a member of the board of the Chamber, said, “As a group, we have to figure out how to reach these different groups or we are not going to progress very far.”

Meyers added, “As a chamber, we want to be a resource to help people to jump over obstacles.”  A redesigned website with a resource page will be one of those aids, he said.

Doug Colliflower, treasurer of the Altadena Chamber, said that new community standards are in the works.  There will be a committee, along with a hired consultant, which will review the current standards. The Fifth District will foot the bill for the consultant.

“A lot of these issues will be addressed,” Colliflower stated, adding that there will be community meetings for input.