By Andrea Estrada

Focusing on immigration, civic engagement, and the quality of life, UC Santa Barbara researchers last week released the findings of their second annual public-opinion poll of residents in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

Conducted by UCSB’s Social Science Survey Center/Benton Survey Research Lab, the Central Coast Survey featured telephone interviews with members of more than 1,000 households in the two counties.

Among its many conclusions, the survey found that:

• Though most respondents favor policies that would make it more difficult for undocumented immigrants to work in this country, they support the creation of some means by which undocumented immigrants can become legal workers.

• Community involvement is important to Central Coast residents with a high majority of respondents participating in at least one nonprofit organization or contributing money, property, or other assets for charitable purposes.

• Of the respondents who believe growth and development on the Central Coast is a serious issue, most prefer to alleviate it by limiting the housing supply.

• The region’s residents are concerned about traffic congestion, but most survey respondents favor alternatives to new highway construction, such as improved mass transit and bicycle lanes.

The survey highlights the public’s attitudes on a wide range of issues, from jobs, housing, traffic, and health care to the pace of growth and development, and the quality of public schools.

The full text is available on the Social Science Survey Center’s Web site: <http://www.survey.ucsb.edu>.

Directed and written by Jon Sonstelie, professor of economics and the survey center’s director, the report is also the effort of Paolo Gardinali, associate director of the center, Jonathan Cowden, visiting assistant professor of political science, and several students.

“One of the issues we focused on this year is immigration policy,” said Sonstelie. “It is a national issue, but any change in policy would have many local repercussions. The survey found strong support for prohibiting undocumented immigrants from working here, but also for creating a pathway for undocumented immigrants to gain legal status.”

The survey interviews were conducted in English or Spanish, and lasted an average of 14 minutes. Respondents were at least 18 years old. A total of 1,657 households were contacted, and 1,023 interviews were completed. The error rate was 3 percent, plus or minus.