Growth Summit members reviewed numbers on expected growth and development from representatives from the Center for Governmental Studies.

The center presented numbers at Tuesday’s Growth Summit meeting from a survey conducted to see what residents thought of DeKalb’s development.

The results showed of the 404 random completed telephone surveys, 79.2 percent rated DeKalb a good/very good place to live. A key part of the survey, desired community growth, showed 34.1 percent favored a target population at the range of 50,000 to 60,000.

Michael Peddle, faculty associate at the Center for Governmental Studies, said the results from all of the questions asked during the survey showed that renters favored growth more than homeowners. Renters wanted a target population greater than 50,000 while homeowners wanted a target of less than 50,000.

Also, those surveyed who had dependents thought growth should stay small and favor industrial development, whereas those without dependents favored moderate growth with emphasis on commercial development.

Peddle added that he did not expect the high percentage that favored growth. A conclusion drawn from the survey was that most DeKalb residents favored a growth cap in the 50,000 to 60,000 range.

The results of the survey showed about 68 percent of those surveyed favored a growth rate of 25 percent or higher per decade. These numbers represent a midsize or large community growth goal.

“There’s a perception that growth is greater than it is,” said John Lewis, acting director of the Center for Governmental Studies, of the current growth of DeKalb.

Tom Teresinski, school board president, delivered a report on the expected state of the school system. Since the last referendum failed, the earliest new building facilities could be built, given a three-year building delay, is fall 2006.

Teresinski said redistricting schools to better optimize students was one option. He also suggested a sales tax for schools and moderating DeKalb’s development to under 2 percent, which was suggested by the summit during the meeting.

Community Development Director Paul Rasmussen gave current and expected growth rates for the last and next years. For the last decade, the city had grown 11.7 percent and is expected to double for the next decade.