Saint Index: Tea Party Will Influence Development Battles

    HINGHAM, MA, September 28, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The new Saint Index nationwide survey takes the first-ever look at the potential influence of the Tea Party movement when it comes to real estate development and attitudes about how local government handles growth.

The Saint Index results show Tea Party members are 33 percent more likely than the national average to get involved in actively supporting or opposing a land use development proposal. They are also 10 percent more likely to believe local government is doing a poor job on planning and zoning.

One in five of the 1,000 adults interviewed nationwide identified themselves as members of the Tea Party. One in three of those who identified themselves as conservative politically claimed Tea Party affiliation, and 36 percent of those who said they are leaning or mostly Republican.

Tea Party members are very opposed to using taxpayer funds on large land use projects, particularly sports stadiums, the survey found, and they strongly oppose increased taxpayer funding for highway, bridge and road projects.

The Saint Index is conducted annually by The Saint Consulting Group to track and quantify the politics of land use, including who actively opposes and supports real estate projects and why. The 2011 U.S. Saint Index involved interviews with 1,000 American adults.

Given the current economic situation, 77 percent of Tea Party members said they are more willing to support development projects in their home community (8 percent above the national average).

Job creation and increased tax revenue are strong reasons for Tea Party members to support a local development project. Tea Party members are 13 percent more likely than the national average to support a local development project because it would create new jobs, and 11 percent more likely to give support because a project would add to the local tax base.

Tea Party members are much more likely than the national average to support local drilling for oil and natural gas, a nuclear power plant project or a natural gas pipeline, the Saint Index found. They are more likely than the national average to oppose local apartments and condominiums, airport expansion, a rail line with local station, and wind farms.

Eighty-four percent of Americans say a candidate's position on growth and development issues is important when considering candidates for local and county office, indicating the process of deciding what gets built where will continue to be politicized, according to P. Michael Saint, CEO of The Saint Consulting Group, which conducts the Saint Index annually to quantify and track the politics of land use.

With Tea Party members showing a greater proclivity for activism, the movement has the potential to play an emerging role in future land use battles, Saint said.

The Tea Party's cynicism about government could find fertile ground when it comes to land use controversies, Saint said. Sixty-four percent of Americans believe the relationship between local officials and developers makes the approval process unfair when it comes to decisions about how and where development takes place.

Fifty-one percent of Americans nationwide said their local government is doing only "fair to poor" on decisions regarding planning and zoning, the 2011Saint Index found.

The Saint Consulting Group is an international political land use consultancy that helps its clients win permits needed for their most important and controversial development projects. For further information, please contact Stephen Shepherd at 781-836-4317.

Website: http://tscg.biz

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