The City of Hilliard Sustainability Plan

Hilliard Sustainability PlanCONCLUSIONECON. EXECUTIVE DEV.Energy & Waste ReductionThe City of Hilliard and its residents are already making stridestowards responsible energy use and waste reduction. Just asresidents have been switching out incandescent light bulbs fornewer, more energy efficient kinds, the City has been upgradingits properties to capitalize on savings from efficiency. Currently,the average monthly electricity bill for Hilliard residents isapproximately $110.00, and the City of Hilliard is currently workingto decrease their energy consumption by using LED bulbs forstreetlights and traffic signals. Additionally, the City fleet has alsoundergone upgrades. Older, inefficient vehicles are being replacedwith hybrids or other fuel-efficient alternatives.The municipal zoning code does not mention wind, geothermal,or other renewable installations as permitted or conditional uses,but solar panels are listed as a conditional use for all developmentin Hilliard’s zoning code, even though the City does not formallytrack them.The city of Hilliard generated a total of 11,787 tons of residentialand commercial waste in 2011. Of that total waste, 7,296.2 tons wasresidential solid waste; 2,045.8 tons entered the Rumpke recyclingprogram; and Hilliard’s residential yard waste constituted theremaining 2,445.1 tons. Hilliard’s residential diversion rate for 2011was 38.1%.In terms of water consumption, the average Hilliard family paysbetween $299.34 and $316.43 each billing cycle. Compared totheir counterparts living in the City of Columbus, the Hilliard familypays $55.00 to $59.00 more each cycle. This means each year theaverage Hilliard family pays $221 to $238 per year for water than if theylived in Columbus.The City also maintains a Storm Water Management Plan that outlinesefforts to reduce the discharge of pollutants, to protect water quality,and to satisfy the appropriate requirements of the Clean Water Act inaccordance with the Ohio EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge EliminationSystem Phase II program. The Hilliard City Council passed Ordinance No.09-63 in December 2009 in order to create a stormwater managementutility responsible for charging appropriate fees, depositing those fees ina special fund for use on stormwater management projects, and generallyenacting the City’s stormwater code. Credits are offered to non-single familyresidential units and schools in order to promote conservation and bestmanagement practices.Economic Development & Social EquityPresently, Hilliard is a proud community with extensive opportunitiesfor young families and small businesses. Its strong school system fueleda residential building boom in the 1990s and early 2000s that attractedmany young families. Residential growth also buoyed a strong businessclimate, which claims a high proportion of professional, scientific, retail, andhealthcare industries.Over the last eight years, 2,909 jobs have either been created or relocatedto the city of Hilliard since 2004. Approximately 350 of them were createdby BMW, and 1,251 were created by companies that relocated to Hilliard. Atthe present time, approximately 400 businesses are members of the HilliardChamber of Commerce. In 2009, Hilliard had 37 Tax Increment Financingdistricts that generated $45 million in privately financed development and$1.5 million in debt service payments. The city occasionally offers real estatetax abatements for 10 years at a 50% rate to businesses that would increase112