<strong>Hilliard</strong> <strong>Sustainability</strong> <strong>Plan</strong><strong>Hilliard</strong> East Pool includes a 10-foot water slide and a wading pool. It alsoincludes a gazebo, playground, and sledding in the winter. 71 <strong>The</strong> park is agreat asset for residents in the eastern half <strong>of</strong> the <strong>City</strong>; however, there areopportunities to improve the park’s visibility and pedestrian connectivity. 72<strong>The</strong> Heritage Rail Trail<strong>The</strong> Heritage Rail Trail is a seven-mile multi-purpose trail that starts inOld <strong>Hilliard</strong> and ends in Plain <strong>City</strong>. <strong>The</strong> starting point <strong>of</strong> the trail is in thehistorical district <strong>of</strong> Old <strong>Hilliard</strong>. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Hilliard</strong> part <strong>of</strong> the trail is owned andmaintained by <strong>City</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Hilliard</strong> and is used for hiking, biking, skating, andwalking. 73Municipal ParkMunicipal Park is the largestpark in <strong>Hilliard</strong>. It hasthe <strong>Hilliard</strong> Family AquaticCenter (HFAC), which isone <strong>of</strong> the largest outdoormunicipal complexes inOhio. <strong>The</strong> HFAC includestwo 30-foot water slides, a25-yard competition pool,and interactive leisurepool with a play structure,a 450-gallon dumpingbucket, a 560-foot lazyriver with water attractions,and a nationallyrecognized main pool. 74Apart from the HFAC, thepark also includes eightlighted baseball diamonds,basketball courts, fishing,grills, lacrosse and footballfields, playgrounds,a pond, sand volleyball,shelter, skate park, sleddinghill, soccer fields,and tennis courts. 75 It alsoserves as a natural areapreservation space.Sidebar 3.1: Tree <strong>City</strong>USA<strong>The</strong> Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree<strong>City</strong> USA program is intendedto improve community forestryinitiatives across the United States.To qualify as a Tree <strong>City</strong> USA, thecommunity must meet all <strong>of</strong> thefollow requirements:Have a tree board or treedepartment,» Have an ordinanceproviding for the care <strong>of</strong>trees,» Have a proclamation andobservance <strong>of</strong> Arbor Day,and» Have a communityforestry program with atwo-dollar per capita (orgreater) budget. 1ECON. EXECUTIVELAND DEV. USESOCIAL SUMMARY& URBAN EQ.ECOLOGY» Map 3.8: Environmental Resource Inventory in the <strong>City</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Hilliard</strong> Data Source: <strong>Hilliard</strong> Comprehensive<strong>Plan</strong>, 2011» Image 3.1. Tree <strong>City</strong> USASource: Arbor Day Foundation61
<strong>Hilliard</strong> <strong>Sustainability</strong> <strong>Plan</strong>ECON. EXECUTIVELAND USE DEV.SOCIAL SUMMARY& URBAN EQ.ECOLOGYEnvironmental Resources<strong>The</strong> <strong>City</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Hilliard</strong> is rich in natural resources, asshown in Map 3.8. It has five waterways, includingTudor Ditch, Hamilton Run, Holcomb Ditch, CloverGr<strong>of</strong>f Ditch, and Hayden Run. It has over 100 acres <strong>of</strong>wetlands and 800 acres <strong>of</strong> tree cover. 76 Seven percent<strong>of</strong> the <strong>City</strong>’s area is covered by tree stands. 77 <strong>Hilliard</strong>has recognized the importance <strong>of</strong> these environmentalresources, particularly its trees; its Shade TreeCommission meets monthly and acts as an advisorypanel for tree selection in the city. 78 <strong>The</strong> Commissionalso publishes a Shade Tree Manual on an annualbasis. 79 This manual provides information on streettrees in <strong>Hilliard</strong> as well as planting and maintenanceguidelines.<strong>Hilliard</strong>’s protection <strong>of</strong> public trees has been recognizedby the Arbor Day Foundation, which has namedthe <strong>City</strong> a Tree <strong>City</strong> USA (see sidebar 3.1) for 29 consecutiveyears. 80 However, there are vulnerabilitiesfor <strong>Hilliard</strong>’s tree canopy. Fifteen percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>Hilliard</strong>’sstreet trees are ash trees, 81 which are susceptible tobeing severely damaged or killed by the Emerald AshBorer. 82 Additionally, the <strong>City</strong> does not have a formalforestry or tree department beyond the EngineeringDepartment and no longer retains a full-time CertifiedArborist on its staff; instead, one is contracted. 83 Thus,there are opportunities to improve the resilience <strong>of</strong><strong>Hilliard</strong>’s tree canopy by committing more resourcesto its protection. Parts <strong>of</strong> the <strong>City</strong> lie within the BigSidebar 3.2: Big Darby AccordOn April 28, 2008, <strong>Hilliard</strong> joined nine neighboring Central Ohio communitiesas a member <strong>of</strong> the Big Darby Accord. <strong>The</strong> Accord, which was completed in 2006,represents a partnership between these 10 member communities in the Big DarbyWatershed to coordinate long-term economic and neighborhood development inways that promote environmental stewardship. 2 <strong>Hilliard</strong> is located in the northernsection <strong>of</strong> the watershed considered in the Accord. Alongside <strong>Hilliard</strong>, membercommunities include the <strong>City</strong> <strong>of</strong> Columbus; Grove <strong>City</strong>; Brown, Prairie, Pleasant,Norwich, and Washington Townships; the Village <strong>of</strong> Harrisburg; and Franklin County.<strong>The</strong> Big and Little Darby Creeks are important natural assets for Central Ohio, andthey are registered State and National Scenic Rivers. <strong>The</strong> creeks and their tributariesconstitute one <strong>of</strong> the most biologically diverse watersheds in the Midwest. 3 In orderto protect and promote these unique ecosystems, the Big Darby Accord containsnumerous development strategies, including:» Identifying and prioritizing environmentally sensitive areas,» Directing new development to a high-density, mixed-use town center,» Guiding the financing <strong>of</strong> new development, and» Helping Accord members take specific steps to implement the plan. 4<strong>Hilliard</strong> resident Jay Muether, a landscape architect and Vice President and Director<strong>of</strong> Transportation at URS Corporation, serves as <strong>Hilliard</strong>’s appointed member to theBig Darby Accord Advisory Panel. This panel is charged with overseeing the zoningand site development <strong>of</strong> member jurisdiction, and it helps facilitate collaborationamong them. In this way, the Panel ensures that zoning and site development occurin fair, consistent, and evenly applied ways. 5» Image 3.2. Big Darby WatershedSource: wiseoutdooradventures.blogspot.com62
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