The City of Hilliard Sustainability Plan

Hilliard Sustainability PlanStudy MethodologyThe 10-week study began with a discussion of sustainability and how itcould be tailored to Hilliard’s residents, businesses, and government. Inorder to conduct their research efficiently and within the constraints of timeand labor resources, students were divided into three groups representingkey areas of concern for the city: Land Use and Urban Ecology, Energy andWaste Reduction, and Economic Development and Social Equity. MayorSchonhardt and John Hsu, a member of the Environmental Review AppealsCommission and Vice Chairman of the Hilliard Environmental SustainabilityCommission, hosted a tour of the city for the students on January 11,2012. During the tour, Mayor Schonhardt highlighted successful road andtransportation projects, the location of Hilliard School District land andbuildings, new residential development projects, and community amenities.With these thoughts in mind, the three student teams formulated visionstatements and related goals for each topic. These vision statementsare rooted in the definition of a Sustainable Hilliard and provide insightinto how each group’s focus areas would be affected by the pursuit ofsustainability.The student groups also produced lists of indicators that would beused to track progress towards achieving sustainability goals andrecommendations. These indicators were designed to be effectivemeasures of communication for describing and quantifying changes in thecommunity’s behaviors.On the evening of February 8, 2012, the students hosted a communityforum at the Hilliard City Council Chamber to present their finalizedindicators and to solicit community feedback. The forum was attended by17 individuals, including Council members, the Mayor, City staff, membersfrom the Environmental Sustainability Commission, and Hilliard residents.This forum gave Hilliard residents a meaningful and direct way tointeract with the students, and it helped the students tailor theirresearch to the needs of the community.Teams conducted opportunity assessments to research and analyzecommunity strengths and existing conditions so that they couldidentify opportunities for improvement, while also recognizingthe obstacles that could preclude advances toward sustainabledevelopment. Students’ work combined information from theHilliard Comprehensive Plan, surveys, reports, and utility datawith the help and insight of elected leaders, City employees, andengaged citizens.The completed opportunity assessments provided direction andguidance for each group as they began to write sustainabilityanalyses for their respective areas of study. Each sustainabilityanalysis contained recommendations that were linked to indicators,fiscal considerations, and real examples elsewhere in the country.Recommendations were categorized according to Hilliard’santicipated ability to achieve them in the short, medium, and longterm.EXECUTIVE INTRO &INDICATORSSUMMARY» The city of Hilliard wasa settled along the Piqueand Indiana railroad inthe 1870’s. The city hassince grown to a morethan 28,000 residents in2010.Fig. 77