The City of Hilliard Sustainability Plan

Hilliard Sustainability PlanECON. EXECUTIVE DEV.SOCIAL SUMMARY EQ.as compared to the state average of $47,358. 45 Homeownershipand high incomes are generally not accessible to young couples,so finding housing opportunities that match their needs will becritical to sustaining Hilliard’s present health as a city. Once theseyoung couples progress in their careers, their income levels mayrise and there will be other housing options for them to grow intowith their families.Hilliard’s Housing OptionsIn examining Hilliard’s current housing options, it is clear thatthe Hilliard housing market has favored home owners due tothe abundance of single-family housing options. The dominanthomeowner demographic for their city has led to the currentunsustainable model: in order to create a lifelong community,you must have housing for all stages of life. The owner-occupiedresidents for the country are around 59% and around 62% in Ohiothe average is roughly 60%. Hilliard’s owner-occupied housingis around 73%, placing it well above the United States’ or Ohio’sstandard. Once again, this data illustrates how the City of Hilliardcaters to the homeowner demographic. 46The monthly housing costs in Hilliard are a revealing set ofstatistics for a variety of reasons. The percentage of residents wholive with a monthly housing cost of $700 and under was drasticallydifferent in Hilliard when compared to Ohio and the United States.Roughly 25% of the population in both Ohio and the country liveat this housing cost bracket, while Hilliard is only housing 7% ofits residents in this bracket. This is important because it shows adrastic difference in affordable housing options and highlightsthe lack of economic diversity in the City of Hilliard. As previouslydiscussed in the Social Equity section, this lack of diversity is anunsustainable model and needs drastic changes if Hilliard wishes to continueto grow and thrive as a city in the future. 47To further highlight Hilliard’s lack of housing and economic diversity, thepercentage of residents who live with a monthly housing cost of $2,000and up is just as telling as the lower bracket, as referenced in Figure 15.Approximately 14% of Ohio residents live in this bracket and 30% of residentsin the United States. This gives context and shows that Ohio is one of themore moderate or middle class states in terms of wealth, but this is a directcontradiction when compared to Hilliard residents. In fact, Hilliard housesapproximately 42% of its residents in this high-end economic bracket. Withalmost half of the Hilliard population residing in this high-end economicclass, it is clear that Hilliard suffers from a lack of affordable housing options. 48In analyzing the data, the City of Hilliard is currently cultivating anunsustainable housing pattern; however, Hilliard is committed to addressingthese issues. The solution is to embrace the true concept of a lifelongcommunity and begin taking steps to bring housing opportunities to anequitable level.» Fig. 5: U.S. Census Bureau. (2010, March 1). 2010 SF1 100% Data: Various GeographiesRetrieved March, 2012, from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/.98