By Xander Wells

I would like to take an opportunity to voice my opinion on an issue that impacts the Village I have called home for the last 21 years (I am 21 years old). In January of this year, I was sworn in as an Ada Village Councilor. I looked forward to representing my community and surrounding myself with people who want the best for their community.

The issue: The entire country has a housing shortage. Not enough homes are being built in my opinion. Whether they be starter homes, single-family homes or multi-family homes, I think we should all agree we have a shortage. We need to find ways to build more housing. While I know that people are concerned with preserving the character of our village, I feel that it is more important that the people who call Ada home have a better quality of life and that Ada has an affordable housing market.

The University students who call Ada home often stay in off campus rental housing. This adds to the demand for rentals, and drives prices up. We need to find a way to meet this demand for housing. If we meet the demand for housing, we will be a very attractive place to live.

I feel that one step in the right direction would be to update our zoning ordinance to allow for tiny homes. Tiny homes would ideally be homes with a foundation that are 200-700 square feet. Tiny homes will be great to increase our supply of transitional housing. I feel that Tiny homes would be a good start, but will only be a short term solution.

According to the World Population Review, Ada’s population has decreased by approximately 7% since the 2020 census, and has been on a downward trend since 2010.

Ada is in a very strategic location if you are looking for a job in my opinion. Ada serves as the midway point between Lima, Kenton and Findlay. Ada also has some great employers not limited to Ohio Northern University and Wilson Football Factory.

That being said, Ada has a poverty rate of approximately 31% according to the World Population Review. I say all of this to make the point that Ada is a great place to live but we are not free of issues. There will always be progress to be made. 

Ada, Ohio population 2026. World Population Review. (n.d.). https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/ohio/ada