Sterling Heights, Michigan

City of Sterling Heights
City
Motto:  To Strive on Behalf of All.
Location of Sterling Heights, Michigan
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Macomb
Incorporated	1968
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• Mayor	Richard J. Notte
• City Manager	Mark D. Vanderpool
Area
• Total	36.7 sq mi (95.0 km2)
• Land	36.6 sq mi (94.9 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	614 ft (187 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	124,471
• Density	3,397.0/sq mi (1,311.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	48310-48314
Area code	586
FIPS code	26-76460Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0638798Template:GR
Website	http://www.sterling-heights.net/

Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 124,471. In the 2006 census estimate, the population was 127,991 making it the fourth largest in Michigan.

Geography

• According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.7 square miles (95.0 km²), of which, 36.6 square miles (94.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.14%) is water.
• Sterling Heights is part of the Clinton River watershed, and branches of it flow through it.

Main highways

Sterling Heights sits on two main thoroughfares:

State highways

• M-53 commonly called Van Dyke Avenue or the Van Dyke Expressway (they split in the City, however and rejoin to its north), which lead north into the Thumb and
• M-59, which is the east-west connector from just north of Mount Clemens, through Utica as a surface road, and then becomes a limited access freeway to Pontiac, Michigan, being the main northern connector between Macomb County and Oakland County. In Sterling Heights, large areas are devoted to retail and commercial development (e.g., Lakeside Mall).

Unnumbered roads

• Mound Road is an important north-south artery in the city.
• East-west travel is mainly on the mile roads, that is 14 Mile Road on the south (Warren) border through 20 Mile Road (M-59) on the north border. See Mile Road System (Detroit).
• 16 Mile Road (known as Metropolitan Parkway to the east, and Big Beaver Road to the west) is a main thoroughfare.
• Utica Road is an important diagonal connector that criss-crosses the city from southeast to northwest, going at the intersection of Dodge Park (across from the Sterling Heights city hall) through the first roundabout in Macomb County.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 124,471 people, 46,319 households, and 33,395 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,397.0 per square mile (1,311.6/km²). There were 47,547 housing units at an average density of 1,297.6/sq mi (501.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.70% White, 1.30% African American, 0.21% Native American, 4.92% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 2.50% from two or more races. 1.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Ancestries: Polish (19.0%), German (14.4%), Italian (12.5%), Irish (5.7%), English (5.0%), Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac (4.8%), and American/US (4.0%).

In 2000 there were more people in Sterling Heights born in Iraq than any other foreign country. In that year there were 5,059 people in Steling Heights born in Iraq. The next three largest nations of forign birth were India at 1,723, Italy at 1,442 and Poland at 1,427. However it is possible that the 1,569 people in "Other Eastern Europe" were almost entirely born in Albania, which would put it in third place as the source of foreign born in Sterling Heights. Since there were 2,259 Albanians in Sterling Heights this is possible, although since Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are not specified in the report and with both Albanians born in Yugoslavia and the possibility that some people born in areas once in Yugoslavia are not in the Yugoslavia count the clearest conclusion is that the census report data are not conclusive.

There were 46,319 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $60,494, and the median income for a family was $70,140. Males had a median income of $51,207 versus $31,489 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,958. About 4.0% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

History

Sterling Heights was incorporated as a city in 1968. Prior to that it was known as Sterling Township. Anthony ("Tony) Dobry was the last Township Supervisor, and he became the first Mayor of the City. Dobry Boulevard, on the north end of town, is named for him. There was already a small village named Sterling in Arenac County, so the word "Heights" was added to the township name to satisfy a state law that prevents incorporated municipalities from having the same name. "Sterling Oaks" was another name under consideration for the new city.

Christopher Galeczka, the 1995 winner of the National Geography Bee (now known as the National Geographic Bee), is a native of Sterling Heights.

Rapper Eminem briefly lived in the city in 2000.

The city is home to the Freedom Hill county park, located on Metro Parkway (16 Mile Road) east of Schoenherr Road. Freedom Hill began hosting concerts in 1999 in its 7,000-seat, outdoor theater. Several residents near the park began complaining about the loud music coming from the amphitheater. The complaints led to a long legal battle between Sterling Heights and Hillside Productions, which runs the theater, over the theater's impact on the neighborhood.

In 2001, Hillside Productions filed suit in state and federal courts, accusing city officials of conspiring to interfere in its operations. In March 2004, the city settled out of court, agreeing to pay Hillside $31 million. As part of the settlement, Hillside built a 14-foot (4 m)-high sound wall and a huge roof to cover the pavilion seating area. It remains only partially enclosed. Concerts resumed, as did the complaints of neighbors. Sterling Heights then sued three of its insurance carriers who refused to compensate the city for its $31 million payment. In 2006, the city settled with two of the three insurers.

In the summer of 2006, it became publicly known that the city was considering amending its fire code to include a requirement that all businesses post a premises identification sign in English, in order to facilitate the ability of first responders to locate an emergency call. On July 13, 2006, the city received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) expressing its viewpoint that the English-language requirement for business signs was discriminatory.

The August 2006 issue of Money magazine listed Sterling Heights as No. 19 on its list of the 90 "Best Small Cities" to live in.

Sterling Heights was ranked the sixth safest city in the U.S. with a population between 100,000 - 499,999, according to Morgan Quitno's 2006 analysis of crime rates.

External links

• City's Website
• Chamber of Commerce
• Sterling Heights Public Library

42°34′49″N 83°1′49″W