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Yorkville
sewer line
won't go along creek
Chicago Tribune
- 12/3
The
economic growth of Yorkville can be accommodated, officials have
decided, without disturbing a scenic creek that environmental
consultants say is "an irreplaceable, unique landscape."
As
a result of a consultants' report, which was released Monday,
city officials say they and the local sanitary district have dropped
a controversial plan to build a sewer line along a portion of
Blackberry Creek on the northwest edge of Yorkville.
The
Yorkville-Bristol Sanitary District is considering an alternative
route for the sewer, said Tony Graff, city administrator.
Construction
of the sewer line likely would have had a negative effect on Blackberry
Creek and the native vegetation growing along its banks, according
to a study by Conservation Design Forum, an Elmhurst consulting
firm.
The
study concluded that the portion of the creek north of U.S. Highway
34 and west of Illinois Highway 47 is a relatively high-quality
natural area with at least four plants--violet cress, pale duckweed,
flat-stemmed pondweed and arum-leaved arrowhead--that are not
found elsewhere in Kendall County.
Some
of the native vegetation is growing in habitats that reflect what
the landscape was like before the area was settled.
"This
area is one of the few remaining wooded riparian corridors within
northeastern Illinois that still support remnant fens, unique
discharge swamps and rich floodplain terrace woodlands,"
the report says. "Although disturbed from past and present
land-use activities, the Blackberry Creek Corridor as a whole
is an irreplaceable, unique landscape."
Conservation
Design Forum is to present its findings at a public meeting scheduled
for 7 p.m. Dec. 18 in the Beecher Center in Yorkville.
City
officials had said a high-capacity sewer line was needed for commercial
development in the still-rural, but rapidly growing community.
An engineering firm had recommended the line be constructed under
and along Blackberry Creek, saying it was the least costly route.
But
homeowners along the creek organized to voice concerns about potential
damage to what they thought was a scenic area of wetlands and
wooded ravines. They welcomed the decision for an alternative
route.
"We
knew all along that it was a really nice area," said Martha
Price, an organizer of the Save Blackberry Creek campaign. "We're
really glad that the city and sewer board responded to all the
public input."
The
alternative route proposed would put a new sewer line on the west
side of Illinois 47 and replace an existing sewer that runs along
Countryside Parkway.
Price
credited city officials with agreeing to pay $40,000 to Conservation
Design Forum for an environmental study that was not required
for the project.
The
report also recommends that Yorkville create a conservation easement
to protect Blackberry Creek from future development and damage
caused by homeowners who dump grass clippings and yard waste on
the native vegetation.
Graff
said Yorkville officials were "highly enthusiastic"
about the idea of protecting the creek.
"This
is definitely an asset to the community," he said.
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