Using Conservation Design Principles
to Prevent Environmental Degradation

Every time you turn around, it seems as if another development is eating up some of the world's finest farmland, filling in another wetland, or occupying sparse natural areas and creating a never-ending sea of houses. Many of our first reactions are, "Wait a minute! This has to stop! Someone should do something about this!"

CONSERVATION DESIGN
At the Defenders, our goal is to advocate environmentally sound practices and minimize impact to natural areas. Better land use planning can make a big difference. Chicago Wilderness and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) a well-established planning body that develops growth projections for the Chicagoland area, have created a six-county land use plan to wisely accommodate growth while preserving our area's environmentally sensitive regions. They recommend practices that can account for growth and also protect and preserve the environment.

Many McHenry County residents may have difficulty seeing how new development and conservation can go hand in hand because there are very few good examples of conservation design in the county. In addition, this term is widely and sometimes indiscriminately defined. According to NIPC's 2003 Conservation Design Resource Manual, it is

... a design system that takes into account the natural landscape and ecology of a development site and facilitates development while maintaining the most valuable natural features and functions of the site" (page 2). It preserves prime woodlands, wetlands, and other natural areas while clustering development into lesser-quality areas of the land. Conservation design encourages building with contours instead of mass-grading, using pervious surfaces such as grassways instead of paved sidewalks, reducing house lot size to preserve larger contiguous natural areas, and incorporates natural landscaping to reduce stormwater management problems.

Yet these are fairly new ideas that have not been embraced by many developers or municipal decision makers and therefore are rarely seen in new developments. McHenry County is still searching for a true conservation design development to illustrate that growth can be sustainable.

A LOCAL CASE STUDY
The Defenders evaluate new development proposals and push developers and municipal and county planning commissions and boards to recognize the importance of incorporating conservation design principles into new developments. Currently, we are negotiating with Kirk Corporation and their consultants, the developers of Apple Creek Estates south of Woodstock. This development proposes turning a 560 acres east of Dean Street and west of Route 47 into a 1,000 unit neighborhood. If the development is approved, construction may disrupt the water quality of the Kishwaukee River, a Class A stream located adjacent to the property and high quality wetlands to the north.

For the Apple Creek Estates development, we have many suggestions to protect the overall health of the ecosystem. The wetlands on site that provide habitat and serve as natural stormwater management are one of our main concerns. All wetlands are protected under the McHenry County Stormwater Management Ordinance. These are specific rules to follow when wetland destruction is "unavoidable." At the Defenders', we prefer no impact to wetlands. However, the Army Corps of Engineers allows for mitigation to comply with the "no-net-loss" rule. This means that developers can fill wetlands if they create wetlands elsewhere. The Apple Creek developers are asking the Army Corps of Engineers to allow them to count some of their required buffer around the wetlands towards wetland mitigation. Although the Army Corps may grant permission, it is important that the Defenders and others argue against this request to deviate from the requirements. The wetlands and the appropriate buffers serve a purpose and reducing their size may cause problems and allow contamination to high quality natural areas. Bringing this to the attention of decision makers will hopefully ensure their protection.

We are also concerned that massive soil erosion during construction will cause sediment loading in the Kishwaukee River. This can be minimized with proper erosion control structures. We are recommending that the City of Woodstock requires and enforces soil erosion control during construction to prevent impact to both Apple Creek and the Kishwaukee.

After construction, the health of the Kishwaukee River is still a concern. Adding 1,000 new homes also adds 1,000 new homeowners who want to keep a green lawn. We are concerned about pesticide and phosphorus use on lawns. The soil already contains proper amounts of phosphorus and additional phosphorus applied to lawns through fertilizers will run off into the stream, disrupting the riparian ecosystem. We are asking the developer to create covenants for homeowners in Apple Creek Estates to limit pesticide and phosphorus uses.

We are submitting our suggestions to the Army Corps of Engineers who maintains jurisdiction over a portion of the wetlands on site as well as the City of Woodstock who will decide whether or not to approve the development proposal. Our suggestions include conservation design elements. We hope they will be incorporated into the plan or listed as conditions by the city council.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Environmental protection doesn't end here. If you are wondering how you can improve or enhance development proposals that are infringing upon environmental health, here are some strategies.

Do your homework. Obtain the municipality's comprehensive land use plan as well as the development concept plan from the municipal office. Compare land use maps to find discrepancies between what is proposed and what the city has designated for specific uses. Contact the Soil and Water Conservation District for soil maps and wetland delineations on the property and see if they will be impacted. Put together your own concerns and write the developers.

Don't stop there. Attend city council and planning commission meetings and speak during public comment sessions to let people know your concerns. These officials make decisions on behalf of their constituents. They need suggestions from you. Let them know what is important to the environmental community as a whole. To learn more about conservation design, check out NIPC's webpage at www.nipc.org/environment/. For times and locations of your city council, village board, or planning commission meetings, contact your local municipal hall. All meetings are open to the public and input is welcomed. These steps will set you on the right path to becoming a concerned citizen working for a healthy environment. Change isn't going to occur on its own, it requires action.