A Flood of Misinformation

According to a Sugar Grove official annexing a tiny sliver of Kendall County may pay big dividends for Sugar Grove. He apparently believes that by doing so Sugar Grove would have access to the less restrictive storm water ordinance that applies to unincorporated Kendall County. This official also thinks that then Sugar Grove could choose to enforce a storm water release rate of .15 cubic feet per second in their community, instead of the .10 cubic feet per second standard that is enforced in the rest of Kane County. And, to him this is such great news that he can't wait to share it with us in the most recent Elburn Herald.

Now these release rate numbers don't mean much to the average resident of Kane County, but I assure you that they mean a great deal to professional engineers. As a member of the Kane County Storm Water Management Committee, let me tell you what it really means to actively seek a less restrictive storm water release rate.

A less restrictive rate means that fewer and smaller storm water detention ponds will need to be set aside in a planned development. Fewer storm water detention ponds set aside means that more acres of land will be available to be developed for homes. And, fewer detention ponds and more homes increases the chance that someday those homes will flood. In a nutshell, a less restrictive storm water ordinance increases a community's flood potential.

Why would a Sugar Grove official want to opt out of the Kane County Storm Water Ordinance so badly that he would be willing to trade a higher flood potential for a few extra homes? Especially, when each of those new homes is a net loss to taxpayers. If you don't understand this attitude, take heart, because it doesn't make any sense to me either.

Here's a follow-up question. Can Sugar Grove unilaterally decide not to enforce the Kane County Storm Water Ordinance? Does it strike you as fair or reasonable that Sugar Grove could annex a tiny 40 acre slice of Kendall County, and then all by themselves, choose to enforce Kendall County's ordinance on 40 square miles of Kane County? Well, it pays to read the fine print, because I assure you that Sugar Grove will not be able to do that.

Evidently, the Sugar Grove official isn't aware of that tiny sliver of detail either, or he wouldn't have been so euphoric about trumpeting his Kendall County annexation plans. Unfortunately for Sugar Grove, they are stuck in Kane County. They are going to have to enforce Kane County's more restrictive storm water ordinance just like the rest of us. Yes, because of it, they will have to plan for fewer homes than they like, but their future residents will benefit from less flooding. Thank goodness there are some regional ordinances already on the books that mitigate our desire to grow too rapidly for our own good.