Building a subdivision on 300 acres of farmland southeast of Woodstock could harm a rare fen half a mile away in McHenry County’s Boone Creek watershed, environmentalists have warned.
But rather than block the proposed development altogether, the environmentalists are urging city officials to temper the project with changes that will help preserve natural areas.
The developer already has agreed not to create artificial ponds. And both the developer and the environmentalists are asking the city not to require curbs and gutters–an exception to city rules that would help water drain into the ground more evenly.
Although some differences remain, those involved say the cooperation could become a model for plotting growth in ecologically sensitive areas.
Woodstock’s Plan Commission has listened to comments on the 300-unit development, the Sanctuary of Bull Valley, during several meetings since February. Officials expect to wrap up the public-hearing period at a meeting Thursday.
Eventually, the commission must recommend whether the City Council should annex the land and allow the development. It would be the first significant expansion of Woodstock’s boundaries in several years.
Some residents oppose the project because of the traffic it would bring to the area nestled between Woodstock and Bull Valley.
But the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and the Boone Creek Watershed Alliance say they can live with the development if precautions are taken that will lessen its impact on groundwater, which feeds the sensitive ecosystems along the creek.
The site, now used mostly as farmland, is east of the Bull Valley Golf Club. The project calls for up to 300 dwellings–a mix of estates, villas and single-family homes ranging from $300,000 to $700,000–a pool and tennis courts.
The health of the marshy Boone Creek fen is tied to the site because of the area’s geological features, according to John Nelson, northeastern Illinois threats coordinator for the Nature Preserves Commission.
When the Wisconsin Glacier retreated from Illinois 10,000 years ago, it left huge chunks of ice that melted and formed depressions in the Earth called kettles and ridges called moraines, which give the subdivision site its rolling terrain. The land is made up of loosely packed sand and gravel that allows water to seep underground more quickly than in most places in the county.
The Illinois Water Survey has identified the area as important in “recharging” groundwater. Water that seeps into the ground here becomes alkaline, then seeps out among the forests and fens of the Boone Creek watershed, Nelson said. The alkaline water is crucial for the growth of rare flowering plants in the fen, such as Ohio goldenrod, swamp thistle and white lady-slipper.
“It’s rare,” Nelson said of the fen. “But it’s rare because it is sensitive to development that can be far away.”
But Nelson said it’s not realistic to try to stop developments like the Sanctuary of Bull Valley.
The developer, Jack Porter of Woodstock, said environmental concerns about the fen along Boone Creek took him by surprise when the project was proposed earlier this year. But he said he’s willing to accommodate most of the concerns, in part because the area’s natural features will attract buyers to his upscale development.
Porter said he already has agreed to certain conditions requested by Nelson. At first, Porter planned to line the kettles with clay, so they would become ponds. But now, recognizing their link to groundwater, he has scratched those plans.
Nelson also said curbs and gutters in the development would hinder the way water seeps into the ground; Porter said those were never part of his plan, but noted that it’s up to Woodstock to allow him not to use them.
One area where they still disagree is how closely clustered the homes should be. Nelson says the development should be as confined as possible, leaving as much of the site as possible open. Porter said that’s unrealistic, since the subdivision will average one unit per acre.
