Post by gatormom on May 23, 2006 13:32:20 GMT -6
Aurora officials angered by Park District's new no-mow policy
Beacon 5/22
By Andre Salles
Staff Writer
AURORA — Jane Barr couldn't hide her dismay when she found out.
"Oh, my God," she said. "Oh, no, they can't do this."
Barr and her family have lived on Blaine Court on the far East Side for 20 years, and over that time, the Fox Valley Park District has mowed and maintained property behind their home. Barr had noticed that the plot abutting their back yard hadn't been mowed yet this year, and that the weeds had started to grow tall and wild.
She assumed the Park District would be there to mow, as they had every year.
Her reaction was not unique, as 8th Ward Alderman Chris Beykirch made a walking tour of subdivisions last week, informing residents of the Park District's decision to allow 111 acres of land across the city to become prairie areas. Beykirch is enraged by the decision and by the apparent lack of communication among the Park District, the city and the residents.
"I've been doing this for 12 years," he said, "and nothing has made me this angry in all that time," Beykirch said. "They can't just change something overnight without telling us."
According to Bill Donnell, director of park operations and natural resources for the Park District, the decision wasn't an overnight one, although it might have seemed that way. He said this is an expansion of an existing no-mow program, done for environmental reasons — there are 123 acres of unmowed wetland and prairie in the city now, to which the 111 will be added.
He also said that the Park District Board had discussed the issue in March, and received a list of the affected areas in April.
"This does a number of things," Donnell said. "The taller grass absorbs moisture, so there's less storm-water runoff. It also absorbs carbon dioxide, so it's like having a filter in your back yard."
Additionally, the tall grass helps with erosion issues near the river, according to Jeff Palmquist, the Park District's director of planning, development and grants. He said native grasses hold down the shore with deeper root systems and prevent significant runoff.
"It's hard to understate the severity of our erosion problem along the river," he said. "The easiest solution to implement is taller plants."
Residents in Pheasant Creek, which abuts a 12-acre gas pipeline area reaching south past Ogden Court, say that they don't want tall grass and weeds behind their houses. They're concerned about mosquitoes and ticks, about wild animals being drawn to residential areas, and about diminishing property values.
"We've been here for 20 years," Carrie Chaplin, who lives on Salem Court with her family, said. "One of the reasons we bought this house was the open space. My fear is that this will become a dumping ground for people to leave their trash."
Ninth Ward Alderman Leroy Keith calls the new no-mow policy "unacceptable," and said he's received numerous calls from angry residents on the issue.
"You can't just have a bluegrass and turf area one year, and maintain it and mow it, and then decide you don't want to anymore," he said. "We would never tolerate another resident of Aurora not taking care of their property like this."
Keith and Beykirch both said they think the new policy is a cost-cutting measure, but Donnell denies that is the only objective. The monthly park report from April 10 lists reducing maintenance and equipment costs as one of the benefits of not mowing the additional acres, but environmental reasons such as reducing greenhouse gases and improving bird and insect habitats, Donnell said, are more important.
However, he noted, the district might have misjudged the reaction to the new policy and acknowledged that the communication could have been clearer.
"I haven't done as good a job as I could have in getting the word out," he said. "We've taken a lot of phone calls, and, once the rationale is explained, people say that it makes sense."
Donnell said that park officials are working with Beykirch to address residents' concerns, and they plan to meet with residents this week.
Beykirch and Keith, however, are not swayed by the Park District's reasoning. Keith said he plans to drum up resident support for a city presence at the June 12 Park District meeting, and Beykirch said he won't rest until this decision is reversed.
"I think this is just a case of people not wanting to do something, and coming up with a happy feel-good reason not to," he said.
Beacon 5/22
By Andre Salles
Staff Writer
AURORA — Jane Barr couldn't hide her dismay when she found out.
"Oh, my God," she said. "Oh, no, they can't do this."
Barr and her family have lived on Blaine Court on the far East Side for 20 years, and over that time, the Fox Valley Park District has mowed and maintained property behind their home. Barr had noticed that the plot abutting their back yard hadn't been mowed yet this year, and that the weeds had started to grow tall and wild.
She assumed the Park District would be there to mow, as they had every year.
Her reaction was not unique, as 8th Ward Alderman Chris Beykirch made a walking tour of subdivisions last week, informing residents of the Park District's decision to allow 111 acres of land across the city to become prairie areas. Beykirch is enraged by the decision and by the apparent lack of communication among the Park District, the city and the residents.
"I've been doing this for 12 years," he said, "and nothing has made me this angry in all that time," Beykirch said. "They can't just change something overnight without telling us."
According to Bill Donnell, director of park operations and natural resources for the Park District, the decision wasn't an overnight one, although it might have seemed that way. He said this is an expansion of an existing no-mow program, done for environmental reasons — there are 123 acres of unmowed wetland and prairie in the city now, to which the 111 will be added.
He also said that the Park District Board had discussed the issue in March, and received a list of the affected areas in April.
"This does a number of things," Donnell said. "The taller grass absorbs moisture, so there's less storm-water runoff. It also absorbs carbon dioxide, so it's like having a filter in your back yard."
Additionally, the tall grass helps with erosion issues near the river, according to Jeff Palmquist, the Park District's director of planning, development and grants. He said native grasses hold down the shore with deeper root systems and prevent significant runoff.
"It's hard to understate the severity of our erosion problem along the river," he said. "The easiest solution to implement is taller plants."
Residents in Pheasant Creek, which abuts a 12-acre gas pipeline area reaching south past Ogden Court, say that they don't want tall grass and weeds behind their houses. They're concerned about mosquitoes and ticks, about wild animals being drawn to residential areas, and about diminishing property values.
"We've been here for 20 years," Carrie Chaplin, who lives on Salem Court with her family, said. "One of the reasons we bought this house was the open space. My fear is that this will become a dumping ground for people to leave their trash."
Ninth Ward Alderman Leroy Keith calls the new no-mow policy "unacceptable," and said he's received numerous calls from angry residents on the issue.
"You can't just have a bluegrass and turf area one year, and maintain it and mow it, and then decide you don't want to anymore," he said. "We would never tolerate another resident of Aurora not taking care of their property like this."
Keith and Beykirch both said they think the new policy is a cost-cutting measure, but Donnell denies that is the only objective. The monthly park report from April 10 lists reducing maintenance and equipment costs as one of the benefits of not mowing the additional acres, but environmental reasons such as reducing greenhouse gases and improving bird and insect habitats, Donnell said, are more important.
However, he noted, the district might have misjudged the reaction to the new policy and acknowledged that the communication could have been clearer.
"I haven't done as good a job as I could have in getting the word out," he said. "We've taken a lot of phone calls, and, once the rationale is explained, people say that it makes sense."
Donnell said that park officials are working with Beykirch to address residents' concerns, and they plan to meet with residents this week.
Beykirch and Keith, however, are not swayed by the Park District's reasoning. Keith said he plans to drum up resident support for a city presence at the June 12 Park District meeting, and Beykirch said he won't rest until this decision is reversed.
"I think this is just a case of people not wanting to do something, and coming up with a happy feel-good reason not to," he said.
