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| Elk Grove park's flood plain pushes dog run down drain | |
| May 6, 2007 | |
| John Keilman and Andrew Schroedter, staff reporter, freelance writer jkeilman@tribune.com | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Pertains to Salt Creek Greenway, Elk Grove Village | |
| A long-awaited dog run in Elk Grove Village's Morton Park went up quickly last month, with workers needing just two days to fence off a patch of grass where local hounds could roam. It came down even quicker. Friday morning, a day before the dog run was to open to the public, the Elk Grove Park District tore down the $15,000 chain-link fence, leaving behind only a trail of wood chips marking the perimeter. The reason came down to a well-known neighborhood quirk: A hard rainfall causes nearby Salt Creek to flood, turning Morton Park into Morton Lagoon. "We see canoes in the area where that dog park would be," said Bruce Stockmeier, who lives across the street. A local ordinance does not allow fences in flood plains if, as in the case of the Morton Park dog run, they would be perpendicular to the flow of water. District officials acknowledged they weren't aware of that before starting construction. "This is a bad mix-up on the Park District's part," Executive Director Mike Brottman said. "This is on us and our staff, and we're taking full responsibility for that." The teardown left Elk Grove 0-for-2 in recent attempts to build dog runs. One in Powell Park on the village's west side was left half-finished last month after residents complained about the appearance of the planned chain-link fence and potential problems with noise and traffic. Dog runs once seemed a surefire success in the village. Park Commissioner Ron Nunes said a survey of residents five years ago showed that dedicated space for dogs was one of the community's highest priorities. The district decided on Morton and Powell Parks as sites for the off-leash facilities and sent letters to nearby residents outlining the plan. Few showed up at a later meeting to express any worries, said Alann Petersen, the district's director of parks and planning. "As far as we were concerned, we notified everybody," he said. "It wasn't some kind of surprise attack." But some neighbors said they didn't receive the letters or didn't realize what the Park District had in mind. Dan Vincent, who lives near Powell Park, said he left the initial meeting thinking the dog run was a good idea. But he changed his opinion when the fence posts went up, saying it became clear that the facility would consume the only part of the 7-acre site that doesn't turn into a bog when it rains. He and some fellow neighbors quickly took their complaints to the park board, which agreed to suspend construction. Some who lived around Morton Park weren't any happier to see a dog run. They said it would bring unwanted yapping to the block and mar their view of a tranquil green space. "It's a beautiful park, and this was not exactly adding to the beauty," resident Marge Weber said. The district built it anyway and started collecting $25 membership fees from residents who wanted to use the dog run. After a resident inquired about possible prohibitions on building in a flood plain, park officials asked Elk Grove Village for clarification. A village ordinance prohibits fences in flood prone areas if the structures could block the water flow. The Park District learned Thursday it had to remove what it had just put up. The fence came down in a few hours, and park officials called the 80 households that bought memberships, telling them their money would be refunded. The board also decided it will no longer build dog runs in neighborhood parks, though it might consider buying land or working a deal with the Cook County Forest Preserve. Some residents gave the Park District credit for correcting its mistake swiftly, but the dog run debacle remained a painful lesson for the agency to absorb. "We felt we were doing something that was right for the community and that the community wanted," Petersen said. "We failed." |
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