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DeKalb County, Illinois |
Minutes of the
Stormwater
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STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
June 10, 2010
The DeKalb County Stormwater Management Planning Committee (SMPC) met on June 10, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in the DeKalb County Administrative Building, Conference Room East, in Sycamore, Illinois. In attendance were Committee members Ken Andersen, Bill Lorence, Joel Maurer, Joe Misurelli, Bill Nicklas, Donna Prain, Pat Vary, and Paul Miller.
1. Roll Call -- Mr. Miller noted Norm Beeh, Tom Thomas, Roger Steimel, and Mark Biernacki were absent.
2. Approval of Agenda -- Mr. Lorence moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Ms. Vary, and the motion carried unanimously.
3. Approval of Minutes:
Mr. Andersen noted that he was not in attendance at he the April 1, 2010 meeting. He also noted the word “board” was used instead of broad.
Ms. Vary also noted two typographical corrections.
Mr. Misurelli moved to approve the minutes as amended, seconded by Mr. Lorence, and the motion carried unanimously.
4. Status of Comprehensive Surface Water Maps Project:
Mr. Miller began the discussion with a short presentation of the watershed boundary information now available through the County’s geographical information system (GIS). He explained that the USGS-generated watershed boundaries had been incorporated in the County’s GIS maps with the assistance of two NIU students, Joe Sepulveda and Dan Abbott, and Dr. Greene of the Geography Department. Mr. Miller noted that with this new information, future developments can be reviewed and designed with a consideration of the larger stormwater impacts. The completion of the maps will also allow for a watershed approach to stormwater management rather than solely reviewing a project in the context of a single property.
Ms. Prain suggested that the legend be revised so that waterways and watersheds be given two different colors rather than both being blue. Mr. Miller agreed.
Ms. Vary asked why the topography did not line up with the watershed boundaries. Mr. Lorence explained that the watersheds boundaries flow in opposite directions from the high points, which often cross contour lines.
Mr. Andersen asked if the contours were created with the fly over approved last year by the County Board and inquired as to the accuracy of the data. Mr. Lorence confirmed that the contours had been constructed using LIDAR a method of creating contours in conjunction with aerial photography. He also explained how the accuracy of the contours is then checked against three known elevations.
Ms. Vary also asked who would be using the information. Mr. Miller responded that there was a variety of potential users. He noted that primarily municipalities and property owners will benefit from the information because as a tool it will enable them to make educated decisions about the impact of a given project earlier in the design stages.
Mr. Lorence agreed that the siting of detention ponds may be better located and therefore more productive with this type of information.
Ms. Prain noted that the a known watershed north of Genoa near Deer Creek was not indicated on the watershed boundary map. Mr. Miller and Mr. Lorence agreed to investigate the reason for this oversight.
Following a brief discussion, Mr. Miller also agreed to draft a letter of appreciation to Professor Greene and his students for their work.
Mr. Miller stated that the completion of the comprehensive surface water maps concludes the list activities for Phase II on the Stormwater Management Plan.
Mr. Maurer questioned if creating a plan for watershed remediation was also part of Phase II. Mr. Miller responded that as part of Phase III the plan will be to create a list of projects, prioritize those projects, gather cost estimates, and determine funding options as part of Phase III. Ms. Vary agreed and noted that the resources for addressing the projects proposed as part of Phase III will be difficult in this economic climate.
Ms. Vary asked that a “read me” file with explanations on how to use the GIS maps be added to the website. Mr. Miller agreed to investigate a tutorial or FAQ on the GIS page. Mr. Miller also noted an upcoming GIS introduction workshop offer to municipal staffs through the Regional Planning Commission. Staff added that the question mark icon does provide information regarding the general use of the County’s GIS maps.
The Committee briefly discussed asking the County’s Information Management Office to include the layers within the Zoning Map as part of the GIS base map.
5. Draft Phase 2 Stormwater Management Ordinance:
Mr. Miller explained that he had drafted revisions to the Ordinance for the Committee’s review and approval. He further noted that these revisions once adopted that Phase 2 goals would be met.
Ms. Prain suggested that the term “tributary watershed” within Section 2: Definitions of the Ordinance be broken down and each term separately defined.
Ms. Vary suggested revising the term “Best Management Practice” to included a restriction on the dumping of any hazardous waste including household chemicals.
Ms. Vary inquired as to who was the Federal Flood Insurance Administrator for the County. Mr. Miller responded that the Planning Director is also the Flood Administrator.
Ms. Prain asked that a statement be added that stormwater management measures should be considered in a watershed context. She suggested language such as “stormwater facilities shall be designed with consideration of the watershed in which they are located”. Mr. Lorence agreed.
Mr. Miller highlighted the revisions to Section 7 of the Ordinance. He emphasized that the revisions require the developer to design facilities for projects which include depicted wetlands or any water feature near the project area. Mr. Lorence noted that by codifying the requirements future developments will consider the entire watershed.
The Committee briefly discussed the hierarchy of possibilities within Section 7.7 of the Ordinance.
Ms. Vary also asked how alternative methods were encouraged by the Ordinance and asserted that these methods be mentioned as part of the Purpose Section of the Ordinance. Mr. Miller responded that the alternative methods had been proposed as a revision to Section 10. Mr. Lorence noted that the proposed revision allows staff to consider the alternative methods proposed by a development in lieu of other forms of compliance.
Mr. Misurelli stated that demonstrating that the alternative methods complies with the intent of the Ordinance was important to guarantee that best management practices are used.
Mr. Miller reminded the Committee that the municipal ordinances would need to be as restrictive as the County Stormwater Ordinance. He noted that the purpose and intent of the Ordinance was to prevent flooding through responsible development design. Mr. Miller also noted that through the enforcement of these Ordinances that the alternative methods can be discussed by staff with the developer.
Ms. Prain asked the Committee Members about post-construction maintenance agreements, noting that many of the stormwater management features need to be properly maintained to work effectively. Mr. Lorence agreed and he proposed that a portion of the financial guarantee not be released immediately following project completion but instead held for set time period after the work was completed.
Mr. Nicklas noted that the devil is in the details with the enforcement and compliance with stormwater issues. He stressed that to move forward with utilizing all of the information the Committee had generated from Phase II the Committee needed to take action on the revisions.
Ms. Vary left the meeting at 3:45 pm.
Mr. Miller agreed that the monitoring and hold a portion of the guarantee for facilities maintenance following project completion was an interesting idea. He concluded by noting that staff would take the Committee’s comments and finalize the suggested revisions with the intent of voting on the Ordinance changes at the next meeting of the Committee.
6. Next Meeting:
After a brief discussion the Committee decided to meet in August. Following the June 10, 2010 meeting staff scheduled the next meeting for August 19, 2010 at 3pm in the Conference Room East. 7. Adjournment -- Mr. Nicklas motioned to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Lorence, and the motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul R. Miller, AICP Chairman, DeKalb County Stormwater Management Planning Committee RGV:rgv
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