CGEP: Public Meeting on Ackerman Woods: Thursday, April 10th 6 PM

Dear Members and Friends,

As you may be aware, within the next few weeks, the Park District plans to remove more than 340 trees in Ackerman Park. We encourage you to attend an informational meeting Thursday night, April 10th at the Glen Ellyn Civic Center on the 2nd floor from 6-7:30 PM, where the project will be addressed by representatives from the Village and Park District.

In light of recent concerns about the loss of native woodlands on publicly- owned land at Ackerman Park, the Citizens for Glen Ellyn Preservation Environmental Committee has compiled the following information:

A 2-acre wooded tract of over 340 2nd growth native trees in Ackerman Park will be cut down this Spring to create a water detention basin for the commercial strip mall on the northwest corner at Five Corners. Water will flow naturally downhill to this site, no pipes are needed. This is part of an inter-governmental agreement between the Village of Glen Ellyn and the Park District. $457,000 will be spent to cut down the trees.

The current detention area adjoining Walgreen•s will be filled with soil and will be sold by the Village to a commercial developer to create more retail space at the intersection. Residents have expressed concerns about how this will impact downtown retail and add to traffic congestion at Five Corners.

Although the Park District lists the 2 acres of trees as a part of 20 wooded acres, the remaining acres actually consist of scattered trees, many of which are undesirable, invasive varieties, which are around the perimeters of the park. There is not a contiguous 20-acre woodland.

Along with a few native burr oaks, the 2-acre woods includes many desirable native trees, such as walnut, black cherry, American elm, ash and cottonwood, all of which are varieties that do well in areas that are periodically wet. The topography of the area includes a ravine and small creek, and the woods are abutted by a wetland area. Some invasive species have been identified; although on the whole, the woods are surprisingly healthy. Only minimal work would be needed to restore these woods to their natural condition.

The Park District plans to use the detention area as a soccer field during times when it is not wet. This is to alleviate the loss of soccer fields due to the construction at Ackerman of a steel building for indoor basketball, which will have a 62,000 square foot footprint.

There has not been a comprehensive study of needs of the various sports programs and the available facilities throughout the Village.

Starting August 1, DuPage County is amending the County Storm Water Ordinance to come into compliance with the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act, due to the poor condition of county rivers and streams. Some of these new rules are stricter than local ordinances, and local governments are being educated so that they can begin to comply. Under the county requirements, all commercial properties will be responsible for their own runoff.

Additionally, wetlands, woodlands, natural plantings, rain gardens, etc. will be encouraged both on commercial and private properties as they are effective methods in containing run-off and filtering pollutants. It is a concern that the cutting down of publicly-owned woods to accommodate water run-off from commercial properties conflicts with the spirit of the pending county ordinances.

The woodland, as it stands, can take up thousands of gallons of water. In light of recent studies that prove the value of trees in preventing flooding, it is quite likely that retaining the Ackerman trees may be a more efficient way of handling water than a grass-planted detention area.

For More Information:

Attend the informational meeting at the Civic Center Thursday, April 10, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
:
Visit the site of neighborhood activist Michelle Creech (saveackermanwoods.com) for a complete collection of Village and Park District documents, including the over-all site plan of the new indoor basketball structure.

Express Concerns to:

Write the following Park Board, Village and County officials as soon as possible:

CAtwell@gepark.org , jsesto@gepark.org , villagepresident@glenellyn.org , mforento@dupageforest.com , curtb@glenellyn.org.