Mount Prospect residents balk at proposed parkway planting restrictions

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify Bill Waltrich’s work with native plant systems.

The strip of land between the sidewalk and the street is growing into a battlefield between some Mount Prospect residents and the village as village leaders look to limit what can be planted on parkways.

The village board Tuesday discussed an ordinance restricting plantings to a two-foot zone around a mailbox or parkway tree trunk, with all other parkway areas required to have grass. Properties out of compliance would be grandfathered until sold.

Residents said the ordinance would defeat the village's environmental goals by effectively prohibiting native plantings that provide biodiversity and stormwater benefits.

“Please don’t punish the people that are trying to contribute to sustainability,” resident Brian Demski said.

Nick Pizzo, an ecologist whose company is under contract with the village's public works department, said mandating grass coverage isn’t healthy for the land. Turf grass has notoriously shallow roots, he said, while noting some native species send roots down up to 16 feet, improving water infiltration at a time when climate change produces heavier storms and overburdens storm drains.

“Turf grass is unsustainable. It's sterile. Nothing eats it,” Pizzo said. “We are stewards of this land, and we have a responsibility for all creatures.”

Assistant Village Manager Alex Bertolucci said the ordinance is necessary to protect access to underground utilities during emergencies, noting dense plantings can complicate locating utility lines. He said the village has averaged about 300 complaints in the past two years about tall weeds and grasses on parkways, and that several neighboring communities prohibit anything but trees and shrubs in the parkway.

Trustees John Matuszak and Vince Dante asserted the village's ownership of the parkway.

“It's not your parkway,” Matuszak said. “It is a village parkway.”

But resident Bill Waltrich, who has worked with native plant systems with the Chicago Botanic Garden and various agencies, countered, “Although the parkways are owned by the village, it is taxpaying residents who are responsible for managing them. Residents are already maintaining parkways.”

The board will return to the issue, possibly in two weeks.