Protest doesn't stop Buffalo Creek work in Palatine

Typically, residents beg village officials to alleviate their flooding problems, Palatine Councilman Jack Wagner pointed out. But on Tuesday, a small group of property owners adamantly pleaded for them to drop a proposal for improvements to Buffalo Creek, which runs along their homes in northeastern Palatine.

"You're affecting our way of life," said Richard Schmitt, whose yard touches the small creek. "We don't want it done."

It took a two-hour discussion, but the council ended up unanimously approving a $678,000 project engineers say will reduce the frequency and severity of local flooding by widening the creek and installing a retaining wall 5 feet in height. The work will remove the risk of structural flooding for three homes and keep an additional 25 homes accessible during extremely severe storms.

But opponents including Schmitt argue they knew flooding was a possibility when they bought their homes, and they don't want their property values to fall because access and views of the creek bed will be limited. They added that this will be the third time in recent memory that either the village or Palatine Township has ripped up their yards and disrupted their lives in an attempt to provide flooding relief. They asked for more data about the project's effectiveness.

The residents implored the village to limit the work to east of Capri Drive, which would affect fewer people and reduce the water volume by at least two-thirds. They weren't appeased by offers of a $1,000 per lot landscaping allowance and a plan to upgrade the vinyl fence to a wrought-iron appearance.

Officials also decided against the residents' proposal to break the project into two phases - east and then west of Capri - because doing so would cost more money and risk losing federal block grant funding already allotted for Buffalo Creek improvements.

"Waiting doesn't make sense if the funding is here," Councilman Jim Clegg said.

Resident Glen Mitchmore protested the proposal, saying the retaining wall, which will include a 3-foot-wide terrace with plantings, will end up serving as a bike path for trespassing youth.

As a result, officials will present the homeowners with the opportunity to dedicate the land to Palatine. The liability of anyone getting hurt would fall to the village, and residents wouldn't pay property taxes on the land. Village Manager Reid Ottesen also noted that the affected homeowners will no longer have to pay for mandated flood insurance.