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Mount Prospect may ask residents to help fund flooding fixes

Mount Prospect will likely ask residents to share in the cost of fixing the backyard drainage problem.

This week, trustees asked village staff members to come up with a proposal likely calling for property owners to contribute to their own improvements, with a cap of $5,000. Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker said that is similar to what property owners in Des Plaines pay for a similar program.

Currently, Mount Prospect picks up the entire cost of fixing backyard flooding, which is due to a variety of factors, including, as trustees pointed out, changes made by neighbors to their backyards.

“The people who are flooding are usually not the people who are creating the problem,” said Trustee Steven Polit.

Based on the current rate of funding, typically $100,000 per year, Wulbecker said it would take about 37 years to complete the 142 sites on the current list.

The village originally intended to pay for the work through fees collected from developers whose projects paved over some land but overall were too small to provide meaningful stormwater management.

However, that amount has been dwindling to less than $10,000 each year. It has been augmented by other sources, mainly the village's general operation fund.

Wulbecker showed the board dramatic illustrations of the problem, including backyards completely submerged, with water reaching up to houses and garages.

One solution could be so-called rain gardens, with plantings that absorb some of the water and keep it out of the sewer/stormwater system. Another method involves catch basins that restrict water flow into the sewer.

Sites selected for improvements are based on a point system that weighs each property's risk. Mount Prospect hires the contractor and coordinates construction. The property owner is responsible for maintenance and improvements within the yard.

Wulbecker, who surveyed nearby towns, said most communities consider this the sole responsibility of the property owner. Communities that help include Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows and Des Plaines. Mount Prospect's program was authorized in 2008.

Trustee Michael Zadel, who supports making the property owner responsible for improvements on private property and the village responsible for improvements on the village right-of-way, said that although the village as a whole ultimately would benefit, “It's still, in my opinion, the homeowners' responsibility to participate to the extent possible.”

Trustee Richard Rogers suggested there should be greater enforcement against those who are creating the problem by filling in their backyards.

However, Acting Village Manager David Strahl said, “I think it's going to be extremely difficult to assume that we're going to be able to have the dirt police go out and catch people piling dirt on their driveway.”

Trustee Paul Hoefert said, “I think for the individual homeowner to handle this all on their own is pretty severe. It's happening because of the impact of multiple properties for an entire block, maybe even more than an entire block.”

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