Ms. Knysz:

The massive 1390 home, 605 acre development proposed for this property, if allowed, will :

• damage the directly impacted ADID wetland homes of threatened and endangered species. No filling of Antioch Bog, named among the "highest quality wetlands in IL," should be allowed. At least 100’ buffers should be required, as specified in the Lake County WDO. US Fish & Wildlife concurs, and should be formally consulted. There is no justification for decreasing the 1.5:1 mitigation ratio for this, and it should be required on-site, and independent from the buffer areas.
• be subject to flooding. The site plan has homes in areas shown on FEMA and Flood of Record maps as floodplains. This should not be allowed. Delineations should be updated and the application amended, including: expanding farmed wetlands, corrections for illegal draining by the late Homer White, unusually dry springs of recent years, and soil sampling errors.
• cause flooding and damage to surrounding ADID wetlands. The soils at the site are 34% highly erodible, and 32% wetlands. Removing, covering, and draining these soils will result in erosion, polluting: Antioch Bog, Redwing Slough (both IL and Lake County conservation areas), Homer White Lake, and Huntley Lake. Detention ponds planned are insults to the existing ecology, inadequate in size, and ignore existing drainage tiles. The application also lacks an upland alternative, a glaring oversight for these wet soils and this wetland area. (See Lake County Soil & Water NRI 00-2002.)
• destroy scenic quality of the area. Over 900 mature trees in Oaks Knoll Savanna and the Evergreen Forests will be razed and replaced with wall to wall town-homes, houses, and roads.
• severely impact congestion on local roads. Thousands of extra car trips will further overburden Rt. 173 and Miller Road.

Sincerely,