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Final Report Village of Richton Park Town Center Stormwater Master Plan

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Final Report Village of Richton Park Town Center Stormwater Master Plan Final Report Village of Richton Park Town Center Stormwater Master Plan DECO grant no. 08‐355040 Prepared By: Clark Dietz, Inc. 118 S. Clinton St., Suite 700 Chicago, IL 60661 1 - Project Setting 1.1 - Introduction Richton Park is a rapidly growing high quality community with attractive residential areas, parks, and commercial centers. The Village is projected to experience considerable growth in the coming decades and the Town Center is the focal point of the Village’s commercial growth. Richton Park’s Town Center sits at the crossroads of Sauk Trail and Governor’s Highway, two of the most important corridors in the Village. In fact, Sauk Trail is the only continuous east-west corridor in the Village and has both a deeply historical and a vital commercial significance in the area. The Village has already committed Sauk Trail to be developed in its entirety. Sauk Trail provides potential linkages to major parks and open spaces to the west of Interstate 57. Sauk Trail is visioned as a major amenity to Richton Park so that it can be a major symbol of the Village. While commercial land uses in the Village are fairly scattered, Richton Park Town Center area represents an important cluster of commercial activity. Accordingly, the redevelopment and renewed attractiveness of the Town Center area are essential components of the long term vitality of the Village. The purpose of the Village of Richton Park’s Town Center Stormwater Study and Master Plan is to understand existing conditions within the Town Center, plan stormwater projects, and create a document that provides a vision and guidance for flood control and promote economic development within the Town Center. The Richton Park Town Center extends east–west from Main Street to Karlov Avenue, respectively, and north-south to the Village’s corporate limits. The Town Center Redevelopment Program is a major economic development project, including the creation of a transit-oriented, mixed-use district focused around the Village’s existing commuter rail station. The proposed program calls for over 3,000 new dwelling units as well as 380,000 square feet of commercial space, creating significant new employment opportunities and construction jobs. In order to promote 1 this kind of sustainable development, a storm water management system is needed to centralize storm water detention facilities. These centralized facilities will allow development to become higher in density and more compact, which is essential to the success of transit-oriented districts. 1.2 - Problem Statement The East Branch of Butterfield Creek flows through the Town Center and creates serious flooding issues along both sides of Governors Highway and Sauk Trail, including through the intersection. Known flooding issues in the Town Center have been documented and summarized as follows: 1. The southeast corner of Governors Highway and Sauk Trail experiences flooding during moderate storm events. The inlets are poorly spaced at this corner. Stormwater is not adequately captured during storm events and water ponds at the lowest point in this intersection without receiving adequate relief. 2. Additionally, the elevation of this corner approximates the base flood elevation of 708 as shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Therefore, this corner is potentially in the floodplain of creek channel. 3. Stormwater runoff from the elevated railroad tracks, through the neighboring properties and into the Dunkin Donuts parking lot causing serious flooding issues. The Dunkin Donuts property is the lowest point in this area and stormwater runoff collects in the parking lot and drive-thru areas. 4. Maple Avenue crosses the East Branch of Butterfield Creek and its related floodplain. During one inch (1”) or greater storm intensities this path is inundated by the creek. In addition to natural floodplain area, this flooding is potentially exacerbated by beaver dams blocking the Creek in the downstream Village of Matteson. These dams restrict the Creek from flowing naturally, causing upstream water levels to rise. 2 5. Just north of the Town Center commercial area, along Governors Highway, ponding occurs and inhibits north-south traffic flow during one inch (1”) or greater storm intensities. 6. Along Sauk Trail, just west of the intersection with Governors Highway, ponding occurs with one inch (1”) or greater storm intensities and may be related to in insufficient inlet spacing, under sized storm sewers, or inadequate street elevation in relation to the FEMA base flood elevation. 7. The creek channel along Governors Highway floods due to insufficient maintenance on this portion of the East Branch of Butterfield Creek. Because the channel is overgrown, adequate storage is not available in this channel. 8. The detention pond behind the Richton Park Library holds stormwater runoff volume for longer than normal. The floodplain of the East Branch of Butterfield Creek causes the storm sewer back-up into this area because flow is inhibited into the channel. 1.3 - Project Goals and Objectives The goal of the project is to identify specific flood control measures within the Town Center boundaries in order to allow for increased economic activity and redevelopment. Since the project is limited by the Richton Park Village limits, flooding issues discussed in items #1, 5, 6 and 7 above will be addressed in this study. By controlling the existing floodplain in this region, the Village is seeking to create attractive new parcels for redevelopment that will strengthen the tax base and help spur a vibrant new commercial area. The project intends to identify specific flood control practices that will modify the floodplain area to suit the economic development goals established by the Village. These goals are rooted in the Village’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan and supported by subsequent planning efforts specifically targeting the development potential in the Town Center area. The present project supports the Village’s vision with the Village Comprehensive Land Use Plan and offers the following general goals for its realization: 3 1. INCREASE developable area by REDUCING flood elevations in Butterfield Creek East Branch: a. Use hydraulic and hydrologic analysis to identify hydraulic improvements (i.e., capacity increases) to convey the Butterfield Creek flood waters more efficiently through the Town Center. The culvert that encloses the Creek at Sauk Trail is a restriction and we will explore replacement and/or capacity increase at this location. The 2009 MWRD regional study has also identified this structure as a recommended improvement location. b. Identify “in channel” improvements in Butterfield Creek to reduce flood elevations and enhance stream habitat and ecological health. The creek is overgrown and has lost most of its natural conveyance capacity north of Popeye’s, all the way to the north end of Town Center boundary and beyond. Significant hydraulic improvements can be achieved with an environmentally sensitive channel and stream restoration approach through this reach. A similar recommendation is also mentioned in the MWRD study for the area. c. Identify stormwater and flood detention features that will reduce flood elevations. A large detention facility upstream of Sauk Trail will provide the most effective reduction in flood elevation at and downstream of Sauk Trail and Governors Highway intersection. Clark Dietz will perform a watershed analysis that will propose detention and flood attenuation without encroaching on desired redevelopment areas in Town Center. 2. INCREASE developable area by MOVING the floodplain away from desired redevelopment areas towards planned recreation areas. To complement our flood management projects, we are also proposing to investigate the “relocation” of the floodplain through the use of compensatory storage along the floodplain. In other words, conversion of dry-land not targeted for redevelopment into floodplain to compensate for converting floodplain that is targeted for redevelopment into dry-land. The proposed Greenway corridor is an optimum place to identify this compensatory conversion. 4 The flood control measures in the Town Center area must target specific development and economic objectives that are currently not feasible due to expensive and uncontrolled flood risks at several portions of the Town Center. The targeted and desired economic activity in the Town Center is summarized as follows: • Within Town Center, Sauk Trail is the principal location for commercial uses. Governor’s Highway may support secondary commercial. Commercial development can be expected within three to four hundred feet south of Sauk Trail. • The corner of Sauk Trail and Governor’s Highway has been considered a good location for stand-alone retail. Mixed use development would be suitable closer to the railroad tracks. • Development sites near Sauk Trail and east of the Richton Road extension are suitable for mixed-use development. The suitability for higher density development declines further south from Sauk Trail. • The former Gee Lumber site may be suitable for high density residential development. 1.4 - Project Approach Data utilized in this study was obtained from multiple sources. In the context of the Town Center flooding assessment, the present project seeks to collect and synthesize a large amount of pertinent and relevant data. Additionally, the project develops new engineering analyses that focus on specific floodplain management goals within
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