Bigger La Grange Houses Not To Blame For Flooding: Ex-Official

LA GRANGE, IL – Some question whether it’s just the quarry and the country club that are to blame for the flooding in south La Grange.

In early July, Village President Mark Kuchler asked about the effects of bigger houses on flooding in town. A village-hired engineer replied that collectively, larger houses can cause greater flooding. But he did not address whether that was the case in La Grange.

Last week, a former resident in the 700 block of South Spring Avenue expressed concern that large houses caused local flooding and believed La Grange approved more such houses during the pre-2008 housing crash than neighboring Western Springs.

In an email to Patch, David McCarty, who left the Village Board in May after eight years, disagreed with that assessment. He said the studies after each major flooding demonstrated that the flooding comes from the south and west.

"The golf course is a massive buffer and provides critical open space for holding or slowing storm water,” said McCarty, an architect. "However, once the ground is saturated, the natural course for the water is east and north."

He said that, to his knowledge, the redevelopment cycles in La Grange and Western Springs were not substantially different on building sizes and permit numbers. He also said impervious surface and maximum building coverage restrictions are nearly identical for both villages.

"I worked hard as a Village Trustee to ensure we held the line on allowing additional impervious surfaces on residential properties because it is prudent urban policy and small increments can add up," McCarty said. "As I said many times, 'Every drop matters.' However, the largest component of the La Grange flooding is the result of climate change, not development patterns.”

Before his election to the Village Board, McCarty served five years on the Heritage and Architecture Commission, 10 years as chairman of the Design Review Committee and 10 years on the Plan Commission.