Action Item: Adopt and enforce land-use policies that reduce sprawl, preserve open space, and create compact, walkable urban communities. Maintain healthy urban forests; promote tree planting to increase shading and to absorb carbon dioxide.

Goals

• The village should continue its efforts to preserve open space and to encourage the use of native plantings in future public and private developments in order to advance the goals of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and to preserve valuable natural resources.
• Continue to review and evaluate land use regulations and policies regularly to protect open space, encourage walkable urban spaces, and limit sprawl.
• Continue the installation of street trees with new developments and fill open gaps along roadways.
• Continue to consider the enhancement of public spaces with trees and landscaping wherever possible.
• Maintain the urban forest through tree trimming and monitoring insect and disease populations.
• Continue to carefully monitor and enforce the tree preservation ordinance.

Private Landscaping Projects

Since 2009, 16 landscaping projects with a native planting component have been installed in private developments. Of the 16 projects, 5 are detention ponds installed and/or retrofitted; 3 are rain gardens, and 2 are large plantings that replaced several acres of turf.

Ordinance Update

The Planned Unit Development Ordinance was amended and approved in January, 2012. Changes in the ordinance allow for increased density and more flexibility in design to preserve open space and natural features.

New Street Trees

In 2011, the reconstruction of Wright Blvd. was completed and included the installation of 35 street trees.

In 2012, the Irving Park Road and Higgins Road bike path extensions were completed, and included the installation of 93 trees.

In 2009 Schaumburg installed about 500 street trees. With the discovery of Emerald Ash Borer in the summer of 2008, the village began to focus on an Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Management Plan to slow the spread of EAB and to save high value Ash trees in the village. The Village Board approved an Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan which includes guidelines for the removal and preservation of Ash trees, and provided educational sessions for the community. A long term reforestation plan was also put in place ensuring that no single tree species will comprise more than 7% of the village’s total tree inventory. By increasing the number of tree types used, Schaumburg’s urban forest will be less susceptible to impacts from invasive insect species and diseases in the future. Ash trees comprised about 22% of the village’s street tree inventory. As of December, 2012 Schaumburg removed 1,731 Ash trees infested with Emerald Ash Borer.

Public Landscaping Projects

Olde Schaumburg Centre Parking Lot

In 2011, over 20,000 square feet of natural landscaping was incorporated into the new municipal parking lot in the Olde Schaumburg Centre historic district. Storm water is held in a detention pond and under the parking lot which is then used to irrigate the plantings. This project earned the 2010 International Awards for Livable Communities – Bronze Award, the 2012 Illinois Landscape Contractors Excellence in Landscape – Gold Award, and the 2012 Chicago Wilderness Conservation and Native Landscaping Award.

Olde Schaumburg Centre Park Enhancements

In 2011, improvements to the pedestrian amenities at Olde Schaumburg Centre Park were were implemented to be compliant with current codes. The park consists of a naturalized retention pond for the 8 acres that surround the park. Retaining walls, sidewalks, railings, decking, and site furnishings were replaced with updated, safe materials. This project earned the 2013 Illinois Landscape Contractors Association Excellence in Landscape – Silver Award.

Naturalized Storm Water Management

In 2012, native landscaping was incorporated into a new storm water detention area at the intersection of Braintree and Weathersfield Way. The village partnered with the Schaumburg Park District to incorporate native landscaping with the upgraded infrastructure improvements to control flooding and assist in filtering pollutants from the intersection before they enter Campanelli Park.

Schaumburg received a grant from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency – Illinois Green Infrastructure Grant Program to naturalize the storm water retention basin at the corner of Schaumburg Road and Salem Drive. The project includes green infrastructure such as riffles, an infiltration basin, 2 bio-swales, a wetland, and re-grading and planting of native vegetation around the perimeter of the pond to minimize bank erosion. These green infrastructure improvements are intended to reduce flooding, bank erosion, storm water run-off volume, and improve water quality. The village formed partnerships with Schaumburg Park District and Schaumburg High School on this project. Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2014.

Urban Forest Management

Maintenance of Schaumburg's urban forest takes place throughout the year. A significant number of village owned trees are trimmed each year as part of Schaumburg’s routine maintenance program. Since 2009, 11,674 trees have been trimmed:

Diseases and insects are monitored daily by staff and through Schaumburg’s Customer Service Request (CSR) program. Since 2009, 301 customer service requests regarding tree disease were investigated. A significant increase in customer service requests occurred in 2012 which is consistent with an increase in the Emerald Ash Borer population in the village.

Enforcing the Tree Preservation Ordinance

Code Enforcement inspects trees during annual landscape inspections and responds to all requests to remove trees from properties that must comply with the Tree Preservation Ordinance. From 2010 through 2012 the number of inspections remained relatively stable; ranging from 443 to 556 per year.

In 2012 a new inspection category was created to track tree inspections related to Emerald Ash Borer.