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Naperville
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Naperville Park District considers resolution concerning public use of DuPage River

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Above / Mallard ducks thrive along the DuPage River as it winds through Naperville. Note that the Naperville Park District Board will vote on a Resolution Concerning Public Use of the DuPage River. The resolution will be on the August 12, 2021, board meeting agenda.

At their July 22, 2021, meeting, the Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners discussed the need for a resolution following public comments by former state representative and Naperville resident Grant Wehrli, who encouraged the board to take action to support continued public access to the DuPage River.

The State of Illinois has assisted in funding capital improvement projects undertaken by the Naperville Park District to create and improve public access to the DuPage River for recreational purposes.

(Click here to watch public comments from the July 22, 2021, Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners meeting. Note also that regular Park Board meetings (2nd and 4th Thursdays) are livestreamed. Previously recorded meetings also may be viewed. For more about Naperville Park Board meetings, click here.)

Recently, a group of Plainfield residents complained to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) about trash and trespassing along private property adjacent to the river. After the complaint was submitted, the status of the DuPage River as a public or private waterway has come into question.

A group of Illinois state representatives and state senators has sent a letter to IDNR expressing support for continued public access to the DuPage River.

Public access to the DuPage River is available from Knoch Knolls Park.

“The attached resolution sets forth the position of the Naperville Park District,” said Executive Director Ray McGury. “The board will vote on adopting the resolution at the August 12 (2021) board meeting.”

The proposed resolution is featured below:

RESOLUTION NO. 21-05
A RESOLUTION

OF THE NAPERVILLE PARK DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CONCERNING THE PUBLIC USE OF THE DUPAGE RIVER

Recitals

1. WHEREAS, the Naperville Park District is a duly organized unit of local government operating under the Illinois Park Code; and
2. WHEREAS, the Naperville Park District owns various park properties adjacent to the DuPage River; and
3. WHEREAS, residents of the Naperville Park District and other members of the public have, for many decades, used the DuPage River for recreational purposes throughout the jurisdiction of the Naperville Park District, including but not limited to such activities as fishing, kayaking and canoeing; and
4. WHEREAS, the State of Illinois has assisted in funding capital improvement projects undertaken by the Naperville Park District to create and improve public access to the DuPage River for recreational purposes; and
5. WHEREAS, Illinois statutes and administrative regulations grant jurisdiction over public bodies of water to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (“IDNR”), but those same statutes and administrative regulations exempt from that jurisdiction of IDNR all “normal and lawful” uses of a public body of water (see, e.g., 615 ILCS 5/5 and Part 3704 of the Illinois Administrative Code); and
6. WHEREAS, the United States Government and the State of Illinois, acting through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, have each recognized that the DuPage River constitutes a “navigable” body of water, a “water of the United States” and, therefore, also a “public body of water” (see, e.g., NPDES Permit Number IL0073253 Responsiveness Summary; see also Roger Stone v. Naperville Park District, 98 C 1881 (Northern District of Illinois)); and
7. WHEREAS, any attempt by IDNR to prohibit, restrict, or otherwise regulate normal and lawful recreational activities on the DuPage River would be contrary to Illinois law as outside of the jurisdiction of IDNR; and
8. WHEREAS, the mission of the Naperville Park District is to promote recreational opportunities using natural resources such as the DuPage River.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE NAPERVILLE PARK DISTRICT, DUPAGE AND WILL COUNTIES, ILLINOIS, that:

SECTION 1: The foregoing Recitals are hereby incorporated in this Section 1 as though fully set forth herein.

SECTION 2: The Naperville Park District joins with State Representatives Mark Batinick, Janet Yang Rohr, and Terra Costa Howard, and State Senators Laura Ellman and Meg Loughran Cappel in supporting the position that normal and lawful use of the DuPage River by the public cannot be denied by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, any other agency of the State of Illinois, or any other unit of local government.

SECTION 3: The Naperville Park District encourages IDNR to articulate a clear and correct position that IDNR is not attempting to limit, and will not limit, normal and lawful recreational activities on the DuPage River.

SECTION 4: This Resolution shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and approval as required by law.

Signatures and dates will be attached upon support of the resolution.

Editor’s Note: Appreciate the great outdoors and the DuPage River. Let wildlife be wild. Never feed human food or snacks to waterfowl and other wildlife. PN File Photos.

 

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Naperville Park District
Naperville Park Districthttp://www.napervilleparks.org/
Created in 1966, the Naperville Park District is an independent, municipal agency serving the recreation needs of its residents. An Illinois Distinguished Agency since 1994, the District is one of only 1% of park districts across the country to be nationally accredited through the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). The Naperville Park District’s mission is to provide recreation and park experiences that promote healthy lives, healthy minds and a healthy community. The District maintains and operates more than 2,400 acres with 137 parks and provides more than 1,500 recreational, arts and environmental programs and special events annually. Included within the District’s operations are two championship golf courses, a multitude of playgrounds, trails, athletic courts and sports fields, Fort Hill Activity Center, Knoch Knolls Nature Center, two inline skating and skateboarding facilities, the Millennium Carillon, a paddle boat quarry, historic Centennial Beach, and the beautiful Riverwalk.

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