Update, May 30, 2024 / I think I jinxed myself with my June story. The cloud cap definitely broke over our area. On Tuesday (May 28) we had 80 mph winds. My house must be built better than I thought. It is made of bricks not like the little piggy who chose twigs. I have attached a picture of the sky this morning. (Sue Jelinek Photo)
Original column featured in June PN publication, printed on May 27, 2024 / I have appreciated how many of my friends have checked to see if the horrible Texas storms have affected me.
Fortunately, I moved to an area that is usually protected by a “cap.” I am not sure how it actually works, but one of the meteorologists said that there is a cloud cap that forms over my area, north of Dallas, because of the mountains in Mexico. It helps protect us from severe storms and large pellets of hail.
The land around me used to be used for ranching and most of the homes were constructed in the last five years. The developers definitely considered storm water management before they started building. The area north of my house can become a small river to allow excess run off to flow to a federal open area. I am very confident that the runoff will never reach my property.
This made me think of the times when Naperville was changing from a farming community to a developed residential city. I was the Purchasing Agent for the City of Naperville from 1975 to 1976 until I took on a new position—Mom.
Back then, Ned Becker was the head of the Naperville Department of Transportation. He was one of the people who reviewed all the Planned Units of Development (PUD) before they could be presented to the City Council for approval.
On more than one occasion, a developer would complain about the amount of land that had to be left open as a water retention area. Ned would reply that you can’t just keep buying bigger storm water sewers and hope that the water flowed to the DuPage River.
No matter how hard they tried, the city planners couldn’t prevent all the flooding caused by 100-year rains. And several residents grew tired of 100-year rains that seemed to happen every few years near Hoffman Street and in Naperville Heights.
The detention basin by Jefferson Junior High flowed onto Washington Street on more than one occasion. But I can’t imagine how bad the flooding would have been if Naperville leaders had not worked so hard to make sure that Naperville grew in a responsible manner.
I also think that development in the 1970s helped set the standards for the current growth in Texas.
Did you know that Naperville was sued by the developers when it started demanding that the developers had to donate money or land for the development of parks and schools before they could start construction on new homes?
Those donations caused the homes in Naperville to be more expensive. Naperville won the lawsuit.
Many “little pieces” of history reveal contributions of so many different people that helped Naperville become one of the top places to live on so many national surveys.
Many days I wish I still lived there, but then again, nothing is better than living near grandchildren.
