THE ISSUE
An engineering analysis shows that reducing flooding around the Hubble School land would be cost-prohibitive.

OUR VIEW
Despite the flooding problem, selling this property for commercial redevelopment is still the best option for this site.

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A plan to redevelop the land where the now-closed Hubble Middle School in Wheaton sits has hit a stumbling block.

Some residents believed flooding could be reduced once the site is sold to developers. Much of the property are Zone A and Zone X flood hazard areas, but community members hoped that flooding around the site could be mitigated through infrastructure improvements.

Residents based this on what they heard from officials with Community Unit School District 200 prior to a referendum held last year. Voters approved a plan to issue bonds so a new Hubble facility could be built in Warrenville.

But a recent engineering analysis shows that reducing flooding around Hubble would be cost-prohibitive. Properties both upstream and downstream from the Hubble land would have to be purchased, and virtually all of these sites are developed.

Longtime critics of the plan to sell the Hubble property now claim School District officials misled residents about the feasibility of making infrastructure improvements. Opponents genuinely reflect the shock expressed by residents because flooding can’t be reduced, but they misunderstand a few key points.

The city of Wheaton, not the School District, oversees the town’s storm-water system. City officials were just as surprised as anyone to learn that proposed improvements weren’t feasible, so this information was not known until recently. If voters chose not to approve the Hubble plan, the flooding problem would still exist.

District 200 officials estimated that renovating the current Hubble School would cost more than buying land in Warrenville and constructing a new facility. Future revenue would be lost because the Hubble land wouldn’t be sold and placed on the tax rolls.

Residents would have ended up with a school project that costs substantially more than it does now with no flooding relief. Who does this benefit?

Members of a Hubble property steering committee are attempting to have the engineer who analyzed the land conduct a forum so residents can ask questions about the flooding issue. Let’s hope this addresses at least a few concerns over the redevelopment plan.