[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Crystal Lake as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
General penalty — See Ch. 1, Art. II.
Stormwater management — See Ch. 595.
Zoning — See Ch. 650.
[Adopted 7-15-1975 by Ord. No. 978]
The following performance guidelines are hereby established and shall apply to all property within the Crystal Lake Watershed:
A. 
The natural groundwater flow hydraulics of the Crystal Lake Watershed shall be preserved. Thus present groundwater levels must be maintained.
B. 
Urban developments shall be designed to preserve present natural drainage patterns and local groundwater recharge conditions. All drainage systems shall be designed to recharge to the groundwater locally. No surface drainage systems shall flow directly to Crystal Lake.
C. 
Stormwater management systems for developed areas shall be designed to protect the quality of surface and groundwater discharges.
D. 
Development intensities and associated local area drainage design shall be restricted to those plans with natural surface drainage management systems capable of complete local recharge of the one-hundred-year design storm.
E. 
Natural areas of runoff detention and groundwater recharge shall be protected from urban development through dedication or acquisition.
F. 
Water supply systems using only the bedrock aquifers shall be required for all urbanized areas of the Watershed where sewage collection systems are to be provided.
G. 
Leaktight designs shall be used in sanitary sewer construction to minimize stormwater and groundwater infiltration.
H. 
Septic tank disposal systems shall be prohibited in the outwash soil area, with the exception of existing farming activities.
[Adopted 3-2-1976]
A. 
An area defined by the City of Crystal Lake, Illinois, as being the primary recharge source for the lake known as "Crystal Lake" is hereby recognized as the Crystal Lake Watershed.
B. 
The Comprehensive Plan is amended to include guidelines for development within the Crystal Lake Watershed.
The purpose of the Watershed Districts is to establish areas of controlled land use practices and management policies which will regulate development within the Crystal Lake Watershed through designation of zoning districts in which land will be classified in order to protect the water quality and the natural recharge conditions of the Watershed. By protecting the water quality and the natural recharge conditions of the Watershed, recreational and aesthetic values of the land will be maintained, the water supply will be protected, groundwater levels will be maintained, the natural beauty and processes of the Lake will be preserved, and in general, the public health and welfare of the community will be protected. Development within the districts will be carefully examined and controlled to ensure that these conditions are maintained. Planned unit developments are encouraged. No development will be permitted in the districts that would have an adverse effect upon these conditions.
The following objectives may be achieved by defining the Crystal Lake Watershed and controlling development within this area:
A. 
Preserve and improve the quality of the Lake water and natural beauty of the Lake and its surroundings.
B. 
Conserve natural conditions, wildlife, and open spaces for the education, recreation and general welfare of the public.
C. 
Protect the Crystal Lake aquifer recharge conditions, both the quantity and the controlled discharge rate, and preserve the naturally regulated flow dynamics of the aquifer supplying Crystal Lake.
D. 
Improve the quality of the surface and subsurface discharges to the Lake by limiting nutrients and other contaminants.
E. 
Reduce the amounts of accumulated in-place nutrients contained in Crystal Lake's sediments.
F. 
Regulate urban and rural watershed land use practices so that they will be consistent with optimum water resource protection.
[Added 12-17-2019 by Ord. No. 7599[1], effective 1-1-2020]
Development shall follow the requirements outlined within Chapter 595, Stormwater Management, the Crystal Lake Watershed Stormwater Management Design Manual dated November 6, 2007, and the Crystal Lake Watershed Stormwater Management Program Implementation Plan adopted November 6, 2007, and amended June 18, 2013, except that redevelopment or additional impervious surface area within existing urbanized residential shall follow the requirements outlined in the City's Crystal Lake Watershed Existing Urbanized Residential Requirements dated January 1, 2020.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former § 630-5, Location; § 630-6, Watershed management policies and land use practices; § 630-7, Crystal Lake Watershed development standards; and § 630-8, Land use restrictions for each zone, as amended.