Next step unclear as Crystal Lake South High School bleachers reach proposed new height

CRYSTAL LAKE – The west bleachers at Crystal Lake South High School have been dismantled, leaving just nine of the original 26 rows.

Pieces of the removed rows sit behind the bleachers still standing. The press box is covered in a tarp.

The question that remains is what happens next.

A court order requiring the demolition of the entire structure still hangs over the west bleachers, one that remains unenforceable until an appeal filed by Community High School District 155 is resolved, said Tom Burney, the attorney representing the property owners who filed the original lawsuit arguing the district violated the city’s zoning and stormwater ordinances.

Both parties have filed motions to dismiss the appeal, but it hasn’t come through yet, he said.

In the meantime, the school district has requested that McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel amend the demolition order so the district could keep the nine rows standing as it moves through the city’s zoning process.

Burney fought that move, suggesting instead that Chmiel issue another stay on the order, one that incorporates some of the conditions the neighbors would like to see adopted as part of the zoning process.

The preservation of the bottom nine rows originally was suggested by the neighboring property rows, but their suggestion was part of “a package deal” designed to “protect their privacy and their property values.”

Burney wants some of those conditions included in the conditions of the stay, in particular addressing storm drainage issues, enhanced landscaping, and the installation of a privacy fence at the top of the bleachers, he said. The district would have to include the items in their proposal to the city, but it would be up to the city to decide if it wanted to include them as conditions of zoning approval.

Other items brought up by the neighbors – noise restrictions and where the press box would be temporarily stored – would not be included in that stay, Burney said.

District attorney Robert Swain did not return a call for comment, but district spokeswoman Shannon Mortimer last week said only that any next steps were “undetermined.”

The next hearing on the issue is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 23.