District 155 Installs Massive New Bleachers at CL South Without City Approval

Crystal Lake resident Kim Maselbas said she and her family were surprised in June to awaken to the sounds of screeching metal and other construction noises.

A look out their back window at 1143 Amberwood Drive, and they noticed some type of work going on at the school bleachers furthest from their home. Their house and several others adjoin the Crystal Lake South property line near Ken Bruhn Field at 1200 S. McHenry Ave., Crystal Lake.

Maselbas went onto the Crystal Lake South High School website, and then the Community High School District 155 website to see if she could determine what the fuss was all about.

"I couldn't find any information," she said. "I have two daughters who attend South and they didn't know anything. No one told us anything."

Turns out the residents weren't the only ones in the dark.

The city of Crystal Lake hadn't heard of plans to install new 51-foot-tall bleachers that will seat 3,800 spectators (according to Maselbas) either. 

In fact, a project that size and that tall requires a zoning variance, said Michelle Rentzsch, director of planning and economic development for Crystal Lake.

"(District 155) does not have zoning approval," Rentzsch said. "They don't have a storm water permit either. They need a zoning variation for that height and that setback. The city has asked them to stop working, and they have not."

Rentzsch said the new bleachers - which will serve as the Gators' Home viewing area and were constructed where the "Away" stands were located - now stand 41 feet from the neighbors' property lines instead of 50 feet. The city issued the stop work order on Thursday, Aug. 1.

(Correction: the original story stated the stands were positioned 5 feet from the property line. City officials said the District 155 plans presented to them were improperly scaled. City staff conducted a field review on Thursday and determined the stands are 41 feet from the property line - still not the necessary distance, they said.).

However, construction workers continued to labor on the project on Wednesday. In fact, Maselbas said construction has started as early as 6:30 and 7 a.m. and workers have been on the project on weekends throughout the summer, which has created another problem.

"They need a permit to work on the weekends, but it's kind of a problem since they don't have a permit for the job to begin with," said Maselbas, who is concerned the towering steel structure will greatly depreciate the value of her home.

"We have lived here 14 years, and we never minded being next to the school. We never minded being next to the noise," she said. "But now, it's not just the width of the new bleachers, but the height. And there's going to be a house on top of it (the press box)."

Maselbas said she and her neighbors never received any notification from Community High School District 155 about the project. A group of the homeowners attended the District 155 School Board meeting this past Monday to find out more about the bleachers. 

"They said they don't have to operate under the city's governance," Maselbas said. "They said they are governed by the State Board of Education."

Maselbas said on Wednesday she received a personal invitation from District 155 Superintendent Johnnie Thomas to attend a meeting on Monday, Aug. 12, to further discuss the new structure.  

She heard the new "Home" bleachers were installed on the other side of Ken Bruhn Field - closer to her home - because of the sun.

"I heard that when people sat on the (original) home side, the sun was in their eyes during games," she said. "But we're concerned about the spectators hanging over the sides of the bleachers, the safety and the noise."

She also questions why a high school district with four schools in a struggling economy would spend so much money on bleachers.

"We question why they would even need seating for 3,800 people to begin with," she said. "The school does not even have enough parking spaces for that many people. So, are people going to be parking on our streets now?"


Attempts to reach District 155 were unsuccessful.