Schools

Judge: District 155 Must Follow Crystal Lake's Zoning Laws

McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel rules District 155 should have followed the Crystal Lake's zoning laws when building the $1.18 million bleachers this past summer at Crystal Lake South High School.

After nearly five months of legal wrangling, a judge has ruled District 155 should have complied with Crystal Lake's zoning laws when building the $1.18 million bleachers at Crystal Lake South High School this past summer.

McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel read his decision Wednesday morning before a courtroom filled with Amberwood Drive homeowners and attorneys for the city, District 155 and McHenry County Regional Office of Education.

"The issue here is regarding the ordinances the city has on its books, and whether the school district can ignore them, and I don't believe it can or should," Chmiel said. 

Chmiel plans to send a 20-page written decision in the case to all the parties involved later today. The document will more clearly explain his ruling.

Attorneys for Community High School District 155 said they will have to see the 20-page ruling before deciding what to do next. They could choose to forward the case to the Illinois Appellate Court in Elgin. 

"We're disappointed with what we heard today," District 155 attorney Robert Swain said. "We thought we followed the process. We will talk to the school district to see what they want to do."

Following the ruling, Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley said District 155 officials and attorneys should not have been surprised with today's decision. Rather, school officials should have seen this coming, he said.

"The school district behaved improperly," Shepley said.

"They thought they were above the law, and this decision confirms they are not above the law....Constructing these bleachers without following any process and notice, deprived these homeowners of their constitutional rights. And, frankly, any reasonable person would look at what they did and realize it was just unfair."

Homeowners Jeff Gurba and his wife, Kim Maselbas, who filed the lawsuit against District 155 in August along with homeowners Louis and Jean Bianchi, said they were happy with the judge's ruling and hope the new bleachers can modified, dismantled or decreased in size.  

"Those bleachers are like an erector set," Gurba said. "They are made of steel. They could easily be taken down."

"The bottom line is that we just wanted District 155 to comply with the law," Gurba said. "If they had done that months ago, we wouldn't be here. The district has been arrogant, and hasn't had any regard for the homeowners." 

Gurba stressed he and his family never wanted to negatively affect the students, the football players, track members, or South families with their lawsuit. They simply want the structure to comply with the city's zoning laws, which restrict the height, size, capacity and setback from the neighbors' property lines. 

"If the school board had done what it was supposed to do in the first place (follow the city's zoning process), this never would have impacted the athletes," he said. 

To date, District 155 has spent $117,000 on legal fees in the battle of the bleachers. Swain said those fees are being covered by the school district's insurance company.

Shepley called District 155's actions "frivolous," adding that the city and Regional Office of Education are paying their own legal bills. 

"There are three governing bodies involved in this case," Shepley said. "Insurance isn't covering our expenses, or the ROE's expenses. I hope the school district thinks long and hard before they waste more taxpayers' dollars."


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