Compromise In The Works For Crystal Lake South Bleachers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Tensions between Crystal Lake South High School and neighboring homeowners have eased after the school's massive bleachers came down, and both sides appeared to be on the same page when a revised bleacher plan went before the local zoning commission on Wednesday.
A compromise would allow the school to add 80 feet of length and eight more rows to the home side bleachers on the east side of the field, and keep the west side bleachers at their current height of nine rows.
In 2013, the school built a massive expansion to the west side bleachers, building a 50-foot structure without city permits, eventually leading to an Illinois Supreme Court order to tear down the expansion, after neighbors complained the bleachers created a huge amount of noise, and blocked sunlight to their homes.
Kim Maselbas-Gurba, whose home is among those that sat in the shadow of the bleachers that have since been torn down said there were still some issues to be worked out with Community High School District 155 regarding the compromise.
"The volume of the speakers, and the positioning of them, they're going to consult a sound technician to work on that with us," she said.
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The west side bleachers are now shorter than they were before the $1.2 million expansion in 2013, but they're also longer.
Maselbas-Gurba said she can live with that, and is feeling good about where things are.
"Hopeful; hopeful that it's finally the end of it," she said. "They're finally now willing to work with us, and what they propose is actually not that bad."
She was very happy when the 50-foot bleachers started to come down last fall after the school district lost its court battle.
"It's like the sky opened up," she said.
The Crystal Lake city Planning and Zoning Commission signed off on the compromise plan, which also would include a privacy screen at the top of the west side bleachers, to address homeowners' concerns about a possible invasion of their privacy.
The Crystal Lake City Council still must approve the new plan.
