The school board in Crystal Lake, Ill., has approved a bid to tear down bleachers that were erected without city approval.
The Northwest Herald reports that the Community High School District 155 board voted 5 to 2 to spend $233,000 to dismantle the bleachers, but the work will not be carried out immediately, and the structure may survive in some form if the district can reach a compromise with neighboring property owners and the city.
The district installed the 50-foot-high bleachers in 2013 on Crystal Lake South High School's football field, but it did so without getting zoning approval from the city of Crystal Lake.
Neighbors who objected to the bleachers went to court, and a year ago, McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel ordered the bleachers torn down, but the ruling was put on hold while the district appealed. Last month, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld lower courts’ decisions that the district is subject to municipal zoning laws.
In June, while the case was pending before the state Supreme Court, a proposal modify the bleachers by moving the press box and adding additional landscape screening was rejected by the Crystal Lake City Council.
After approving the demolition bid this week, the school board directed district staff to enter into discussions with the city and neighboring property owners and look at alternatives,
