City: District 155 Should Have Followed Zoning Process

The following is the full press release from the city of Crystal Lake regarding the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision on the Crystal Lake South bleachers.

The Illinois Supreme Court today handed a victory to all property owners by ruling that schools in Illinois are subject to local zoning. By upholding the decisions of McHenry Circuit Court Judge Michael Chmiel and the Appellate Court for the Second District, the Supreme Court has provided relief to Ken Gurba and his neighbors who have borne the brunt for more than two years of the nearly 50-foot high bleachers at Crystal Lake South High School. Those bleachers, which School District 155 constructed without notification to the affected property owners and without going through the City’s zoning process, reportedly cost $1.2 million, and are made of solid sheets of metal extending more than three times in width and almost double the number of rows as the previous bleachers, which had open risers to allow light and air to flow through.

“Today’s ruling reconfirms that the zoning process is intended to address competing land use interests, and all property owners – including school districts and other governmental bodies -- are required to follow the law and respect the due process afforded to every property owner through local zoning,” said Attorney Vic Filippini, of Filippini Law Firm, who represented the City before the Court.

Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron T. Shepley was more rueful. “From the outset, the City had requested District 155 to follow the zoning process and to engage the neighbors in order to determine how the seating needs at Crystal Lake South could be addressed without impinging on the rights of its neighbors,” said Shepley. “District 155 disdained the City’s requests, and instead dragged the City, the neighbors, and the community into this legal odyssey. And after wasting the money on the bleachers and all the legal fees, what have we learned? That District 155 should have gone through the City’s zoning process. Although the Court’s ruling is a powerful victory for everybody’s constitutional property rights, the lesson came at an unnecessary and painfully high price for the Gurbas and the other neighbors as well as the entire community. I am glad that the Court finally put an end to this and has given the impacted neighbors relief from their ordeal.”

The Gurba case is important for all property owners, statewide, particularly those properties adjacent to school district land.

The case dates back to August 2013, when the Gurba family and their neighbors, all property owners that back up to the Crystal Lake South football field and the then-still-in-progress bleacher expansion sued the School District 155, arguing the district bypassed the City’s zoning process.

Since then, the case has wound its way through the court system – with District 155 adding the City of Crystal Lake to the lawsuit in an attempt to avoid the City’s zoning process. In December 2013, Circuit Court Judge Chmiel ruled in favor of the City, stating that the School District must follow the City’s zoning process. The School District appealed this decision to the Appellate Court, which affirmed Judge Chmiel’s ruling in September of 2014, reconfirming that the School District must abide by the City’s zoning process. Unhappy with the first two rulings, the School District petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court to hear the case. In May of 2015, the Supreme Court heard the petition and today affirmed the two previous courts’ opinions.

“The Gurba family and their neighbors filed a lawsuit to stop the completion of the bleachers construction. Everyone who values constitutional property rights owes the Gurba family a debt of gratitude for this historic victory,” said Mayor Shepley, who has been a strong supporter of the homeowners impacted by the bleacher construction and a vocal critic of the School District’s actions in this regard.