Judge: Crystal Lake South bleachers must come down
A McHenry County judge ruled Thursday that Crystal Lake South High School must disassemble the stadium bleachers constructed during the summer of 2013 without zoning approvals from the city, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Judge Michael Chmiel ordered Community Unit School District 155 to take down the 51-foot tall bleachers, which back up to homes on the 1100 block of Amberwood Drive, starting Dec. 1, according to the Tribune.
Neighbors sued the district last year, arguing that the $1.2 million bleachers were too high and too close to their homes.
Chmiel and an appellate court previously ruled that the district broke the law when installing the bleachers, and that the city, not the McHenry County Regional Office of Education, had authority over the project. Chmiel last month ordered district officials to go through Crystal Lake's zoning process for the bleacher project. District officials were already planning to appeal that ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court.