MCC expansion debate goes on, and on

Public comment on McHenry Community College's expansion plans continued for another 40 minutes Wednesday night before Crystal Lake planning and zoning commission Chairman Tom Hayden regretted his decision to allow more residents to speak.

Residents concerned about the impact of the college's expansion spoke for more than six hours at the last public hearing on the issue in August.

That would have been the public's last word on the plan at the zoning board level -- until the board decided Wednesday to allow residents who hadn't already addressed the commission to speak.

Hayden quickly became frustrated as residents addressed issues like traffic, road improvements and water quality that other residents, the college and consultants already had discussed at great length.

"I think I made a mistake opening this up a second time," Hayden said. "These are things that were provided at the last public meeting, and I've asked that people provide something new."

As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, the commission still had not discussed the college's petition -- let alone voted on it -- as residents still were addressing the panel.

The college was scheduled to address residents' and commissioners' concerns after the public hearing ended.

The college is seeking approval of a new master plan, which includes the $26 million Health, Wellness and Athletic Complex. The complex would include a 6,500-seat baseball stadium, classrooms, tennis courts and related uses.

Under a deal reached between the college and a minor league baseball group, the stadium would house a minor league baseball team from 2009 to at least 2028.

The college's master plan and the athletic complex won the key approval of the Illinois Community College Board last week.

Residents who spoke Wednesday touched on many issues that had been addressed earlier, particularly the effect expansion would have on the quantity and quality of water in the Crystal Lake watershed.

"I feel like the lake is our greatest asset, not the ballfield. There's a million of them," local resident Bernice Russell said.

Others said granting MCC's request to build on 50 percent of its campus expansion would set a bad precedent. This request has sparked the opposition of residents who say the move would endanger local water supplies.

"If the college builds the 50 percent thing, then everybody is going to come in and build (at 50 percent)," local resident Timothy O'Neil said.