Libertyville trustees discussed the possibility of waving several ordinances in an attempt to save basketball courts at Copeland Manor Elementary School after neighbors voiced concerns, but the need for dumpster access ultimately forced a compromise.
Officials at Libertyville School District 70 are moving forward with a $5 million project to add an extra gymnasium and four-classroom wing along with the renovation of existing space to create two activity rooms.
Part of the expansion involves making the existing parking lot longer, which would break a zoning rule that requires 50 feet of grass or shrubs between property lines.
Libertyville trustees on Feb. 9 and Feb. 23 were supposed to deliberate on whether the district should be allowed a variance on the setback requirement.
The parking lot expansion would require the removal of a basketball court and numerous old tennis courts that were converted into a basketball area. Nearby residents asked village trustees to help the school keep those assets.
“We live there and see kids play there all the time, and we see adults playing there with kids because it’s a great facility for families in this neighborhood,” resident Jim Young told village trustees on Feb. 9 at the video-recorded meeting.
Libertyville officials say the parking requirement for the building will get larger after the renovation because it’s based on the building’s total square feet, even though the school will still house the same number of students and teachers.
“It’s 12 extra spaces for a school that’s been here for years and for a student population that is in fact going down, slightly, while staff has not grown,” Young said. “They’re building an extra facility but not bringing in extra people.”
Also at issue is a flood prevention ordinance that Libertyville approved in December that requires water retention ponds or underground storage equipment if a certain amount of impervious surface is on a piece of property.
The ordinance is designed to prevent large amounts of standing water on blacktops, which could then overflow into buildings or jam public drains instead of getting absorbed into the ground.
Trustees Rich Moras and Todd Gaines said they were interested in exploring the possibility of waiving that new regulation.
“As much as I don’t feel like it’s our job to micromanage what the school thinks is right, what I want to make sure of is the village doesn’t have ordinances that put people in economic trade offs, like in this example they’d love to keep all that space but can’t afford [the required retention basins],” Moras said.
Moras also expressed support for waiving the parking lot expansion requirement.
“Given what I’ve heard, I would be in favor of granting a variation to not require additional parking spaces, but I don’t want to get into micromanaging someone else’s project,” Moras said. “But if that was pursued, I would support it.”
Village employees didn’t oppose the parking idea, but they did express uncertainty about waiving the new anti-flooding requirement. However, the project’s architect then pointed to one unavoidable problem: the garbage dumpster.
Peter Graves of Wauconda-based Graves Design Group said the dumpster has to be relocated due to the expansion.
“This amount of paving is going to have to occur to allow (vehicle) access to the site, to allow access to the building, and to allow access to the trash,” Graves said. “As a bonus, in this case, we get the parking spaces because we might as well stripe that new pavement.”
Graves continued to say he cannot design the area any other way. However, after learning of the homeowners’ concerns he was able to tweak the plans.
“We were under the square footage limit so we put some area back in and we have play surface on the property that will have basketball,” Graves said. “It won’t be of the quantity we have now, but the quantity we have now is not good quality.”
Graves also said school officials will open the new gym to the community during select times on the weekends.
Trustees backed down, and upon reviewing the plans again on Feb. 23 they voted unanimously to approve the shorter buffer zone between the parking lot and residential property lines.
Robin Kollman, District 70 spokeswoman, said the project has not been sent to bid, and the board of education is still expected to review costs in the upcoming months.
Twitter @Rick_Kambic
