School District a No-show at Zoning and Planning Commission Meeting

UPDATE 12 p.m. Friday, March 25: 

Elmhurst District 205 Superintendent Lynn Krizic has released the following statement via e-mail in response to this story:

“We received no official advance written notification from the City regarding a March 24 meeting of the further deliberations of the Zoning and Planning Commission.  In addition, the requirement to attend the deliberation meetings has not been clearly communicated to us.  In fact, we were told that we would not be allowed to participate or engage in this phase, that the portion of the process involving our testimony had ended. Certainly, had we been told this was a requirement, we would have been more than happy to be in attendance at the March 24 meeting.

“As a group, we have been forthcoming, diligent and compliant with every request and suggestion made by both City Administrator Than Werner and the Zoning and Planning Commission.  Additionally, we have been collaborative, respectful and thoughtful, as a group, in seeking to find a solution to meet multiple interests.  It is our continued hope that the Zoning and Planning Commission will honor our solutions and work to find a resolution to this important issue in a timely manner.”

District 205 representatives acknowledged they received a letter from Zoning and Planning Administrator Than Werner dated March 16 requesting that the School Board validate the amended light and sound guidelines and clarify Sunday use of the stadium. The district provided Elmhurst Patch with copy of a response letter sent by Krizic to the Zoning and Planning Commission on March 22. In it, she addressed the two points requested by the commission.

The statement Elmhurst Patch received today also says that the letter "contained neither a specified date when this information was to be received, nor a notification of the March 24 Zoning and Planning Commission meeting."

Elmhurst Patch reported the March 24 meeting two weeks ago, in this story.

EARLIER:

It was on the Elmhurst Zoning and Planning Commission's agenda, but no decisions were made Thursday night on a use ordinance for York High School’s stadium.

It wasn’t because commissioners couldn’t come to consensus. In fact, commission members didn’t discuss it at all. That’s because Elmhurst Unit District 205, the petitioner in this case, did not send a representative to the meeting.

It was a move that took commissioners by surprise.

“The applicant has chosen not to be here,” Chairman Darrell Whistler said at about 7:50 p.m., 20 minutes after the meeting was supposed to start. “Not one single person representing the applicant. We cannot move forward.”

Whistler, who has been on the commission since 1969, and Zoning and Planning Administrator Than Werner, who has 20 years in the department, both said they had never seen this before.

But Melea Smith, District 205 director of communication and public relations, said there must have been a mixup.

"Having worked so long and hard on this, I assure you we would not purposely ignore such a request," she said in an e-mail Thursday night.

The School District first approached the Zoning and Planning Commission back in September.

"This has to be a result of a miscommunication," she said.

Another point of frustration for commissioners is that the School District has not provided two key pieces of information needed to proceed.

First, the commission wants verification that the School Board has authorized the proposal currently being considered. It has been revised twice, Werner said.

“The original was verified by the board, then it was modified twice—and modified by a group that wasn’t the School Board,” he said, referring to the changes made to the ordinance by the York Community Advisory Committee.

The second thing the commission wants from the School District is clarification on Sunday field use. The School District’s proposal says there would be no lights, no sound and no events on Sundays. But the Zoning and Planning Commission has heard from other groups, including Immaculate Conception High School, who feel differently.

“When you look at the letters we got from IC (and other organizations) saying, ‘Whoa, we want to use it on Sunday,’ then we want that  clarified,” Werner said.

This is important not only to the neighbors of the stadium, but to the city, as well.

“If there’s no lights on, and there’s no sound on, the city is not involved,” Werner said. “That’s all we’re regulating here. When the lights come on and the sound comes on, that’s when we step in.”

Whistler said the assistant city attorney drafted a letter to the School District requesting the information. He said it was sent to the School District first by e-mail, then “handed over,” and then a follow-up call was made last week.

“We really need that information before we can move forward,” Commissioner Alan Brinkmeier said. “We’re just hand-tied here this evening because key information we need has not been provided.”

The petitioner is required at meetings, as well, in case the commission needs clarification on any points in the proposal, Werner said. Petitioners normally would want to be there anyway, he said, “because they want to know how these things roll out.”

The commission will continue the discussion at its April 28 meeting. By then, up to four new School Board members will be seated (at least three will be new) and potentially six new City Council members will be sworn in (at least two will be new). New District 205 Superintendent David Pruneau will begin July 1.

This story will be updated.