Lake County Gazette

The Lake Bluff Village Board of Trustees met on Jan. 23 and approved the plan to build a new sports court at the Lake Bluff Middle School property.

The court will be 108 feet by 60 feet and will be in an open space that was left when a former school building was demolished 11 years ago, according to information presented in the meeting. The project was brought about because most outdoor activities during recess and outside of school hours occur in the parking lot of the school rather than open green space.

“When my son first started at the middle school and I figured out that recess and outdoor activities are happening in the parking lot, I thought this I truly thought this was a temporary, like a one-year thing,” board member Taryn Fisher said in the meeting. “I continue to be confused when we have this big open space available to the school and the kids are playing in the parking lot.”

Fisher added that the school district is “phenomenal” and that it is a beautiful school with “extraordinary staff and students.” 

“I think they deserve better than a place of recess in the asphalt,” Fisher said. “And I don't find anything about this plan to be intrusive or ostentatious. I think it's small and it's modest. It's not a playground, it's a sports court that the community will benefit from, our students will benefit from. And the vast majority of the space is still open, green space. So that's all I have to say. Kudos to the work that's gone into it. I'm impressed with it and I hope we can move forward.”

The board discussed issues focused on noise, attention, landscaping and operation as they were brought up by the public. The hours of operation would be from dawn until dusk, but some council members wanted that better defined. Council members also said that they wanted more landscaping around the court as a perimeter along with a sitting wall to help with noise and keep activities contained to the area.

Members of the public were also able to speak about the project and had mostly positive comments.

The school preferred that the space be accessible after school hours and in the summer so that it would be available to the community. There would not be additional lighting included, so the space would be used between dawn and dusk. 

The project did not specifically need approval from the Village Board to move forward, but the district wanted to have a solution that was acceptable to all. The Zoning Commission recommended a change in the condition that noise, light and hours of use be as specified in the Village ordinance.

The project was approved by the Village board, which also crafted a statement to the school board and neighbors adjacent to the area to work together and peacefully resolve any future issues that might come up.