Council approves Duiker School parking expansion with gated access, guardrail and fee reduction after neighborhood objections

The McHenry City Council on Feb. 3 approved a conditional use permit allowing School District 15 to expand parking behind Chauncey H. Duiker School and add a new access drive from Grove Avenue, with conditions including a district-owned gated entrance that must be open only during student drop-off and pickup and closed at other times.

The council also consolidated and reduced the district's three public hearing application fees to $950 total and required physical protections including a guardrail and landscape screening. The ordinance will be followed by a vacation of a portion of city right-of-way so the new lot sits wholly on district property, with an easement reserved for the city to access the gate and an adjacent lift station.

Council members debated the plan for more than an hour, including a lengthy public-comment period in which Grove Avenue neighbors expressed concern about nighttime access, proximity of the new parking to homes and whether a gate would actually be closed. Resident Haley Platt said the proposed lot would run along her property line, placing parked cars roughly 10 to 20 feet from bedrooms and creating "safety and privacy" concerns. Several neighbors asked for concrete bollards, cameras and larger trees.

Ross Palorecki, director of community development, told the council the expansion is intended to move staff parking off Kane Avenue, improve safety and remove street parking that now blocks sightlines and emergency access. He said planning and zoning added landscaping and other controls to reduce headlight intrusion and that the district offered a canopy-to-canopy planting of evergreens and agreed to other improvements.

District officials, including Chief Financial Officer Jeff Schubert and Superintendent Josh Wright, said the changes would route parent traffic away from congested Kane Avenue and that staff and parents had discussed staging and signage plans. Schubert confirmed the new rear layout will allow 12 additional cars to stack on school property, removing vehicles from the public right-of-way.

Police Chief Burke supported the plan as a partial remedy for chronic congestion on Kane Avenue and recommended patrols during the first weeks of implementation. The council added a condition that the gate must be closed outside morning and afternoon student-loading periods and on weekends, and that the city retain an easement to access the gate and lift station.

City Attorney David McArdle crafted the final motion: reduce and consolidate the application fee to $950 total; require district-owned gated access opened only at drop-off and pickup and closed at other times; require a guardrail between the parking lot and neighboring yards in addition to the planned landscaping; and reserve a city easement in the right-of-way vacation document to ensure access to the lift station and gate. Alderman Miller made the motion; Alderman Santee seconded. The roll call recorded on the transcript shows support from Miller, Santee, McClaskey (listed on the roll as McClaskey/McClatchy), Davis and Cook and opposition from Alderman Glab and Alderman Mebassi (recorded as "No").

The ordinance requires District 15 to complete the right-of-way vacation paperwork so the new lot will be on district land; the council noted that final engineering and a formal vacation approval will return to council before construction. The district also agreed to provide camera access for after-hours incidents so police can review footage.

Neighbors asked the district and city to return with details on the gate mechanism, landscaping sizes and bollard/guardrail specifics; council members asked staff to require larger plantings or physical barriers if needed to protect adjacent homes.

The council's action codifies the conditional use permit and the fee concession while placing operational safeguards and clear engineering and easement steps before construction.