pistakee bay yacht club

Pistakee Yacht Club, Johnsburg argue the club’s future, possible change to village ordinance

Ordinance tabled to march meeting after pleas from sailing club.

Pistakee Yacht Club member Rob Bryson removes weeds from the lot used to park sailboats and trailers on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. The yacht club has been storing boats and trailers on a lot next to the club since 1970., arguing a county variance allows them to do so. The village of Johnsburg says the club is in violation of village zoning and must remove the boats and trailers from the lot. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

Past and current students of the Community Sailing School at Pistakee testified to the Johnsburg Village Board for more than an hour Thursday night about how the school and learning to sail have improved their lives.

The board knows how important the organization is to the community, Village President Ed Hettermann said following the public comment portion of the meeting that had about 70 people in attendance, concerned the village may be trying to close the Pistakee Yacht Club.

“Nobody on this board is trying to see the yacht club or the sailing school go,” Hettermann said, adding he did not know how “that rumor started.”

The sailing school leadership last week asked all those on its email list to reach out to the board over its concern about a Johnsburg ordinance change that would increase fines for zoning violations and place the burden of proof for zoning issues on the property owner.

Trustees received “50 emails this week” from Pistakee Yacht Club propoents, all of which received a formatted response from Hettermann.

In that email, Hettermann claims the situation “has been misrepresented to you.”

Johnsburg and the yacht club have been locked in the dispute since late last spring over a back lot owned by the club that is used for sailboat storage. That dispute is now in McHenry County courts, as each has sued the other.

The yacht club and the sailing club are separate entities with separate boards, but the sailing club uses the yacht club’s facilities.

The village is enforcing its ordinances to protect residents from property misuse, according to the email. But the yacht club’s leadership said that if it cannot store boats at the club, it will not have members and would close.

At issue this week was a zoning ordinance amendment that increases the fine for code enforcement violations from $25 to $200 per day. It also requires a property owner to prove a nonconforming use of a structure is legal.

The yacht club is concerned the ordinance amendment would leave it in the position of determining if a variation given to it in 1970 by McHenry County was done correctly.

The Village Board tabled discussion and a vote on the ordinance change until its March 5 meeting.

Trustee Josh Hagen asked if the ordinance change prevents complaints against his own property which has nonconforming structures as it was built before 1900. “My plat of survey looks like it was written on a napkin,” Hagen said.

“The ... unintended consequences are difficult for us to get through,” Hagen said, adding he’s concerned the village would pass legal costs on to a property owner if a complaint is made against them.

He also is concerned that, told in the past that an ordinance change was a general update, that change was then immediately used in a resident dispute. “Oversight has gone into overdrive lately,” Hagen said.

The suggested ordinance change, placing the burden of proof on the property owner, is only reflecting what already exists in Illinois case law, said Michael Smoron, village attorney.

Property owners must show why they believe an exception exists, Smoron said.

Trustee Beth Foreman asked if the ordinance could exempt the yacht club until the dispute is worked out, or hold off on a vote.

“I am leaning toward that in the spirit of reconciling the elephant in the room,” Foreman said.

After the fire: St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club focused on revitalizing this coming summer

P ANAMA CITY — In November, the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club building on Bunkers Cove Road was destroyed in a fire. Ever since then, questions have circulated around the community: How did the fire start? Would the Yacht Club rebuild?

The Yacht Club was up and operational for business within weeks of the fire. The Yacht Club is still taking in new members, as well. Members have joined the club even after the fire.

”The Yacht Club is in better shape than people would have imagined,” said Michael Wynn, 2024 commodore. “The staff members that we have are family to us. We believe and give to them and they give back to us.”

Wynn explained that one club member had this to say after the fire: “The clubhouse was just a building; the Yacht Club is about the people.”

The Yacht Club has discussed expanding its sailing center to provide greater resources for the community. The club expects the plans and renderings for the new club facility will be unveiled this summer.

Some of the staff members have left the club since the incident and others have stayed.

“Our staff is smaller now since the fire,” said Wynn. “We have less services being offered at the moment, but many staffers who left the club for other jobs have offered to come back once the club becomes (fully) operational again.”

The cause of the fire is still unknown. There have been different ideas and theories on how the fire started, but there has not been a definitive answer. But there was no foul play, Wynn emphasized.

”Right now, we don’t have a final number on what it’s going to cost to rebuild,” said Wynn. “We have architects and plans on rebuilding. We have members of the community who are donating services to help cut the cost (of our rebuild).”

More information about the club will be released closer to the clubhouse reopening. Wynn said the rebuild will both honor the club's history and heritage and also add modern touches.

Previous coverage: More details released as Panama City monitors St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club fire site

Wynn said the club's experience dealing with insurance after the fire has been good and the matter soon will be resolved. The experience was much better than the ones many people had after Hurricane Michael, he noted.

Wynn also is humbled and gratified by the outpouring of support and dedication from his fellow club leaders and all club members. He knew his one-year term as commodore, which began in January, would be full of challenges. But the club has rallied because the tradition and legacy mean so much.

"People care so deeply," he said.

News Herald Editor Jim Ross contributed to this report

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This article originally appeared on The News Herald: After the fire: St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club focused on revitalizing this coming summer