Facing negative feedback, park district hits pause on Centennial beach improvements

After years of deliberation and the devotion of more than $2 million, Winnetka Park District officials will rethink their ambitious improvement plans for Elder and Centennial beaches.

The Winnetka Park District board voted unanimously during its Thursday, June 26 meeting to “take a temporary pause on its current zoning applications” for the two lakefront beaches.

“It’s clear that the current plan, while it reflects many stated goals of the community and community interests, needs further consideration by park district staff and consultants to undertake comments made to date by the village advisory boards,” Park Board President Elise Gibson said.

The district’s plans, particularly their vision for Centennial Beach, have been met with a wave of criticism from Village of Winnetka officials thus far.

As previously reported by The Record, Winnetka’s Plan Commission voted unanimously in late May to recommend denial of the park’s requested updates at Centennial, arguing the district’s plan did not meet the standards for the special-use permit it requested.

Winnetka’s Zoning Board of Appeals also in late 2024 issued a negative recommendation on the proposed plan for Centennial.

Specifically at Centennial, the district proposed an extensive list of updates throughout the site, including an elevated pier that is nearly 200 feet in length, an elevated boardwalk, a swimming beach, an off-leash dog beach with fencing and double entry gate system and stairs, an ADA accessible beach ramp and concrete ADA-accessible walkway retaining walls, a reconfigured paver walkway, and more.

Additionally, the park’s project included plans for bluff clearing and restoration and steel sheet pile replacement.

The park’s desired improvements for Elder Lane Beach had not yet made it in front of an Winnetka advisory board for a formal, public review. Officials had previously stated they submitted the necessary application materials related to work at Elder but as of late May had not yet received a date for the start of the Village’s review process.

Gibson told commissioners that the pause is “for the sole purpose of allowing park district staff and consultants to better align the plans for the external feedback received thus far.”

Shannon Nazzal, executive director of the Winnetka Park District, said staff will work with consultants to identify the needed scope of work and identify what potential cost implications will come from that. Staff hope to bring back change orders to commissioners’ next meeting on July 24 but it is unlikely a new plan will be ready at that session, Nazzal noted.

With the pause now approved by commissioners, district staff will inform the village that it would like to keep its application open but that it is pausing the administrative process.

Park Board attorney Adam Simon said that village staff will make a recommendation when the district presents updated plans as to whether or not there are material enough changes to warrant a re-review of the park’s application with both the Winnetka Zoning Board of Appeals and the Plan Commission.

Additionally, if the park’s plan has substantial differences, then the public has a right to see it and offer public comment, Simon said, noting that would also trigger a return to the zoning board.

To date, the park district has already allocated $2.34 million toward potential improvements at Elder and Centennial, according to district documents.

‘We have to continue to push forward’

While commissioners were generally supportive of the pause, an opportunity some described as a chance to take a step back, several members of the board stressed the importance of not letting the break derail the district’s plans.

Commissioner David Seaman said he “absolutely understands the spirit and intent of the motion” to pause but that he wants to make sure that “we’re committed as an agency and as a board to do what is right for the broader community and project so that these beaches can sustain for the next 50-100 years.”

“I just want to make sure that a pause doesn’t morph into ‘we quit,’” Seaman said. “We have a duty as an agency and as a board to make significant, long-term improvements to Elder and Centennial. … I will support a pause but we have to continue to push forward. It is our obligation.”

Christina Codo, who most recently served as the board’s president, said the board is “taking this step now in good faith.”

“The $2 million that we’ve spent is money that we’ve spent in response to resident input for changes,” Codo said. “It’s rational. Every time you make a change, it’s going to cost some money. Every time you listen to people and people give their input and you respond to it, it’s going to cost some money.

“I think we’re honing in on the process and I’m happy about that.”

Commissioners were not alone in stating their support for the pause. Costa Kutulas, director of parks and maintenance, noted that he believes “this is the step that gets (the district) to the next phase of work.”

“We heard loud and clear; the plan is not making it over the hurdle,” Kutulas said. “Change the plan to address what was heard, make those adjustments so that we can have something that (the Village) would support, something that the community would love to endorse and own and love to enjoy and something that this entire park board can get behind and support unitedly and try to get this across the goal line.”

Similar to Seaman, Kutulas also stressed the importance of having a sense or urgency moving forward.

“I don’t want to lose the time,” he said. “I don’t want to lose the $2 million-plus that’s been invested in this thus far. The longer we wait, the longer we delay, the higher cost that comes in with this. Right now we’re looking at probably 2027 construction at best because of the permitting process.”

A call for help

Following the vote to approve the pause, park commissioners took their efforts a step further.

The board also approved a motion to authorize district staff to explore engaging a land-use/zoning attorney and communications firm to help guide the park district in navigating the zoning application process and communicating effectively with the public and stakeholders.

“Given the complexity of issues that we’ve been confronted with on these beach projects, particularly around land-use and zoning and community engagement, I think it’d be beneficial to the park district to bring forward some extra support,” Gibson said.

Gibson added that the directive is not a commitment to hire, but rather an approval for staff to research the potential engagement and bring recommendations back to the board at the July 24 meeting.

The board also explored asking staff to also seek out options for a coastal engineer but ultimately decided to leave that out of the approved motion.

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