How the Winnetka Park District’s new dog-beach plans risk a $3 million donation

The Winnetka Park Board is editing its plans for fencing at the Centennial Park dog beach after a Village commission gave the initial design a negative recommendation.

And those edits are putting a $3 million gift in jeopardy.

With two commissioners absent and one abstaining Thursday, Feb. 5, the shorthanded Park Board voted 3-1 to approve an alternate design for its dog beach fencing during a special, early-evening meeting.

The new plan, however, does not align with the terms of a donation agreement the board approved in 2024. In response, the board also voted Thursday to revisit that agreement.

The meeting came just eight days after the Winnetka Plan Commission voted against the fencing plans, causing park staff to develop two alternative designs based on the commission’s feedback, according to Costa Kutulas, the Winnetka Park District’s director of parks and maintenance.

Some of the commission’s concerns, as Kutulas highlighted Feb. 5, included the proposed size of the dog beach area, its hours of use, and its double-gate entry.

Ultimately, the Park Board voted in favor of proceeding with a plan that includes a 46% reduction of the size of the off-leash dog beach area (from 490 feet to 265 feet) and the relocation of the fencing. The north-south border fencing is now planned for the top of the existing steel groins and jetties to use “an already existing barrier into the lake instead of creating new barriers,” Kutulas said.

The proposed material for the fencing has also changed, from galvanized chain-link to black, vinyl-coated fencing. Kutulas said the black color “is less impactful on the sight lines.”

The size change leaves 225 feet of beach, and, Kutulas said, staff is looking for the Park Board’s guidance on that space.

Other changes include creating a pedestrian bypass area at the south end for beachgoers who do not want to walk through the dog beach; relocating the entry gate to the beach level; and installing a double-entry gate system that includes a 10-by-10-foot area for pet owners to remove or attach their dog’s leashes.

Picking an alternative

Commissioner David Seaman, adjacent to Park Board President Elise Gibson, discusses the new fencing plans on Feb. 5.

In determining which option to vote for, Commissioner Scott Corley asked Kutulas which option he considers the safer one.

Kutulas said, in his opinion, Alternate 1 is safer for beachgoers, because it proposes a barrier on top of the existing sea wall on the southern end that makes it less likely that someone could fall.

Commissioner David Seaman did not vote but in commentary before leaving the meeting for a prior commitment voiced support for Alternate 2, which he believed had less of an impact on the Public Trust Doctrine, or the right for the public to walk the beach.

Commissioner Colleen Root, who voted against Alternate 1, shared a number of concerns, including the future usage for the remaining 225 of beachfront.

“That, to me, is a true safety concern,” she said, noting that Elder Lane Beach, despite being closed, has seen unauthorized uses in recent years, one of which even led to a death in 2023.

“I’m rather curious to hear from staff as to what recommendations would be and how we really police and manage this passive area, or if it’s going to be a guarded area,” Root said.

Nazzal responded that, depending on the Park Board’s direction, lifeguards could be placed at Centennial if the board decides to make it a swimming beach.

Commissioner Cynthia Rapp shared Root’s concerns, and abstained from the vote, saying she wanted more information on how the park district could make the fencing more temporary.

Park Board President Elise Gibson said the alternative plan does well to balance “three competing interests.”

“We have people that want to walk the water line,” she said. “We have homeowners that don’t want dogs coming up on their property, and we have beachgoers that would like to enjoy a day at (the beach) without fear of dogs coming running at them.

“We can achieve all three of these things, and that’s the idea here,” Gibson added. “There’s no mystery to this. That is what we’re trying to achieve, is getting all three parties supported here.”

Reconsidering Ishbia donation

Because of the changes to the Centennial plans, a controversial donation agreement between the Winnetka Park District and the Ishbia Family Foundation is now at risk.

A split Park Board (4-3) approved a $3 million donation agreement in January 2024. Justin Ishbia, who owns the massive property south of Centennial and the smaller parcel in between Centennial and Elder parks, said he offered the donation to support the park district’s renovation plans.

But the plan came with a number of conditions, including specific instructions for fencing and access related to the Centennial Park dog beach.

The recent changes to the plans do not comply with those terms.

After the approval of the new dog-beach plan, commissioners unanimously approved a motion to reconsider the agreement at an undetermined future meeting.

The motion says that the commissioners will revisit the agreement “for consideration of termination immediately following the receipt of all required approvals and permits as applicable for the revised dog beach plan approved by the Park Board on Feb. 5, 2026.”

Codo, who voted in favor the donation agreement, encouraged the park district to reach out to Ishbia to discuss the changes.

“We should probably open a line of discussion with the donor just to let him know how we are pursuing permitting in a direction that’s different from the donation agreement, out of courtesy and just to keep him in the loop,” she said. “That would be my suggestion to add.”

How we got here

As previously reported by The Record, the Winnetka Park District initially installed a temporary fence at the Centennial dog beach along the northern and southern property lines in the winter of 2023; however, that fence was removed and the project tabled “due to a lack of permitting approval,” park staff said at the time.

In March 2025, park officials cited complaints about its dog-park setup as a reason to put forward new fencing plans in order to comply with a Cook County Animal Control ordinance.

Throughout 2025, the park district went through the permitting process, both with the village and with regulatory agencies. Kutulas said at the Feb. 5 meeting that multiple necessary permits for the fence have been approved and that the “anticipated approval” from the rest soon.

Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal said on Thursday, in response to questions from commissioners, that the fencing can no longer be considered “temporary” because of procedural issues in the permit-application process.

“We can’t call it temporary any longer because we don’t have an end date,” she said, later adding, “That has already been determined by those regulatory bodies that it cannot be considered a temporary structure.”

Next steps

The fencing plans that recently appeared in front of the Plan Commission are scheduled to appear in front of Winnetka’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday, Feb. 9.

With the Park Board’s vote Thursday to alter the plans, Kutulas said the park district will get in touch with Village officials to determine how best to proceed.

One option, he said, is to present the old plans as a “baseline” to understand the changes, then present the new plan, but he said it may be too late to alter the ZBA’s agenda.

Another option is to defer their appearance to the next ZBA meeting on March 9 and return with the new plan.

Kutulas also suggested that it might be possible to present the original plan, receive feedback on it, and then further alter the fencing plan based on additional ZBA feedback for presentation on March 9.

“(That path) allows us to get that first review and then a second review for consideration at that time come March,” he said. “So it gives them a review prior to them voting for consideration of the recommendation.”

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