New dog-beach plan on Winnetka Village, Park board agendas this week

After years of debate, dog beach users in Winnetka could learn their fate by the end of the week.

The Winnetka Village Council and the Winnetka Park Board will hold special meetings within 24 hours this week — 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, respectively — to discuss and potentially vote on a pilot program that would allow dogs to be off-leash during certain morning hours at Tower Road Beach through September.

As previously reported by The Record, the Village proposed that the park district move the dog beach, which has long been located at Centennial Road Beach, to Tower Road Beach, on property owned by the Village but leased to the park district.

The proposal comes in the wake of the Village Council’s rejection of the park district’s plans to add fencing to Centennial’s dog beach, reportedly to comply with a Cook County ordinance. Long an off-leash dog beach, Centennial has required leashes over the past few years while the Park Board has attempted to address the county’s regulations.

At the Park Board’s most recent meeting on Thursday, June 25, commissioners and staff discussed the Village’s proposal, which came after an early-June gathering of Village and park district leadership. The board agreed to hold off on taking further action until the Village presents its plan at its special meeting Tuesday.

Park commissioners also scheduled a special meeting the day after the Village Council’s meeting to discuss and potentially vote on the proposal themselves.

According to the Village Council’s agenda packet, the proposal, if approved, would amend the village code to allow dogs to be off-leash 6-8:30 a.m. daily at Tower Road Beach from July through Sept. 7. During that time, according to the Village, Centennial will transition to a “passive recreational” beach.

“After the conclusion of the trial period (September 7, or later if mutually agreed by both the Village and the Park District), the Park District may restore the status quo use of Centennial Beach as an on-leash dog area without the need for a zoning application or public hearings,” the Village Council memo said.

At the Park Board’s July 25 meeting, park attorney Adam Simon said dog beach users would be able to park in the Tower Road Beach parking lot “and then use the access road and stay on Village property to walk down there to access the beach area. No dogs are allowed anywhere near the playground at any time.”

Park Board Vice President Scott Corley said he was concerned about safety, with dogs and beachgoers using the same path to get to the beach. He noted that the Village’s regulatory boards brought up the same concerns while discussing the park district’s overall plans for refurbishing Centennial.

But he added that he feels either Centennial or Tower Road would be a good location for a dog beach.

“My opinion is, one way or another, Centennial or Tower, either one of those would be nice to have a dog beach that’s actually implemented properly,” he said.

Commissioner Cynthia Rapp said she believes the pilot will provide an opportunity for the park district to test out new ideas.

“The thing I like about it is it’s completely mixing things up, and it’s on a pilot basis,” she said. “And I feel like it has the potential to get people unstuck, to be able to make progress, which I view as a potential positive.”

Additionally, Commissioner Christina Codo asked her fellow commissioners to either attend Tuesday’s Village Council meeting or watch the recording of it once it was available so they are prepared to discuss any Village action at the Park Board’s meeting the following day.

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