With referendum looming, Glencoe library project gets necessary zoning relief

Glencoe trustees authored another decision last week that will keep the pages turning on the library’s next chapter.

Glencoe’s Village Board during its Thursday, Feb. 19 meeting unanimously approved a pair of special-use permits tied to the library’s plans for a multi-million-dollar expansion and renovation.

The library’s large-scale vision for reimagining its building on Park Avenue includes an expansion of 4,000 new square feet of floor area, which triggered the needs for the two special approvals, according to Taylor Baxter, Glencoe’s development services director.

Glencoe’s zoning code was amended last year to only allow restaurant and retail uses on the ground floor in the village’s B-1 zoning district. Because the library’s use falls outside of those allowances, special-use approval for the project is required.

Additionally, the library needed special approval because, under village code, the size of its expansion requires at least eight new off-street parking spaces. The project also removes four current parking spaces, meaning the plans needed relief for a dozen spaces.

After two meetings in late 2025, Glencoe’s Zoning Commission recommended approval of the library’s request with conditions. Both recommended conditions sent back to the Village Board were “intended to help mitigate concerns about traffic and parking,” Baxter said.

Zoning commissioners suggested that the library collaborate with the nearby Writers Theatre to minimize large-capacity-event conflicts, such as the organizations scheduling such events at the same time.

The commission also suggested encouraging library visitors attending larger events to use commuter lots east of Green Bay Road or access the library by means other than driving.

Commissioners also used the special-use guidelines previously approved in 2013 for the Writers Theatre as a framework for this decision, Baxter noted. He added that the commission ultimately decided the potential parking impact related to the library project would not be as intense as the Writers Theatre development’s.

Trustees during the Feb. 19 meeting acknowledged the potential for parking challenges, but also let residents know that officials are working to address parking concerns in the immediate area.

“I think we should approve this,” Village President Howard Roin said. “I would note that the village is working on what to do about parking uptown and we’re continuing to work on that. One of the things we’re looking at is to create a better connection from uptown Glencoe west of Green Bay to the east side. That is something we want to do in any event. I don’t feel like it’s the library’s problem.”

Roin concluded his remarks by assuring residents that the plan has to this point been deeply vetted.

“The library has an elected board, elected by the same folks that chose us and there is going to be a referendum on their plan, and their plan looks OK to me,” he said. “I think we should get out of the way.”

As previously reported by The Record, the Glencoe Public Library is planning to expand its existing building southward on the east and west sides with a project that aims to create more versatile spaces, improve accessibility, and add sustainable and safe systems to the facility.

The expansion would take the building from 22,150 square feet to just over 26,000. Officials say in plan documents that the highest of the three proposed expansion areas is proposed to be the same height as the current building.

One of the central aspects of the plan is a 1,840-square-foot addition to the southwest side of the building that will serve as a “state-of-the-art Glencoe program and community room” and will hold up to 150 people, The Record previously reported.

A 1,000-square-foot addition is also proposed for the top floor of the library. That space will be mainly geared toward enhancing the library’s children’s services but could also be used as a “flex space.” And the library’s existing collections area would be reconfigured with a 1,000-square-foot addition.

Library officials have previously estimated the project’s price tag at $17.5 million. The overwhelming majority of funds would come from a bond issuance, only if voters approved, officials have said.

Glencoe voters this spring will be asked via referendum for their support on the bond sale, and while the result will be nonbinding, Roin, trustees and library leaders have repeatedly stated they will not move forward with the project if voters do not approve of it.

The village’s plan commission is next slated to complete an exterior appearance review of the project later this month.

Renovation work could begin in late 2026 if the plans continue to move forward with a goal of completion by 2028.

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