Hearing no after no, Winnetka Park Board wants beachfront agreement with Village

Following a series of setbacks to its lakefront plan, the Winnetka Park Board, via a split decision (5-2) on May 28, has directed its legal counsel to begin working with the Village of Winnetka on a possible intergovernmental agreement related to the improvement of Centennial Park Beach, including the dog beach.

But a slim majority (4-3) of the Park Board also rejected a proposal to continue on with the Village’s review of the current renovation proposal for that beachfront, a plan that was paused last year after negative feedback from Village commissions.

Commissioners Colleen Root and Cynthia Rapp, both frequent critics of the park district’s lakefront plans, were the dissenting votes on May 28 to seek the IGA, but they were joined by Commissioner David Seaman and Park Board Vice President Jeff Tyson in the majority to reject the plans to continue the Centennial improvements’ special-use process.

The future of Centennial’s plans

Park Board President Elise Gibson said during the May meeting that she wanted to move forward with the Centennial plans for two reasons: it’s been a year since the plans were paused following negative recommendations from the Zoning Board of Appeals and Plan Commission; and because Centennial must be improved to address wave damage to the bluffs and the sand.

“I feel like we need to continue to press forward in terms of developing some sort of beach and bluff protection plan,” she said. “If we unpause this and move through the process, we will gain important information from the (Design Review Board) and the Village on this.”

This led into her suggestion to seek an IGA with the Village, “because I feel like it’s so important that we get some sort of plan in place, some sort of beach and bluff protection plan.”

Responding to a question from Root, Gibson said the Centennial plan would be unaltered from the one negatively reviewed by Village commissions last year.

“And is the effort really here to get a final decision from the Village?” Root asked.

“I would say it’s moreso to get more direction from the Village,” Gibson responded, adding that she and Commissioner Christina Codo had attempted to work with Village officials on lakefront protections, but said those discussions were “fruitless.”

Gibson, though, said that discussions between Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal and Winnetka Village Manager Kristin Kazenas were more productive.

“I just feel like there’s some value to considering whether or not we just move forward with this plan (and) get the information from the Village, but I would like to do it in conjunction with the request for an IGA,” Gibson said.

She added that potential topics of discussion between Village counsel Adam Simon and the Village may include what to do about the stormwater pipe at Elder Lane Beach and the future of the dog beach at Centennial.

The Park Board’s May 28 meeting came just nine days after a 5-1 majority of the Village Council voted to draft documents rejecting the park district’s fencing plans for the dog beach.

Codo said the park district should “pursue and open all channels of communication” with the Village.

“I think we need to go through the Design and Review process to complete the (special use) application, and understand the only time people pay attention to our projects is when we’ve got an active permit,” she said. “The rest of the time we don’t hear anything. So start the permitting process and let’s hear the feedback. It’s painful to hear it, but it’s important to hear it.”

Rapp, however, didn’t understand why the Park Board would continue with a plan that had already received two negative recommendations.

“It’s incumbent on the park district to come up with a plan that can be supported,” she said. “It is not the role of the Village to say, ‘Here’s what your plan should be.’ We have not come up with a plan that can be supported based on where we got with the first two lower boards.

“I can appreciate the desire to get to a final action, but we have received feedback and we haven’t done anything with it.”

Tyson, in his final meeting as the board’s vice president, said he was “struggling” with the thought of continuing with an unaltered plan.

“I think we’re just running as fast as we can into another brick wall and looking for another black eye. …What are we doing,” he said. “Dare I say, I’d rather blow the whole thing up and go back with the headland beach system, then have (the Village) push back on that.”

Seaman also had strong criticism for continuing with the unaltered plan, calling it “dead” because he believes parts of it are nonstarters with the Village, including the pier, which was a major point of contention with the lower boards.

He added that asking staff to attend and express support during these meetings, which often last more than three hours, is unfair.

“They’re not going to give us anything,” Seaman said of the Village. “The only way we’re going to have a chance to get something from the Village is if we have an IGA.”

He noted that the park district, village and Winnetka School District 36 “successfully” negotiated an IGA for the ongoing stormwater project, and said he believes that’s the best way forward.

Root and Rapp, however, were both firm in their opposition to an IGA.

Rapp brought up Gibson’s earlier comment that previous meetings between the park district and village weren’t successful and questioned if an IGA process would be any different.

Her suggestion was to restart the public engagement process and find a plan that the residents supported.

“I believe that if we are bringing a plan that is popular with the public to the Village, everything will click into place,” she said. “And for whatever reason, we have seemed unable to accomplish that.”

Root said that “the community does not like an IGA for the reason that it takes public process away. In other words, many view it as cutting a deal behind closed doors.”

Addressing those concerns, Simon said that while IGA negotiations are not public, it “doesn’t have the ability to grant final zoning approval. Even if the parties entered into an IGA, it would be for the sake of reaching consensus on a plan. There would still need to be public hearings before the Village Council.”

How did we get here?

Plans to refurbish both Centennial and Elder beaches have been in the works for years.

At one point, the plans were to include a property exchange agreement with the Ishbia family, who own the property in between the two beaches; though in recent years that agreement has been considered inactive by both the park district and Ishbia.

In October 2023, the Park Board approved its plans for Elder and Centennial beaches, later deciding to pursue the beach plans separately, with Centennial going first.

But after the public review process began, the Centennial plans were hit with negative recommendations, first from the Village’s Zoning Board of Appeals in December 2024 followed by the Plan Commission in May 2025.

Prior to the Design Review Board’s review of Centennial, the Park Board unanimously voted to pause the public review process, which Gibson said at the time was “for the sole purpose of allowing park district staff and consultants to better align the plans for the external feedback received thus far.”

While that was going on, in 2023, the park district installed a temporary fence at the Centennial dog beach reportedly in an effort to comply with a Cook County ordinance that requires barriers at off-leash dog beaches. But that process was stopped because the park district did not go through the Village review process.

In 2025, the park district announced plans for another fence at Centennial. But it was hit with unanimous negative recommendations from both the Design Review Board and Plan Commission, before the majority of the Village Council, on May 19, said they could not support the proposed fencing.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.