Park district signs off on Tower Road dog beach, awaits Village

Just a day after the Winnetka Village Council tabled discussion and a potential vote on a pilot program to allow an off-leash dog beach at Tower Road Beach, the Winnetka Park Board approved that same agreement with only one condition.

Commissioners, during a special Park Board meeting on July 1, voted unanimously to approve the agreement with the caveat that Centennial Beach, which the Village initially proposed as being closed to dogs, remain open during the pilot program.

The approval followed two split-vote rejections to measures that would have changed language in the agreement.

Both proposed language changes were discussed by the Park Board on June 25 during a five-hour meeting.

As previously reported by The Record, those contentious discussions prompted the Village Council to table a vote on the agreement, with trustees saying that it seemed that park commissioners were not in agreement about the proposal.

But during the July 1 meeting, Park Board President Elise Gibson clarified that she and her fellow commissioners were not rejecting the proposal but rather wanted more information.

“At our June 25, 2026 meeting, we asked our attorney (Adam Simon) to seek a further change to a document required for the pilot program, and in light of that, requested change and some other outstanding operational items that needed attention,” she said. “We undertook, as a board, to set up a special meeting in less than a week to vote on the pilot program. We have responded promptly to the Village on the pilot program every time, sharing operational insights and so on.”

How we got here

The dog beach at Centennial, which has reportedly been open since 1995, has been the subject of much discussion in recent years. In 2023, the park district attempted to install a temporary fence at the dog beach; however, the Village stopped the project over a lack of permits.

In 2025, the Park District went through a Village review process with a proposal to add fencing to Centennial. But that proposal was rejected by the Village Council after three village advisory boards declined to recommend the fencing.

Following those rejections, the Park Board voted to direct staff to negotiate with the Village on how to move forward with Centennial. This included a Village proposal to temporarily allowing an off-leash dog beach at Tower Road Beach for an eight-week trial period from July through September. The proposed off-leash dog beach would be on a portion of the beach that is owned by the Village but has been leased to the park district for more than 80 years.

The hours of the proposed dog beach would be 6-8:30 a.m., before the beach opens to the public for the day at 10 a.m., and prior to summer camps arriving at 9 a.m.

‘Act on behalf of the community’

More than 20 residents, many of whom were also in attendance at the previous night’s Village Council meeting, addressed the Park board during the July 1 meeting.

All of them voiced support for Centennial remaining a dog beach, and several blamed the Park Board for Centennial no longer being an off-leash dog beach.

Former Park Board Commissioner Angie Dahl said board decisions going back over five years led to the current situation.

“The Winnetka Park District Board has little credibility at the moment in the Village,” she said, citing mismangement of the lakefront. “… The numerous questionable decisions made by this board during this process have become a flashpoint with the community. This was evident last night (at the Village Council meeting). Please have the courage to do your fiduciary duty and act on behalf of the entire community.”

Longtime resident and frequent speaker Irene Smith alleged that misinformation was being spread by park staff, who reportedly told beachgoers to share complaints with the Village Council.

“It worries me that somebody was feeding bad information from the park district to users of the dog beach and blaming the Village, which really and truly is just misinformation,” she said.

Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal said that she would look into those allegations, saying “it would absolutely be not appropriate” for staff to say that.

While the Park Board received criticism, others encouraged cooperation with the Village to find a solution to the dog beach situation.

Dog-beach user Sally Tomlinson, the current New Trier School Board president and a member of the 2022 Winnetka Dog Beach Committee, suggested that commissioners work with the residents on finding a solution.

“How can we help? Let’s get Centennial back to being off-leash,” she said. “Collect our emails, collect our phone numbers. If you need us showing up at Zoning Board meetings, if you need us talking to commissioners, trustees. I think (dog beach users) are willing and able if you just give us a chance.”

No to amending Village’s proposal

During the July 1 session, two other votes were taken.

All seven commissioners said they were interested in the Village’s Tower Road Beach proposal and wanted to keep the conversation going with village officials; however, they disagreed on the details.

Some commissioners said they were concerned about the Village’s proposal that they will use stanchions, or upright poles, to keep the dogs in the off-leash area.

Commissioner Jeff Tyson, who supported additional safety measures, said he didn’t understand how stanchions would be effective.

“It’s just a line of demarcation,” he said. “It doesn’t block a dog.”

He further suggested negotiating another way to add safety measures.

Commissioner Christina Codo agreed with Tyson.

“I think we have expertise in running a dog beach,” she said. “We’ve run one with some excellent staff, work, knowledge, experience for the last (31 years) and I think that these two amendments reflect useful advise, help, expertise that we can share with the Village. I don’t want to see it fail.”

But while Tyson, Codo and Park Board Vice President Scott Corley all voted for the additional negotiations, the remaining four commissioners dissented.

Commissioner David Seaman said he felt it was a bad idea to suggest any changes to the proposed ordinance.

“It makes us appear as obstructionists to what the Village is trying to do,” he said, reminding everyone that this was the Village’s proposal. “I do not want to get in the way of them trying to come up with some step forward, albeit for a short period of time.”

Commissioner Colleen Root agreed, and noted that in another section of the agreement, it says that “the park district is fully indemnified by the Village if there are any issues.”

“It is not our duty to tell the Village how to be responsible,” she said.

In another vote, Corley and Codo were the only supporters of defining “material health and safety” within the agreement, while Tyson joined Seaman, Root, Gibson and Commissioner Cynthia Rapp opposed the change.

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