Winnetka wants to rewrite its zoning code, focusing on open space

The Village of Winnetka is preparing for a rewrite of its entire zoning ordinance, and officials are prioritizing one area in particular.

At the Village Council’s regular meeting on July 21, Winnetka staff discussed the purpose of a rewrite, and specifically why they want to give attention to areas surrounding open space throughout Winnetka.

Scott Mangum, the Village’s community development director, said the entire ordinance was last rewritten at least 30 years ago; though an exact time line is not clear.

“We believe some provisions may go all the way back to the beginning of the zoning ordinance in the 1920s,” he said, noting that the code still allows for coal facilities and sheet metal shops as by-right uses within Winnetka.

While the current ordinance was last codified in 1996, and has been updated more than 60 times since then, Mangum said the “piecemeal” approach has made it “difficult to administer, interpret and use.” He said some parts of the zoning ordinance are no longer in compliance with both other local ordinances and state law.

To conduct the rewrite, Mangum said the Village will hire a land use consultant, while an ad-hoc steering committee will be formed to oversee it. He estimated that the entire process will take 18-24 months will cost approximately $150,000. According to Mangum, about $75,000 of that has been budgeted for this year.

Open space

Within the zoning ordinance update, trustees said that they are most interested in guidelines surrounding open space.

Village President Bob Dearborn noted that focus is a result of feedback from residents, including caucus surveys and comprehensive plans.

Mangum added that the July 21 presentation was a follow-up to a previous Village Council study session in April.

At that meeting, council directed staff to establish a new zoning district for open space.

Winnetka, according to Mangum, does not have a zoning district specific to open space, schools and park zoning, and those categories are treated as special uses. He said Wilmette, Glencoe, Northfield and Highland Park have a similar process.

He noted, however, that Kenilworth, Northbrook and Glenview do have separate zoning districts for institutional and public uses.

Mangum proposed two paths to achieving this goal, both of which were positively received by trustees:
• Phase 1 — to establish an open space zoning district ordinance; and
• Phase 2 —to refine the regulations through the planned zoning ordinance rewrite.

Speaking to Phase 1, Mangum said most of the Village’s open space is located in single-family residential zoning districts.

“In this case, the standards would not be tailored to current conditions or users,” he said. “In this scenario, only uses operated by the Village for the purpose of providing essential public service would be allowed by right. Other uses such as schools, library, parks, etc. would require special use approval as they largely do now within the existing zoning districts.”

With the zoning ordinance rewrite, Mangum said the Village would work with its partner agencies, including the public schools and Winnetka Park District.

“Through that, existing conditions would be examined and studied for these properties and then the standards tailored to those, working in combination with the partner agencies and with the land use consultant,” he said.

While trustees showed support for utilizing both phases to address open space, Trustee Scott Myers said he preferred showing priority to the new zoning district, because that can be completed quicker than the zoning ordinance rewrite.

“Those zoning issues will be there, and I don’t think that they’re a huge issue,” he said. “I think that this open space issue, it’s a challenge for us and for our commissions and their time. It’s a challenge for our fellow taxing bodies and the burden it places on them, and the uncertainty it places on them.”

He later added, “I guess what I would suggest is we prioritize this higher, we move this along at a faster pace and address this sooner. And if that means we’ve got to hold off on some of the zoning actions and go slower there, then I would be in favor of that.”

Other trustees voiced agreement to Myers’ suggestion.

Asked to clarify how the open space ordinance would impact current zoning, Mangum provided an example, saying currently if someone in the R2 zoning district wanted to develop single-family homes, that is allowed by right. Should an open space ordinance be adopted and some residential areas were rezoned, that development would be considered a special use and have to go through the Village review process.

D36, park district thoughts

Representatives from both Winnetka District 36 and the Winnetka Park District spoke up during public comment, sharing their thoughts and concerns about any potential changes.

D36 School Board President Dan Waters noted that some buildings within the district pose challenges. He asked that the council keep facility needs of the schools in mind with any potential rezone.

“And I think, just as a discussion, we need to make sure that as you think of zoning, we’re continuing to be able to utilize these properties as we need for the district,” he said.

Park Board President Elise Gibson said she’s looking forward to collaborating with the Village on the zoning updates but said she had concerns about what any changes could mean for the park district. She specifically mentioned performing maintenance, using the turf fields at Skokie Playfields as an example.

“Currently, if we already have a special use to have a turf field at Skokie Playfields, it’s not clear to me that we would have the right to do a repair and replace with the turf without having to go through the special use process,” she said. “We drain a lot of money going through the special use process. We can’t quite figure out how our operations fit within this Phase 1 and I’m just curious to know more about it.”

Addressing Gibson’s concerns, Dearborn said nothing would change for the park district.

“This would not effect the ongoing operations of any parcel of property from today’s standards and tomorrow’s standards,” he said. “If you want to replace your field and you need to go through a special use process to do it today, you’ll have to go through the special use process tomorrow. If you don’t, if it’s by right, then it would be by right tomorrow.”

Mangum further clarified that the ordinance has not been written yet, but it could be written as such to ensure that is the case.

Next steps

Following direction from the Village Council, the Winnetka Plan Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed zoning ordinance update at a future meeting, likely in September.

Dearborn said, if the Plan Commission does not need a second meeting to further explore the ordinance, it could come to the Village Council for adoption as soon as October.

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