Despite village’s pledge to no longer consider fencing plans at Centennial dog beach, park board continues attempts for ‘acceptable’ solution

The Centennial Park dog beach has been a prominent conversation topic in Winnetka, particularly among the Winnetka Parks commissioners.

And that remained true at the Park Board’s most recent meeting in late July, as commissioners not only heard updates on what the dog beach’s potential future looks like, but also took action on matters related to the longtime destination for Winnetkans and their dogs.

How we got here

As previously reported by The Record, the park district has been trying to get the proper permitting to allow an off-leash dog beach at Centennial. 

The dog beach, which has existed for more than 30 years, had allowed dogs to go unleashed, but after a fence was removed and the park district attempted to reinstall it, officials were told by the Village that they needed to go through the special-use process to put it back up.

Without a fence, the park district required dogs to be leashed while at Centennial.

The Park Board put forward a plan to install fencing, but it was rejected by the Village Council after multiple village advisory commissions gave the plan a negative recommendation.

In the aftermath of the rejection, the Village approached the park district with a proposal to temporarily allow dogs to run off-leash at Tower Road Beach, which is owned by the Village but leased to the park district. Though at a special Village Council meeting where trustees planned on discussing and potentially approving the dog beach pilot, they ended up indefinitely tabling the proposal, believing that the Park Board was not in agreement over how to proceed with the Tower Road dog beach proposal.

The following evening, the Park Board unanimously approved the Tower Road dog beach pilot program with the condition that the Centennial dog beach remain open during the pilot.

Village not interested in review of fencing plans or Tower Road pilot, park board president says

At the Park Board’s July 23 regular meeting, Board President Elise Gibson told her fellow commissioners about a recent meeting she had with Winnetka Village President Bob Dearborn, where the two of them reportedly discussed the ongoing lakefront concerns.

Part of that conversation reportedly included the dog beach, including future options and potential plans.

“One of the first things (Dearborn) told me was that the Village Council will consider other proposals by the Winnetka Park District regarding the dog beach, but they will not revisit any fencing proposals,” Gibson said. “He also said that he does not believe the Village Council will move forward with the Tower Road pilot dog beach program.”

Part of the Village’s initial proposal for the pilot program was that it would last from July to September, and that Centennial dog beach would close temporarily while the pilot program was ongoing. That idea led dog beach users to fill the Village Council chambers in early July in opposition to any Centennial closure.

But while Dearborn reportedly told Gibson that the trustees will not consider new fencing proposals, other Park Board commissioners on July 23 insisted that either fencing or a barrier is necessary for safety reasons in order for Centennial to be on off-leash dog beach.

Multiple commissioners stated their concern was with dogs wandering onto neighboring Elder Lane Beach, where swimming is allowed.

“I just want to say clearly that it is a risk to have dogs off-leash with no barrier,” Commissioner Christina Codo said. “It is an unacceptable risk to me, as a board member for this organization.”

She later added, “I cannot expose this organization to that kind of liability. I don’t care if there are zero incidents now — one incident is too many.”

Commissioner David Seaman agreed, and compared it to having a beach without any lifeguards.

“There’s a reason we have lifeguards,” he said. “And I think the equivalent of that, for an off-leash dog park, is some type of barrier. It’s obviously not going to be a chain-link fence. (It’ll be) some type of barrier that’s acceptable (for the Village) for the safety of the folks on Elder.”

Looking for progress on the Centennial dog beach, commissioners unanimously backed a motion to create a barrier for Centennial “subject to the Village’s agreement to exercise home rule.”

Reportedly, as a home-rule government, Winnetka can request to opt out of the permitting process from state and federal agencies for beach improvements.

Commissioners pass ordinance regulating entry and exit of dogs onto Centennial

A majority (6-1) of the Park Board also approved an amendment to a park district ordinance that now requires dogs be leashed when they enter and exit dog-friendly areas, including Centennial.

The motion, as summarized by Park Board Attorney Adam Simon, also outlines potential consequences for those who violate the rules.

“(The ordinance) says that the area that we have reserved for dogs is a dog-friendly area, and that’s what we consider it safe for dogs to be,” he said. “As a condition of having that privilege of using the dog beach, you have to enter and exit where we tell you to exit, and that’s all it says.”

Commissioner Colleen Root, the lone dissenting vote, proposed an alternate amendment that would have required dogs be leashed when entering and exiting Centennial, but not while on the beach.

“On Centennial, because there has been no evidence that there is a problem, you can run your dogs off-leash subject to your duty to maintain supervision and control over that dog,” Root said. “If your dog runs out of the boundary, then that dog no longer has access to Centennial Beach.”

Root further said she based her ordinance on Winnetka’s use of home-rule authority, and that her language states to “owners of dogs we have a leash ordinance in this community. It is your duty to supervise and control your dog. If you don’t, the onus is on you. It’s not on the park district to be the nanny state.”

However, Simon explained that Root’s ordinance is premature, as he said the Village has not indicated that they are going to use their home-rule authority.

“If the park district wanted to allow for off-leash dogs at that area, the Village would have to act first and not us first,” he said.

Root, in explaining her reasoning for voting against the ordinance regulating dog entry and exit, said she feels it’s unsafe to require dogs to be on leash at Centennial.

“It is dangerous for dogs to be on leash, running in and out of the water, dogs together getting tangled, getting in the water,” she said. “It is a safety hazard.”

Gibson said she didn’t disagree with Root, but because of the Village’s reported position on barriers, the park district would need to wait for their approval before making Centennial off-leash.

“I support wholeheartedly the effort we’ve taken tonight,” Root concluded. “I am still a no vote on this.”

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