Winnetka trustees continued preparations for a Winnetka Park District zoning exemption request that will soon reach their boardroom — and likely face a lengthy review process and a ton of feedback from the public.
The Town Council devoted part of its meeting on Tuesday, August 6, to reviewing the special use process while also explaining to the community the various roles and responsibilities of the Town Council’s advisory bodies.
The trustees’ formal review comes in advance of an in-depth inquiry from the Winnetka Park District for its Centennial Park and Beach project.
The Park District Plans for Centennial and Elder Park beachespreviously covered by The data setwould create a renovated bathing beach, observation pier, breakwaters, boardwalk, landscaping and an off-leash dog park.
More specifically, with its application, the Park District seeks a permit to implement its proposed improvements to the beaches, a variance to allow development at a distance from the normal high water mark, an exception to allow development in the bluff zone, and an exception to authorize the construction of retaining walls in the bluff zone, as well as previously reported by The data set.
David Schoon, Winnetka’s community development director, explained during Tuesday’s meeting that the park district has decided to initially move forward with its request for a zoning exemption only for the scope of work at Centennial Park and the beach.
The park district is allowed to do this “because Centennial is a separate property from Elder Lane Park and Beach,” Schoon said in a village memo to trustees.
According to Schoon at the meeting, the park’s application to work in Centennial is currently being reviewed by village staff and consultants. Park officials in Winnetka have initially submitted their application for special use permit in early April.
Village officials gave the park district their first feedback on the proposal in late April, according to a staff memorandum from Costa Kutulas, the Winnetka Park District’s director of parks and maintenance.
The park officials At the end of May, and subsequently received feedback from the village.
“In late June, staff completed its second review of the materials submitted by the Park District, provided comments to Park District staff, and advised them that additional information was needed before a determination could be made that the application was ready for consideration by the advisory panels,” Schoon said in his memo to council.
Schoon also noted that the park district “submitted revised plan sheets and some of the revised narrative materials” in mid-July. He added that village staff expect to receive additional materials from the park related to its application in early August.
“It is not uncommon for a special use permit application that includes site improvements to require multiple staff reviews before the application is ready for review by the advisory panels,” Schoon said in the memo, reiterating that to trustees at the Aug. 6 meeting.
According to village officials, the Winnetka Planning Board will not be able to begin reviewing the park district’s application until September at the earliest.
The park district’s quest for community approval will likely include at least one public hearing before each of Winnetka’s advisory committees (zoning, design review and planning commissions) before the application is presented to the town council.
The purpose of Tuesday’s event, which included a presentation by Schoon and a brief deliberation by the trustees on the special use process for this application, was essentially to summarize to the public how the park’s application will be processed.
“We really want everyone in the community to understand the process and know where to raise concerns,” said Village President Chriz Rintz, adding, “People are having a hard time understanding our multi-step approval process.”
After Schoon’s presentation, officials spent most of the remaining time discussing which project elements – and to what extent – the various advisory bodies will review before the proposal makes it to the council’s agenda.
Officials also took time to clarify the permitting process, noting that a common concern among the community is that permits for the project could be issued before or during the review process.
“I think one of the key takeaways is that no permits can be issued until the zoning is finalized,” clarified Village Manager Rob Bahan. “…(Permits will not be issued) until the zoning is finalized. The special use process has to be fully completed.”
Overall, the Trustees felt that the meeting was beneficial to the community’s understanding of the upcoming application.
“I think this is a great meeting to get everyone on the same page,” said Trustee Bob Dearborn. “I think it’s good for the applicant to make sure everyone is thinking the same way about this process. That’s really good.”
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