An Open Memo to the Winnetka Caucus Council

Happy Memorial Day.

Our Town Winnetka exists as a public voice for the community. In that spirit, we're republishing a post-Spring Town Hall memorandum to the Winnetka Caucus Council from longtime residents Warren and Amy James.

Memorandum

Follow up to Winnetka Caucus Council 2026 Spring Town Hall

TO: Members of the Winnetka Caucus Council FROM: Amy & Warren James CC: Village Board of Trustees, Park District Board of Commissioners DATE: May 15, 2026 RE: Six Ordinances enacted by the Village of Winnetka impeding the Winnetka Park District's proposed improvements at Elder and Centennial Beaches and Related Federal Litigation

Purpose of This Memorandum

This memorandum is submitted to the Winnetka Caucus Council to inform its members of a series of six ordinances adopted by the Village of Winnetka between March 2023 and February 2024 that have, collectively and individually, impeded the Winnetka Park District's efforts to improve and restore Elder Lane Beach and Centennial Beach. The cumulative effect of these ordinances has been to impose new permitting and zoning burdens on lakefront construction, including on Park District property, ultimately precipitating a federal lawsuit filed by affected lakefront property owners against the Village.

The Caucus, as a nonpartisan community organization representing Winnetka residents, is respectfully asked to consider this matter and the broader implications for public trust and governance in our community when identifying and selecting candidates for Village Trustee.

Intergovernmental cooperation has long been the leading caucus plank; the candidates for Village Trustee should be vetted for their commitment to this principle.

Background

The Winnetka Park District is an independent unit of local government with statutory authority to acquire, develop, and maintain public parks and recreational facilities, including lakefront properties. Elder Lane Beach and Centennial Beach have long served as public access points to Lake Michigan in Winnetka. The Park District has sought for several years to undertake capital improvement projects at both beaches -- including slope stabilization, access infrastructure, and beach enhancement -- consistent with its statutory mandate and stewardship responsibilities after completing a lengthy public input process, culminating in the adoption of the Lakefront Master Plan in April of 2016.

Beginning in early 2023, the Village of Winnetka embarked on a legislative campaign to assert comprehensive regulatory jurisdiction over all lakefront and bluff construction within the Village. The Village passed MC-05-2023, just before the Park District completed its planning and approval process in May 2023, during which it amended the Lakefront Master Plan to re-incorporate a dog beach at Centennial, after significant public input and demand to retain the dog beach. Then the Village proposed four more ordinances on Friday, June 30, 2023, on the eve of the holiday weekend, with no prior notice to the Park District, for consideration on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, the Village passed the "Steep Slope Ordinance" MC-01-2024, on February 6, 2024.

The Village created new permitting requirements, imposed a permit moratorium, established a restrictive overlay zoning district, tightened special use procedures, and enacted permanent steep slope development regulations. These measures apply broadly to all lakefront property within the Village, including properties owned by the Park District, and have effectively blocked or materially burdened the Park District's planned improvements at Elder Lane and Centennial beaches.

The regulatory overreach reflected in these ordinances has not gone unchallenged. Affected lakefront property owners -- private residents whose own property rights and improvement plans were likewise constrained -- filed suit against the Village of Winnetka in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Case No. 24-cv-03576). That litigation raises fundamental questions about the limits of Village authority over lakefront construction and the rights of property owners, including independent governmental entities such as the Park District, to use and improve their own land.

The Six Ordinances and Their Impact

The following ordinances, adopted in the sequence described below, form the regulatory framework that has blocked or materially burdened lakefront improvement plans, including the Park District's projects at Elder Lane and Centennial beaches.

1. Ordinance MC-05-2023 — Lakefront Construction Permitting Requirements (Adopted March 21, 2023)

The foundational ordinance in this series, MC-05-2023 amended multiple sections of the Winnetka Village Code to assert Village jurisdiction over construction activities in and adjacent to Lake Michigan. It created a new Chapter 15.78 ("Lakefront Construction") establishing a Village permitting layer on top of any federal or state permits already required -- from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, or the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency -- for covered construction activities.

The ordinance extended the Village's claimed regulatory reach to include the bed and water of Lake Michigan within one-half mile of the Village's corporate limits, and encompasses both public and private property adjacent to the lake. Permit issuance is conditioned on strict criteria, including height limitations, a project scope narrowly tailored to its stated purpose, preservation of existing sight lines, and the absence of public safety hazards. Non-compliance is designated a public nuisance subject to fines and stop-work orders.

This ordinance means that improvement projects at Elder Lane and Centennial beaches -- already subject to IDNR and Army Corps permitting -- became simultaneously subject to a new Village review and approval layer, with authority to impose conditions or deny permits altogether.

2. Ordinance MC-07-2023 — Lakefront Preservation Overlay District (Adopted July 6, 2023)

MC-07-2023 created a new "Lakefront Preservation Overlay District" (LPO District) in the Village's Zoning Ordinance by adding Chapter 17.50. The LPO District was simultaneously applied by companion map amendment (Ordinance M-09-2023) to all publicly owned land along Lake Michigan in the Village as of July 6, 2023 -- a designation that expressly includes Elder Lane Park and Beach and Centennial Park and Beach, among other Park District properties.

The LPO District imposes significant use and construction restrictions on covered properties. Permitted uses by right are narrowed to publicly owned utilities, limited passive recreational activities not requiring structures, and open space. Any other use -- including the beach improvements and facilities the Park District intends to construct -- requires a special use permit from the Village Council.

The overlay also prohibits new buildings, signs, fences, or other structures on regulated properties; limits new landscaping to three feet at mature height; subjects tree removal to Village Forester approval; and provides that no portion of an LPO-designated parcel may contribute to bulk regulation calculations for adjacent property. By designating Park District land as subject to this overlay, the Village has asserted zoning authority to define what the Park District may do on its own property and compromised the property subject to the pending Exchange Agreement.

3. Ordinance MC-08-2023 — Steep Slope Permit Abeyance Period (Adopted July 6, 2023)

Adopted the same evening as the LPO District, MC-08-2023 added Chapter 17.80 to the Zoning Ordinance, establishing a nine-month "Permit Abeyance Period" running from July 6, 2023, to April 6, 2024. During this period, the Village declared that it would neither accept applications for, nor issue, any permits for construction activity within the "Steep Slope Zone" -- defined as all land between the bottom and top of any slope exceeding ten percent from the horizontal, plus forty feet landward from the top of that slope.

Construction activity was broadly defined to include any construction, alteration, modification, demolition, or removal of any structure, as well as any adding, dumping, grading, or removing of soil, dirt, sand, rocks, fill, or vegetation. The only exceptions were emergency repairs and general maintenance of pre-existing structures and utility facilities.

Because the bluffs at Elder Lane and Centennial beaches contain steep slopes as defined, the Park District's improvement projects fell squarely within the abeyance zone. All pending applications and planned work were effectively frozen for nine months while the Village consulted a coastal engineer and developed permanent regulations. Private lakefront property owners were similarly affected, as any bluff-area improvement on their properties was likewise halted.

The Park District approved plans in May of 2023 and was preparing to submit the plans for permit when the Village passed the series of ordinances. The Park District was compelled to modify its plans for Elder and Centennial to comply with the requirements and was again ready to submit for permit by October 2023. However, due to the "abeyance period" the Village refused to consider the permit application for Centennial until April of 2024 and for Elder it denied the Park District the ability to apply for permit until September of 2024.

4. Ordinance MC-09-2023 — Special Use Amendment Procedures (Adopted July 6, 2023)

Also adopted on July 6, 2023, MC-09-2023 amended Chapter 17.56 of the Zoning Ordinance to add Section 17.56.130, establishing formal definitions and procedures for "Minor Changes" and "Major Changes" to approved special uses. A Minor Change -- one that does not alter the concept or intent of the special use and does not materially affect density, intensity, open space, parking, or other specified metrics -- may be approved administratively. A Major Change, defined as any change that does not qualify as minor, requires the full special use amendment process, including public hearings and Village Council approval by ordinance.

Because Park District lakefront facilities operate under special use permits, this ordinance directly affects the procedural pathway for any modifications to facilities at Elder Lane and Centennial beaches. Any improvement project triggering a "Major Change" determination -- including changes that increase operational intensity, expand or relocate facilities, reduce open space, or conflict with conditions of the original special use -- now requires full Village Council approval. This creates a significant procedural barrier and places discretion over the permissible scope of improvements in the hands of the Village Council. Moreover, the language in the ordinance requires applicants to re-start the process in the event any changes are made to the plans, further frustrating the Park District's ability to improve the beaches.

5. Ordinance M-09-2023 — Zoning Map Amendment Applying the LPO District (Adopted July 6, 2023)

This companion map amendment to MC-07-2023 formally amended the Official Zoning Map of the Village to designate the LPO District boundaries, applying the overlay to the following publicly owned lakefront parcels: Tower Road Park and Beach; the Village of Winnetka Water and Electric Plants; Lloyd Park and Beach; Maple Street Park and Beach; Elder Lane Park and Beach; Centennial Park and Beach; and six street-end parcels along Sheridan Road.

The map amendment gives the LPO District restrictions the force of law as part of the Village's official zoning map, formally subjecting the Park District's five beach facilities to the overlay's restrictive use and construction regulations.

6. Ordinance MC-01-2024 — Permanent Steep Slope Regulations (Adopted February 6, 2024)

The culminating ordinance in this sequence, MC-01-2024 repealed the temporary permit abeyance of Chapter 17.80 and replaced it with permanent "Steep Slope Regulations" in a new Chapter 17.82 of the Zoning Ordinance, along with companion amendments to definitions, setback requirements, and Zoning Board jurisdiction. Introduced January 9, 2024, and passed February 6, 2024, this ordinance establishes an elaborate permanent regulatory framework for the "Slope Impact Area" -- encompassing all land between the toe of the bluff and the tableland, including areas with slopes exceeding 5.7 degrees, and a "Steep Slope Zone" for grades exceeding 27 degrees.

Key restrictions under the permanent regulations include:

• Prohibition on most development within the Steep Slope Zone; only slope stabilization structures, reconstruction within the existing footprint, limited cantilevering of up to four feet, mechanical lifts, stairs no wider than five feet, decks no larger than 50 square feet (absent exceptional engineering certification), compliant fences, and boat houses not exceeding 860 square feet are expressly permitted.
• Mandatory submission of geotechnical engineering reports, grading plans, hydrological control plans, and vegetation plans for any permit application within the Slope Impact Area, prepared and sealed by licensed structural or geotechnical engineers.
• Director of Engineering review and approval authority over all applications, with appeals to the Village Manager and ultimately the Village Council -- not to an independent adjudicatory body.
• A new lakefront front yard setback requiring the greater of the toe of the bluff or 50 feet from the ordinary high water mark, directly affecting development rights on lakefront lots including Park District parcels.
• Village Council reservation of final decision-making authority over all zoning variations related to steep slope regulations, bypassing the Zoning Board of Appeals' normal independent role and concentrating appellate authority in the elected body that enacted the regulations.

The permanent regulations apply Village-wide to all lakefront properties. For the Park District, they mean that virtually any capital improvement at Elder Lane or Centennial beach involving the bluff or its approaches requires multiple layers of Village engineering review, public process, and Council approval -- regardless of the Park District's own statutory authority, independent engineering judgment, or state and federal permit approvals already obtained.

Collective Impact and the Federal Lawsuit

Viewed individually, each ordinance might be characterized as incremental regulation in the service of environmental protection. Viewed together -- and in sequence -- they constitute a comprehensive assertion of Village authority over every aspect of what may be built on lakefront land, by whom, and under what conditions.

The permitting requirements of MC-05-2023 established the initial layer. The LPO overlay and zoning map amendment applied use and construction restrictions directly to Park District property. The permit moratorium immediately halted all pending bluff-area work for nine months. The special use amendment procedures erected new barriers to facility modifications. And the permanent steep slope regulations cemented it all into the zoning code, with the Village Council as the final arbiter of any relief.

The cumulative burden fell not only on the Park District but also on private lakefront property owners throughout Winnetka, whose own rights to improve and maintain bluff-area structures were substantially curtailed by the same framework. Those property owners declined to accept the imposition. In 2024, they filed suit against the Village of Winnetka in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 24-cv-03576, challenging the Village's regulatory overreach.

The federal litigation reflects a community-wide judgment by affected property owners -- residents and taxpayers of Winnetka -- that the Village went too far, too fast, in a legislative campaign that prioritized regulatory control over the rights of property owners, including the Park District, to maintain and improve their own land. The lawsuit is costly for all parties, and its costs are ultimately borne by the same residents who elected both the Village Council and the Park District Board.

This is clearly NOT "intergovernmental cooperation" urged by the Caucus for so many years.

Request for Caucus Action

As a nonpartisan body representing the community's interests, the Winnetka Caucus Council is well-positioned to weigh in on this dispute. The undersigned respectfully requests that the Caucus:

• Review the six ordinances described herein and their collective impact on lakefront property owners, including the Park District's ability to carry out its statutory mission at Elder Lane and Centennial beaches;
• Express public support for the position that the Village's regulatory campaign represents an overreach that has burdened both private property owners and the Park District beyond what legitimate environmental protection requires;
• Urge the Village Council to engage in good-faith negotiations with affected property owners and the Park District toward a framework that permits beach improvements and reasonable property use to proceed under sensible environmental safeguards, without subjecting all lakefront development to an elaborate permitting apparatus with the Village Council as final arbiter; and
• Recognize that the federal litigation now pending in Case No. 24-cv-03576 is not merely a legal dispute between parties -- it is a signal from Winnetka residents that the Village's ordinances went too far, and that course correction is warranted.

Elder Lane Beach and Centennial Beach belong to the residents of Winnetka. They deserve the improvements the Park District has planned. The community's elected bodies should find a way to work together -- and with the residents who are taking them to federal court -- to restore cooperative governance of our lakefront and the community at large.

Respectfully submitted,

Amy and Warren James

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Our Town Winnetka Is Seeking Your Help and Advocacy

Beyond these frequent emails, we are now seeking residents to join our team. We are seeking:

• Residents who are willing to go to our various Village Council / Historic Preservation / Zoning Board of Approvals / Winnetka Park District meetings to speak their minds for their fellow citizens -- and share their observations back to OTW.
• Residents who are open to hosting a coffee at their home to discuss the key issues with fellow residents and bring the key insights & summary points back to OTW.
• Have a story that is worth sharing, via our newsletter, where a resident needs help navigating local permitting processes, whether your personal residence or local business.

If interested, please click on the link to submit your interest to the page on our website.