The TRUTH About the VC’s New “Open Space District”
What’s really at stake with the new “Open Space District” — in plain English. A short explainer, with the photo from the Village’s own in-person session.
Neighbors — there’s been a lot of chatter about the open land and the post office site, so here’s a short explainer, with a photo from the Village’s own in-person session.
On July 21, the Village Council enacted Phase One of a new “Open Space” zoning district.
This isn’t just about the post office site.
It would rezone every publicly owned green parcel in town — Park District parks, school grounds, the library, New Trier — so that anything other than a Village “essential public service” needs a special use permit through Village Hall.
That’s a new layer of Village control over land that our parks, schools, and library boards already govern, and that we already pay to maintain.
Several boards have already weighed in to challenge, including D36, D203, and Parks.
What’s the basis for it?
Mainly one question from the 2024 caucus survey, where 75% of us said we’d like the Village to “preserve open space.”
No costs, no tradeoffs, no alternatives were presented.
Of course we said yes — who wouldn’t?
But when the Village showed residents the actual tradeoffs, we answered very differently.
The photo at top, from the Village’s in-person post office visioning session, shows the actual sticker boards: the all-open-space options — the ones costing up to $25 million to build and up to $500,000 a year, forever, to maintain — drew virtually NO votes. The concepts with development and revenue production overwhelmingly got ‘sticker votes’!
Folks, open space isn’t free.
It’s a public asset we maintain with tax dollars, in a village whose commercial tax base has been eroding for 30 years.
What happens next — and why the hurry?
This crazy open space idea heads to the Plan Commission in September and back to Council in October. And TBH, it’s a ‘rush job’ before the October 15 WCC Town Hall.
Hmmmmm, why would the Council move so quickly on this, yet delay on so many other critical projects for our community (Read: Centennial – Elder Beach Master Plan)?
Before the Village Council locks in yet another restrictive ordinance none of us were really asked for, please come to the next VC hearing, Tuesday, August 18, and/or write the Council.
See our full recap from the July 21 Council Meeting: Council Recap — July 21: An ‘Open Space’ District That Runs Every Public Body’s Land Through Village Hall.
Published by Our Town Winnetka · Our Town. Our Future. Your Voice.
Sources: Village of Winnetka, July 21, 2026 Regular Council Meeting (agenda item 9B); Village of Winnetka in-person post office visioning session (sticker-board photo); 2024 Winnetka Caucus community survey. See also OTW’s July 21 Council recap and analysis of the six post office concepts.