Council Recap — August 4: A Gaga Pit Gets Three Hearings. The “Open Space District” Gets Zero Words.
Two weeks after fast-tracking a district that routes every public body’s land through Village Hall, the Council met for 84 minutes and never mentioned it. Here is what they did discuss — and what the silences tell you. Watch the meeting, then decide for yourself.
OTW’s take, up front: On July 21, this Council fast-tracked a new “Open Space” zoning district over the objections of District 36, District 203, and the Park District. On August 4 — with the Plan Commission hearing weeks away — President Dearborn and the trustees who championed it, Trustee Apatoff among them, said not one word about it. The Council did, however, conduct its third public review of a 14½-foot dodgeball pit. The next chance to be heard is Tuesday, August 18. Show up.
The August 4 regular meeting (watch the full video here) opened with real news worth applauding: staff’s response to the July 27 storm — 2.91 inches of rain, 48 fire calls, 952 homes without power, with mutual aid from four neighboring towns (4:19). Our crews earned every word of praise.
The issue that wasn’t on the agenda
What residents did not hear was a single mention of the “Open Space District” — the rezoning of every publicly owned green parcel in town that OTW explained in plain English after the Council enacted Phase One on July 21. Three sister boards are formally pushing back. The Plan Commission hearing is targeted for September. And the Council’s public discussion of it since: zero. The window to speak is narrowing — and at the quorum check, one trustee already confirmed he cannot attend August 18 (1:35). The meeting then ended in closed session to discuss “the sale or lease and related price for village property” (1:23:16) — lawful under the Open Meetings Act, but a reminder of how much land policy now happens off camera.
A dodgeball pit, three public bodies — and an accidental confession
Greeley School’s Gaga ball pit needed a zoning variation, a certificate of appropriateness, the ZBA (5–0), the DRB (6–0), and finally the Council (11:16). President Dearborn’s reaction: this “probably doesn’t have to go through the whole process… they probably went through a hoop or two. They didn’t need to” (14:46). Hold that thought. The same Village Hall that admits its process is too heavy for a schoolyard game is the one whose new district would make special use permits — that very machinery — the default for parks, schools, and the library. You cannot argue both sides.
Street ends: “not adversarial” — but “we own property down there”
Staff presented a solid short/medium/long-term work plan for the seven village-owned lakefront street ends (16:56). Trustees rightly pressed for neighbor communication and timelines. But listen to the president’s framing: “I don’t consider this to be an adversarial position from the village… and also establish in certain cases that we own property down there” (38:58). After the lakefront ordinances and a federal lawsuit opposite the Park District, residents may judge that reassurance for themselves. A resident who has spent five years pressing IDNR about a missing staircase got exactly three minutes — and was refused a single minute more (35:31).
Parking: 40 years of talk, and a telling instruction
Staff’s parking review was candid and useful: the Village issues 88% more employee permits than stalls — triple at Indian Hill — at a “quaint” $10 apiece (42:38). Trustees floated real reforms. Then the president’s guidance to staff: work it out “in the village manager’s office… Keep the council informed, but I wouldn’t wait for public meetings” (1:16:27). Speed is welcome. Deciding policy away from public meetings is how a village earns the trust deficit this one is working under.
Watch the August 4 meeting for yourself: Village of Winnetka — August 4, 2026 Regular Council Meeting (YouTube). Then come to the August 18 Council meeting — and ask why the biggest zoning change in a generation gets less public airtime than a Gaga pit.
Published by Our Town Winnetka · Our Town. Our Future. Your Voice.
Sources: Village of Winnetka, August 4, 2026 Regular Council Meeting (video and agenda); July 21, 2026 Regular Council Meeting; OTW’s Open Space District explainer and July 21 recap. Quotes are taken from the meeting video’s transcript; timestamps are linked for verification.