Public access and the risks to a fragile ecosystem will need to be balanced with financial limitations imposed by stagnant state funding as the Lake County Forest Preserves develops a master plan for the popular Fort Sheridan site, officials say.
The agency invited the public to an open house last week to learn about and comment on proposed changes and improvements to the trails, parking, amenities and open spaces in the forest preserve, which covers 250 acres of the former Fort Sheridan military base along Lake Michigan.
The mayors of Highland Park and Highwood are opposed to the plans.
“In January, Highwood Mayor Charlie Pecaro and I issued a joint letter to the LCFPD stating that both of our cities are strongly opposed to having access and parking closed and/or significantly restricted,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in a public email urging residents to attend the open house. “We have concerns that these concept plans will significantly limit the access of veterans, elderly, people with disabilities, and families who visit Fort Sheridan to view Lake Michigan from the bluff or shoreline.”
There are two concept plans, with 60 cars being accommodated on preserve property in Concept A, and eight more under Concept B, forest preserve officials say.
“I know a lot of people want to be able to go down to the beach,” Ann Maine, president of the board of commissioners, said at the open house. “I’m not going to deny that it’s a longer walk to the beach.”
And it’s a difficult walk, even if you can park nearby.
“This is not an accessible access to the beach, at an 8 percent grade,” Maine said. “ADA is 5 percent, and we can’t cut into the bluff.”
Ty Kovach, forest preserves executive director, said he expect changes will be made to the plans over the next few months.
“Remember these are concepts; these are straw dogs that we’ve put out there to get feedback,” he said. “We’ll take all of the input and bring it back to our planning committee. There’ll be some compromise in there.
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“We know that we have something really special and people want to access it,” Kovach said. “We’re authorized to acquire land for the purpose of restoring it as close as possible to its natural state and then to open it up for recreation and education, but we don’t want to do it to the point that it’s loved to death. Maybe we need to look for something else like this along Lake Michigan as the opportunity presents itself.”
Beyond the environmental impact of plants being trampled, wildlife disrupted and the bluff suffering further erosion, the popularity of the area has created policing issues along the beach, where swimming is banned because of the risk of unexploded ordnance.
“It becomes an enormous policing issue,” Kovach said.
Then there are financial issues. Since 2008, the forest preserve has lost more than $12.5 million in general revenue due to declining property valuations, Kovach said.
“Everything we do going forward, we’re going to have to be very careful about how we maintain (the land) and the cost to maintain it,” he said. “Once you establish (access), it’s pretty hard to pull it back.”
Lake County Board member Michael Rummel, who serves on the forest preserve finance committee, echoed Kovach’s concern about finances.
“We have 30,000 acres of property (in Lake County) and we have the same [equalized assessed valuation] we had 10 years ago,” he said. “Our mission is to open as much property as we can to the public, so I have to be sensitive (to spending).”
Rummel said many of his constituents in Lake Forest, including the Lake Forest Open Lands Association and the City of Lake Forest, support the Fort Sheridan proposals.
“A lot of people want to leave it the way it is, a lot of people want to bring more people in, and a lot of people want to bring in a lot less people,” said Rummel. “Is there some compromise here? Sure there is, but until we hear what the public wants, how do we make up our mind. I want to hear from as many people as I can.”
A “Plan C” was put forth by an informal citizen group with its own map. Highland Park resident Sonny Cohen, who opposes the current plans, said “Plan C” would retain the existing 80-car parking lot to allow centralized walking access to the lake, ravines and grassland trails.
“We don’t want to keep people out of the preserves,” he said, adding that officials tried to keep him from setting up a display with the plan.
Forest preserve officials said they were concerned the alternate proposal would be a distraction.
“At the open house, we wanted the focus of attendees to be on the concept plans that had been developed by the district for public presentation, in order to gather comments from the public, which will be taken into consideration as planning continues for the preserve,” Kovach said in a statement.