Winnetka Park Board President Warren James wants to set a final closing date for the land swap between the Park District and Justin Ishbia, the billionaire land owner of 261 Sheridan Road at the heart of the Centennial and Elder Lane beach project.
Deeds have not been swapped for the land transfer more than two years after the deal was initially signed in October 2020.
James brought forth the idea to set a final closing date of Dec. 16, unless pushed back by litigation, during the Oct. 13 Winnetka Park District Committee of the Whole meeting. The motion would not be voted on until the next meeting on Oct. 27.
He also suggested that motions amending the Lakefront 2030 Master Plan to add a 170- to 270-foot dog beach to the south end of Centennial Beach with secure boundaries or fencing and an electric gate at beach level to ensure public access. Another proposal centers on making sure that Americans with Disabilities Act access is included in any plans for Centennial Beach.
The final motion he suggested would “reaffirm the use of a headland beach system,” which includes stone breakwaters and that the Park Board move forward with the Elder 2A plan, with exception of the stone on the south end of the beach, presented during the Oct. 13 meeting.
“We need to bring finality to this chapter,” James said.
It is unclear what actions the Park Board would take in the event of Ishbia refusing to swap deeds.
James said that by giving the final date to Ishbia that the project can be tabled until 2023 in order to give time for the Park District to focus on budget season and restaffing after several resignations including Park District FOIA Officer and Office Associate Libby Baker and Marketing Brand Manager Molly Krohe.
“This has been an extraordinarily stressful process for all of us. There have been many sleepless nights trying to digest and understand and absorb each of the concerns,” he said. “It’s the board’s duty to serve all residents of Winnetka. We need to reflect on this, and then we need to make a decision.”
Elder 2A consists of a stone breakwater that slopes from 585 to 583 feet tall at the northern end of the beach with a concrete walkway and stone steps to give beachgoers access to views of the lake. This shortens the height of the breakwater by three feet and length by 45 feet from the Elder 2 option.
Sand levels would range from 585 feet down to 580 feet at the shore, leaving at most a few feet of breakwater stone extended out of the water depending on water levels.
The plan also has a stone section of breakwater attached to existing steel groins at the south end of the beach which James suggested be removed from plans. In Elder 2A, the existing pier and steel groins at the northern end would be removed.
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Several residents have expressed concern with this plan as the village’s stormwater pipe would be incorporated into the stone breakwater and there are concerns by some that it doesn’t stretch far enough into the lake to prevent bacterial contamination.
John Root, husband of Board Commissioner Colleen Root, gave a presentation showing that bacteria levels over the years at Elder Lane Beach have been higher than all other Winnetka beaches, a statistic he points to the discharge of the stormwater pipe. His solution is to rearrange the beach by placing the dog beach at Elder and moving swimmers farther away from the pipe.
Chuck Dowding, a professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University, has been campaigning to have the stormwater pipe buried further out into the lake and beneath the sand instead of under a stone breakwater.
A tentatively planned workshop was canceled by the board but Commissioners Cynthia Rapp and Christina Codo will host a listening session on Oct. 20 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Winnetka Public Library.