Winnetka trustees block plan for off-leash dog beach at Centennial Beach

Winnetka trustees put the brakes on a fenced off-leash beach at Centennial Beach, leaving handlers of high-energy dogs with one less controlled place to run, swim and decompress. On May 19, the Village Council voted 5-1 to direct staff to prepare denial documents for the Winnetka Park District’s special-use permit request, a move that marked the fourth unfavorable village-board vote in the year-long process.

The park district’s plan was about more than chain-link fencing. It was tied to whether a section of the lakefront would again be set aside for canine recreation, and for owners of working and performance dogs, that meant access to one of the rarest kinds of local infrastructure: a safe off-leash shoreline where dogs can train intensity without losing control in public space. Trustees had already heard negative recommendations from the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Plan Commission and the Design Review Board, and village zoning officials described the proposal as “piecemeal,” questioning both the need for the fence and the size of the off-leash area.

The opposition had sharpened around public safety and use of the shoreline. Trustee Bridget Orsic said, “Nobody wants this.” Trustees also described the project as “excessive, unprecedented and fundamentally flawed.” Trustee Kim Handler’s comments underscored how strongly safety concerns shaped the debate. For handlers who rely on off-leash conditioning, those objections carry a practical cost: if the plan dies, Centennial Beach does not just remain unfenced, it remains unavailable as a managed outlet for dogs that need real sprint space, water work and distance from crowded streets and ordinary parks.

The dispute has deep roots in Winnetka. Centennial Park was purchased in 1968 for $550,000 and established in 1969 on the former North Shore Health Resort property. The idea resurfaced in December 2018 after a citizens group approached the Park Board, building on a 2016 community needs assessment that ranked an off-leash dog park as a top-five investment and a number-two unmet need. On January 26, 2023, the Park District required all dogs at Centennial Dog Beach to be leashed until a temporary fence could be installed to comply with Cook County animal control rules and Park District Risk Management Agency guidance, and on March 23, 2023, it approved Ordinance 596 restating leash requirements.

The latest version of the proposal was approved by the Park District board on February 5, 2026, after a February 9 appearance before the Zoning Board of Appeals in Case No. 25-28-SU for 225 Sheridan Road, Centennial Beach. Park District documents tied the project to a $3 million gift from the Ishbia Family Foundation meant to help fund an ADA-accessible pathway, an off-leash dog park on the southern end of Centennial Beach and other improvements. That financing, and the access it was meant to support, now sits on the same shoreline as the fence itself.