Winnetka Adopts Bluff Protection Regulations Over Homeowner Objections

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But his fellow councilmembers — with whom he had met earlier in the evening at a special closed-door meeting to discuss likely litigation — had no appetite for delay.

Rintz said he was not sure, at first, whether the ordinance was necessary, but was convinced after learning more about people who have deviated from “appropriate behavior and taste” and built irresponsibly.

The village president, who does not vote on legislation, referenced the construction of the state’s most expensive residential property, the under-construction Sheridan Road home of a private equity billionaire, whose removal of bluffs along some of his property’s 3.7-acre coastline was controversial among residents.

“Yes, Justin Ishbia is building a massive house that is in complete conformance with the village codes, there’s no doubt about that. The characterization that we were asleep at the wheel is completely wrong, and I find it very insulting,” Rintz said.

“Times are changing quickly, and I don’t think anybody in this town could have conceived of any individual assembling four, five, six parcels, multiple acres of property with a massive frontage on the lake and then understood that he would take full advantage of the [floor area ration] yield when he combined all those lots into a single parcel,” the village president added.

“We’ve taken steps to prevent that,” he said. “We now have restrictions on lot consolidation, so people can’t put 5 acres of property [together] and gain the benefits that will allow them to build 68,000 square feet of house, if you can believe that.”

Attorney Mark Karasik said he is representing about 30 Winnetka residents who oppose the ordinance.

“This statute is wrong and the ordinance is wrong. If you intend to preserve the bluffs, the best people to do it are the owners of the property. You haven’t accounted for that,” Karasik said.

Karasik told councilmembers during the portion of the meeting reserved for comments from the public that the ordinance effectively takes about a third of the buildable portions of lakefront properties. Those homeowners will be due just compensation, he said.

“After your family and your faith, what’s more sacred than your home?” he said. “These people will fight for their home, and if you pass this ordinance, we’ll see you in court.”

Several lakefront homeowners opposed to the regulations addressed councilmembers. Trustees also heard from numerous speakers in favor of the ordinance, though none of them appeared to own properties fronting Lake Michigan.

“I think there’s tremendous destruction if you pass this ordinance and people will want to get compensated for that, and the courts will have to decide that, and you will have to then end up deciding whether or not that to pay that. And it would be substantial,” said Bill Jackson, one of the residents that indicated he would sue over the new rules.

“I don’t know why you picked this fight, to tell you the truth, I don’t really get it, in all honesty,” he said. “I think you have regulations. Yes, maybe the Ishbia property created a lot of dialogue, but it sounded like you could have handled that if you were more cognizant of the process — so change your current processes.”

Jane Irwin told the council that her lakefront home had recently been reassessed for a millions of dollars more than its prior assessed value.

“And I have done nothing on my property that would cause that reassessment, and thus my taxes have also gone up very significantly,” Irwin said.

“I am very concerned I’m in a Catch-22 situation here, because I feel that if I were to try and sell and there’s a restriction on my property of a future owner who might want to build on that site that they would be restricted from doing so,” he said. “And I would not be able to get the value of the property that I’m now being taxed on.”

Steve Fussel said he spent more than $1 million to shore up the bluff at the back of his house to reduce erosion after damage from storms in 2020. He said it took seven months to get approval from village staff to fix things.

“What we’re debating is not if we want to protect the bluff, but who actually does it, who has the best vested interest,” Fussel said.

“It is incredulous for me for you guys to sit here and act shocked and appalled. The fact is, the village approved the sale of the land. Our issue isn’t with Mr. Ishbia. The fact is, the engineering was approved on the bluff. The fact is, the lots were consolidated. The fact is, the building permits were approved. Every single thing that was done there was approved by this village,” he said.

Fussel said he would have lost his pool and most of the back of his house if he had not done repairs beyond the original footprint of the location of his outlying structures.

“To assume that this village can regulate quickly and appropriately, that it can have the resources and the knowledge, when it clearly did not in the engineering of my process … is absolutely appalling to me. It is both arrogant and naïve, as has been this process,” he said.

Trustee Bob Dearborn said he remembered discussions about bluff construction regulations coming up back in 2020, when the Village Council had planned, prior to the pandemic, to consider drafting an ordinance similar to other North Shore communities.

“I remember the issue so well, and I remember the neighbors — I think one of the neighbors is here actually, who’s now against this ordinance — asking us to please save them from what was happening from the property next door,” Dearborn said.

“‘Put in some regulations, Winnetka, you don’t have regulations like Kenilworth, and Highland Park and Glencoe and Lake Bluff, you people can’t build like that in those communities, but they can in Winnetka, you need regulations,'” he recalled. “And now that person is here objecting to the regulation. There’s a word for that, but I’m not going to say it.”

Trustee Bridget Orsic said concerns over damage to the bluffs during lakefront construction have come up before and will come up again, and many homeowners appreciate having sensible regulations in place to protect their property.

“I wonder where we would be today if this had been addressed in 2020 like it was scheduled to be,” Orsic said.

“We live in divisive times. Simple things become controversial, and they don’t have to be. At the end of the day, you can never please everyone, you can only do what you believe is right,” she added. “Protecting our bluffs is the right thing to do, I believe this ordinance will help all Winnetkans, those who love our lakefront, those who use our lakefront and those who live on our lakefront.”

Trustee Kim Handler said village officials had made a lot of adjustments to the ordinance to address concerns from lakefront homeowners.

“We’ve now added the clause that actually [non-conforming] structures … can be rebuilt, as is, without requesting a variance,” Handler said.

“That is not something that’s afforded to the other 4,300 households in Winnetka,” she said. “If their garage, their kitchen, their master bedroom, a part of their home falls into disrepair and needs to be taken down and replaced, they would have to go through the variance process.”

Trustee Kirk Albinson emphasized the ecological importance of the bluffs.

“I believe this is an important first step for us as a community to be able to reclaim that natural feature that really makes this a neat town, a wonderful community, a desirable community,” Albinson said.

“That’s not to say that we don’t want homeowners to be able to fully enjoy their property, to improve them, to stabilize them, to protect them, but I think that some form of protection or regulation — and this is I think the first step of it — will go a long way of benefiting the entire community,” he said. “And if I think ahead 50 years, 100 years from now, I hope our grandchildren and great grandchildren all thank us for this first step that we’ve taken.”

Two former trustees addressed the council ahead of the vote, with King Poor endorsing the ordinance and Andrew Cripe suggesting further discussion with affected homeowners.

Residents in favor of the passage of the ordinance praised its balance between protection of the bluff and the rights of property owners.

“You’ve taken a measured approach you have studied the issues, and I believe you’ve done an excellent job,” Irene Smith said. “Despite the threats which appear in your packet tonight, please know that there are many citizens of Winnetka who are very very grateful to you.”

Lori Peterson thanked trustees for taking their time and making modifications to make a thoughtful ordinance before referencing the Winnetka Park District’s controversial dealings with Ishbia and his foundation.

“Most of all, thank you for putting the interest of the village as a whole above a few individual interests,” Peterson said. “Of course we always hope and trust that this is what our elected officials will always do, but sadly the actions we’ve seen of our community’s park board over the past year have shown us the consequences of putting the demands of an individual above those of the community as a whole.”

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