After billionaire leveled lakefront bluffs, Winnetka considers whether to regulate, protect them

The Winnetka Village Council hosted a study session to consider enacting regulations for bluff and steep slope construction and destruction after residents raised concerns about billionaire Justin Ishbia removing bluffs from his lakefront property.

Trustees debated whether to allow lakefront homeowners — many of whom have in the past spent money to keep up and protect bluffs on their property — free reign over their property or whether the village should regulate the bluffs to guarantee the natural landscape of the lake, and neighbors’ properties, will be protected.

The discussion began following the entire removal of the bluffs this past summer onIshbia’s lakefront property at 205 Sheridan Road. The removal is part of his construction plan to build a $43.7 million mansion for himself and his family. The construction has seen all greenery removed from the lot along with leveling of the lake bluffs.

Village President Chris Rintz asked the board how much concern the construction at the Ishbia property is giving them, to which Trustee Bob Dearborn replied “immense.”

“My sense has always been the heartburn ... is the fact that it’s new construction,” Rintz said. “It’s big. There’s a lot of it. People are afraid.”

Trustee Tina Dalman said she felt badly that controls weren’t in place to halt the project, such as when Ishbia petitioned the village to consolidate the four plots he purchased into one 3.7 acre lot.

“That’s where that could have been stopped if we had greater control and we didn’t,” Dalman said. “That building is being built as of right (now) in compliance without variances. That, I think, is the heart of the issue. How can we address that so that we don’t have a hotel size use in a residential area?”

She further questioned what exactly makes the bluff removal a negative if there is sound engineering done to stabilize it once construction is complete.

“Just because we don’t like somebody scooping out the bluff, which nobody here likes, I don’t know if that’s sufficient. I think we need to find the harm in order to regulate,” Dalman said.

Caleb Barth, marine engineer with Baird and Associates, presented to the board and said that in general, removing bluffs leads to “irreversible erosion.” It causes more sand to be washed away and creates deeper pockets under water closer to the shoreline, he said. The greater depths create larger waves, and without sandy beaches as protection, those waves cause more damage to the remaining, exposed bluffs.

However, with the revetments that have been put in place in the lake over the past few decades, the impact of wave erosion on the bluffs has been largely halted, according to Barth.

“Projects can be well engineered. You can remove sections of the bluff. You can engineer them, provide retaining walls, provide foundations that can prevent bluff failure,” Barth said. “As long as the engineers take a standard level of care, there can be limited impacts to it and ultimately what’s done on the bluff doesn’t necessarily impact the coastal processes.”

Trustee Dearborn argued the removal of the natural landscape is a harm in and of itself, even if the bluffs are replaced and engineered properly.

Rintz believes the issue should be split into regulation on new construction to protect the bluffs and checks on existing structures to ensure they are soundly engineered.

Winnetka is currently one of the only North Shore communities without steep slope regulations. Steep slope definitions vary across the North Shore, making it difficult for Winnetka to base policies off its neighbors. In Kenilworth, the steep slope zone extends beyond the toe of the bluff and begins at the water’s edge, whereas Glencoe considers the steep slope zone from the toe of the bluff to the tableland on top of the bluff.

Winnetka also has a unique bluff structure compared to its neighbors, according to Barth, with bluff heights ranging from 70 feet to 25 feet.

Barth, the marine engineer, compared bluff regulations to building codes in the way that municipalities use them to protect homeowners. Based on community values, bluff regulations can also be used to consider environmental impacts.

Lakefront homeowners expressed concern that regulations impacting their properties after years of taking care of the bluffs with their own funds could impede the work they’ve been doing.

John Edwardson, who owns property along the lakefront just north of Elder Lane Park and Beach, told the board the regulations are unnecessary because the action driving concerns is coming from residents who don’t live on the lake.

“There wouldn’t be any bluffs near where they are today if we hadn’t as homeowners spent all the money we’ve spent,” he said. “The homeowners have been spending the money. We’ve protected the bluffs. We think we’ve done a pretty good job. We don’t think we need any more regulation from you to continue to do the job to keep our property safe.”

Trustee Kim Handler said while the current owners may be good stewards to the lake, there’s no guarantee any subsequent owners will do the same.

Another lakefront homeowner, Leann Pope, said while the issue arose from concerns about the Ishbia property, steep slope regulations won’t alleviate that harm. She argues the focus should be on protecting neighbors of future construction projects as opposed to using regulation to shape the lakefront in the vision of non-lakefront homeowners.

“I don’t know of any lakefront owners that have not been good stewards to their property,” she said. “This village many, many years ago, generations ago, decided that the majority of the lakefront property in Winnetka is going to be the responsibility of private homeowners.”

Trustee Rob Apatoff sympathized with lakefront homeowners who have worked hard to keep their property and bluffs safe, but said the gaps in village regulation that allowed the bluff removal at 205 Sheridan were large enough to drive a truck through. He pushed for common sense changes that would protect both the bluffs and responsible homeowners.

“From Kenilworth all the way to Lake Bluff, we will be the only ones,” Apatoff said. “People are going to select Winnetka to come do stuff because we have gaps and that’s not necessarily a very good thing to be the one community where people will come because they know we have gaps in our codes.”

Resident Ted Wynnychenko, a non-lakefront homeowner, said the village should put regulations in place to protect the natural environment because, as the construction at 205 Sheridan Road shows, the village can’t always rely on lakefront homeowners to do what is best for the community.

“The reason 205 Sheridan happened in Winnetka is because Winnetka has turned a blind eye and has let people do whatever they want,” he said. “Everything’s great, but you know, maybe it isn’t.”

Real estate professional Jena Radnay said “one size fits all” legislation won’t work in Winnetka because of how much the bluffs vary. She suggested that regulation should be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Trustee Dearborn reiterated that if the council were to move forward with any regulations, it wouldn’t be one size fits all.

“The fact of the matter is, as evidenced on what’s gone on in the past six months or so, we have a gaping hole in the zoning,” he said. “What happened down there is a catalyst for these conversations. We can’t ignore it.”

He went on to say he doesn’t want to see the bluffs scooped out again as they were at Ishbia’s property.

Apatoff agreed, saying the scooping out of the bluffs changes the game.

“The common sense is the lakeshore is one of our most beautiful assets,” Handler said. “If every single lakefront owner wanted to do what is happening at 205, it’s certainly not going to be one of our most valuable resources in our community anymore.”