District 36 families may face new questions about school facility projects after Winnetka announced plans to rewrite its entire zoning code for the first time in 30 years.

At the Village Council meeting on July 21, Community Development Director Scott Mangum laid out a two-phase plan that would first create a dedicated open-space zoning district, then overhaul the full code over 18 to 24 months, according to The Record North Shore.

The effort will cost approximately $150,000, with $75,000 budgeted for this year.

The core issue: Winnetka currently has no zoning district specific to open space, schools, or parks. Those uses sit within single-family residential zones and require "special use" approval from the Village for changes.

The code, last fully written in 1996 and patched more than 60 times since, still allows coal facilities and sheet metal shops as by-right uses.

District 36 School Board President Dan Waters spoke during public comment, telling trustees that "some buildings within the district pose challenges" and asking them to keep school facility needs in mind as they rezone.

"We need to make sure that as you think of zoning, we're continuing to be able to utilize these properties as we need for the district," Waters said at the July 21 meeting.

Waters did not specify which school buildings he was referring to. District 36 serves approximately 1,777 students across its elementary and middle schools, including Crow Island, Greeley, Hubbard Woods, and Washburne. Any future expansion, renovation, or facility change at those campuses would be subject to whatever zoning framework the Village adopts.

Winnetka Park District Board President Elise Gibson raised a more concrete concern: whether routine maintenance would trigger the costly special use process. She pointed to the turf fields at Skokie Playfields, saying the Park District "can't quite figure out how our operations fit within this Phase 1."

"We drain a lot of money going through the special use process," Gibson said.

Village President Bob Dearborn responded that the new ordinance would not change existing operational rights. If a use requires special use approval now, it still will; if it doesn't, it won't. Mangum added that the ordinance has not been written yet but "could be written as such to ensure that is the case."

Trustee Scott Myers pushed colleagues to fast-track the open-space district over the broader rewrite, calling the current situation "a challenge for our fellow taxing bodies and the burden it places on them, and the uncertainty it places on them." Other trustees agreed.

What comes next

The Winnetka Plan Commission is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposed open-space zoning district in September.

If the commission wraps up in one session, the ordinance could reach the Village Council for a final vote as early as October.

That timeline gives District 36 families, Park District users, and other residents a narrow window to weigh in. The Village plans to hire a land use consultant and form an ad-hoc steering committee to guide the broader rewrite.

Residents who want to track the process can monitor agendas on the Village of Winnetka website. District 36 families with questions about how the rezoning could affect specific school properties can contact the district at winnetka36.org or file a FOIA request with the district's designated officer.

North Shore Schools Week Ahead

No District 36 school board meetings or education events are confirmed for the week of August 4. The next key date to watch is the Winnetka Plan Commission's September public hearing on the open-space zoning district; an exact date has not been set.