Cosley Zoo parking proposal critics to file for advisory question on Nov. 5 ballot

An advisory referendum question on the Wheaton Park District’s proposal for additional parking for Cosley Zoo will be placed on the Nov. 5 general election ballot as a result of a successful petition drive.

The Vote “No” on Cosley Zoo Expansion Committee, registered with the State Board of Elections, has gained more than 2,600 signatures.

“The idea here is we want to let the Wheaton City Council know how much opposition there is, we believe overwhelming opposition, to what the park district wants to do with Cosley Zoo,” said attorney Tom Frederick.

Frederick represented neighboring residents Christy and Kevin Needham in litigation against the city and park district and continues to represent them in proceedings regarding the proposed 93-space parking lot east of Gary Avenue across from the zoo, 1356 N. Gary Ave.

Frederick said the minimum number of signatures required is 8% of Wheaton residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election. That would be 1,917 signatures, said Frederick, who does not expect a successful challenge to the petition.

“We’re safe,” said Frederick, who intends to file the petition with Wheaton Clerk Andrea Rosedale no later than June 21. The deadline is Aug. 5.

The advisory referendum question asks whether the city should allow the park district to build the new parking lot, originally proposed as part of the district’s $49.4 million 2017 Master Plan to expand the zoo to accommodate more than 300,000 visitors yearly.

The park district said it needs more parking since the existing 80-space lot next to the zoo often fills to capacity, a claim the plan’s opponents deny.

In an email to the Daily Herald on Monday, park district Executive Director Mike Benard said the use of the auxiliary parking lot has shifted to primarily serve the 50 to 60 zoo staff and employees of an adjacent park district administration building during the busiest summer months.

The proposed 93-space lot would encompass a 30-space lot for zoo employees currently in use on the east side of Gary Avenue.

“The Wheaton Park District and its current board understand that the charm and appeal of Cosley Zoo is its modest size that matches the character of our community,” Benard said.

“Unfortunately, the question being posed on the advisory referendum petition misstates the zoo’s goal, which is simply adding additional employee and overflow parking on the east side of Gary to create more patron parking on the west side and to allow more families to visit the zoo on its busiest days.”

Benard also said the referendum question was “not relevant” since the parks board rescinded its master plan earlier this year. It intends to undertake a new facilities and exhibits plan.

The proposed $2.1 million lot, covering about one of the six acres of the residential-zoned property the park district owns east of Gary Avenue, would be paid for by the Cosley Foundation without raising taxes, the park district said.

By a 5-0 vote on May 29, the city’s planning and zoning board said the park district’s plan met the requirements of a special-use permit for the parking lot under zoning ordinances and recommended it favorably for Wheaton City Council consideration.

If the city council does not dismiss the park district’s proposal, then the Vote “No” committee’s goal is the council delay a decision until after the results of the referendum, Frederick said.

The city council is expected to hear and discuss the proposal on July 1 with a vote possibly taken at its meeting on July 15.