The Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board has approved a 93-space overflow parking lot for Cosley Zoo. The issue will go before the Wheaton City Council in July. (Kevin Beese/Chronicle Media photo)

A proposal to increase parking at Cosley Zoo in Wheaton will be advancing to the City Council after the city’s Planning and Zoning Board gave the plan a thumb’s up. 

Members of the Planning and Zoning Board gave its approval to the Wheaton Park District, owner of the zoo, for a 93-space parking lot on the east side of Gary Avenue after deliberations on Wednesday, May 29. 

Park District officials contend that the additional parking is needed as the existing lot on the west side of Gary is full at some point during operating hours one-third of the year. 

Opponents of the project challenge that data, citing that their car counts done since Dec. 20 have not revealed any days that the existing zoo lot has been filled. 

“Park District data for the past eight years shows that for every year except 2020 — the COVID year when the zoo was closed — there should have been 30-40 days already this year when the parking lot should have been full,” said Thomas Frederick, an attorney representing zoo neighbors. “There has not been a single day on which the existing parking lot has been full. There is no need for additional parking.” 

Frederick represents Christy and Kevin Needham, whose lot line abuts the proposed zoo parking lot, but has represented the concerns of other neighbors of the planned zoo lot during the Planning and Zoning hearing. 

He said Gary Avenue is a busy street that families with young children, the zoo’s target demographic, should not be crossing. 

“First and foremost, the proposed new parking lot would undeniably increase the risk to public safety, without providing any corresponding public benefit,” Frederick said. “There is no reasonable basis to dispute that zoo visitors — many of whom are families with small children — would face a greater risk to their safety by being forced to cross Gary Avenue. 

“As the City Council knows, Gary Avenue is a very narrow, very busy, and very dangerous street.  The Park District itself recognized this by originally proposing a pedestrian overpass across Gary Avenue from the proposed parking lot to the zoo. It then abandoned this concept in favor of a pedestrian tunnel under Gary Avenue.  The Park District’s current proposal includes neither. 

“The likelihood that a zoo visitor — possibly a small child darting into traffic — will be killed one day crossing Gary Avenue will become exponentially higher if this new parking lot is built.” 

City Attorney Dawn Didier said that the zoo parking plan will be before the City Council at its July 1 or July 15 meeting. She noted that City Council’s handling of the issue will be unlike the Planning and Zoning Board, which allowed testimony and cross-examination. 

“No testimony, evidence or cross-examination will be allowed,” Didier said. “However, people will be able to speak on it during the public comment section of the meeting.” 

Frederick said he will ask the City Council to delay any decision on the proposed parking lot until after an expected advisory referendum is put on the fall ballot. 

Opponents have already got 2,500 signatures to get the nonbinding referendum on the ballot, far surpassing the required 1,917 signatures. 

“As a City Council member, I would damn well pay attention to what the people think,” Frederick said. “I think we will win the vote by a lot.” 

The proposed referendum would ask Wheaton residents “Should the Wheaton City Council allow the Wheaton Park District to build a new parking lot across the street from the Cosley Zoo (east side of Gary Avenue), which was originally proposed as part of the Park District’s $49.4 million (in 2015 dollars) 2017 Master Plan to expand the Zoo to accommodate over 300,000 visitors per year?” 

Park District officials stepped away from that Master Plan after resident backlash and say they have no plans to expand zoo exhibits and activities. 

Residents have until Aug. 5 to file the referendum petition and signatures to get the measure on the ballot. Frederick said the petition and signatures may be filed as soon as July 1 to coincide with the issue going to City Council members. 

“It wasn’t that long ago the Park District was looking at a 258-space lot and additional zoo exhibits on the current lot. Now it is only 93 spaces,” Frederick said. “How long is that going to be true? How long until they want to expand again? I don’t think it’s going to be long.” 

Frederick noted that a real estate appraiser estimated that properties adjacent to the proposed zoo lot would see a 9 to 11 percent drop in property value, with properties as far as a quarter mile away seeing a 3 to 6 percent dip in property value. 

Another appraiser, who testified on behalf of the Park District, said there would be no drop in property values for homeowners adjacent to the new parking lot because of all the green space planned with the project. 

“Potential buyers will know there is a going to be a 93-space parking lot next to you, with the possibility it could be 258 spaces, and that the zoo could go from 150,000 annual visitors to 300,000,” Frederick said. “To say a parking lot wouldn’t adversely impact property values is ridiculous. People are not going to pay the same to buy a home there as if there were single-family homes (what the property is zoned for) or a park. 

“The Cosley Zoo Foundation is giving the Park District $2 million for the parking lot. The Park District doesn’t care about the impact on home values. They made a commitment to the Cosley Zoo Foundation.” 

Frederick said for there being months of evidence presented against the parking plan and for the issue to move forward is difficult to accept. 

“It is very frustrating and very unfair in my opinion. Even the chairman of the Planning and Zoning Board admitted they have never seen such a level of public outrage,” Frederick said. 

Neither the Cosley Zoo Foundation Board nor Michael Benard, executive director of the Wheaton Park District, could be reached for comment. 

 kbeese@chronicleillinois.com