City Council to Look at Rosewood Redesign

The long road for the Rosewood Beach redesign proposal may finally be at its end.

Rosewood Beach Redesign: The Story So Far

The plan that the park district board passed in August has recently been approved by both the Design Review and Natural Resource Commission.

On Monday it faces its final obstacle before construction can begin: the Highland Park City Council, who will discuss whether or not to approve the project at its meeting.

The Park District of Highland Park Board of Commissioners voted in August to approve the Rosewood Beach redesign proposal after over a year of intense planning, beach tours and sometimes heated public debate. 

In addition to the controversial interpretive center that has frequently been the sole component of the plan to provoke opposition from residents, the plan also includes a guard house, restrooms, concessions and a boardwalk.

In June, former City Councilman Steve Mandel said the City Council would sign off on the Park District's plan assuming it meets all land use ordinances the city has in place.

(Mandel has since been elected to the Lake County Board. The appointment of Patch columnist Sally Higginson to his seat will also occur Monday night).

"Whatever we have on our land use ordinance is what we have to look at," Mandel said. "It would have to not meet a standard in our city ordinance … to not vote for it."

City Councilman Paul Frank, on the other hand, said in June he was less sure about how he and other councilmen will vote should the proposal eventually land in the council's agenda.

"No one can say what the ultimate outcome is going to be," Frank said.

Assuming the City Council approves the plan, construction could begin in the summer of 2013. The total estimated cost for the project is $4,661,372.

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