Proposed Cosley Zoo Expansion Meets Resistance From Some Residents

WHEATON, IL — Some Wheaton residents are voicing resistance to a plan to expand Cosley Zoo that includes adding a parking lot near the Pioneer Terrace subdivision. The Wheaton Park District (WPD) has a meeting planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the proposal and a number of residents are set to attend in protest.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 1,700 Wheaton residents had signed a petition opposing the parking lot. Additionally, a website called Protect Wheaton's Green Spaces has been created to outline resident concerns, which include flooding, increased taxes, pedestrian safety and air pollution, among others.

WPD recently shared an updated expansion plan that includes a section with responses to some of the concerns raised by residents.

The proposed expansion is part of Cosley Zoo's Master Plan, which was approved in 2017. It was estimated the plan will cost just over $49 million in 2015 dollars, per WPD documents.

The plan "envisions new, immersive exhibits, more enjoyable experiences for visitors with greater emphasis on the zoo’s conservation and animal welfare initiatives — ultimately, making Cosley Zoo the most popular and successful attraction in DuPage County and increasing its reach in the region," according to the Cosley Zoo website.

Among the proposed features are:

• A barn learning center
• A new entry with more food options, a gift shop and a fountain
• A nocturnal animal exhibit
• An indoor/outdoor exhibit spotlighting Illinois's rivers and their wildlife
• An aviary and new feature with bears, wolves and cougars
• Multi-level, climate controlled biomes
• A two-story educational center with classrooms and event spaces

In its recent update, Cosley Zoo wrote,

"Before any future zoo exhibits can be considered, our first task is to alleviate Cosley Zoo’s parking and therefore, public access limitations. Visitor access is significantly limited by the zoo’s 80-space parking lot that often reaches full capacity between April and October. On average, the parking lot capacity is reached 137 days every year, requiring us to turn visitors away. To provide increased visitor access, the Wheaton Park District allocated funds to acquire vacated residential properties on the east side of Gary Avenue to develop a new parking lot."

The proposed lot would include:

• 150 parking spaces
• A planting buffer
• Perimeter fencing
• A crosswalk to permit pedestrians to traverse Gary Avenue

It's proposed that the lot would be open during Cosley Zoo's regular hours and for "occasional evening events," the update from Cosley said.

Officials are also proposing "minimal LED lighting." Cosley's update noted that the City of Wheaton is independently planning to add turn lanes and a traffic signal at Gary Avenue as part of the wider Gary Avenue Improvement Project.

Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, several residents expressed concerns over the proposed plans and reached out to Patch via email.

Liz Westergaard, who has lived with her family in Pioneer Terrace since 1988, says she's concerned about flooding, among other things.

Westergaard told Patch her family's yard would be one yard away from the proposed parking lots.

“The area they want to put a parking lot on is 10 feet above our levels of grass,” Westergaard said. She added that nearby Northside Park "floods all the time."

According to Cosley Zoo's update, permeable pavers will help contain and divert flooding from nearby homes and redirect stormwater to Winfield Creek.

John Patterson, a 40-year resident in the 1800 block of Cherry St., told Patch he believes the pavers may “slow down water going into the storm sewer," but that "nothing will take away car oils and whatever leaks from a car 100 percent away."

He explained that his "only vested interest is to protect open lands.”

“Wow, we’re taking open space and then putting a parking lot," Patterson said.

Both Patterson and Westergaard said they believe the planned expansion goes against the mission of Cosley Zoo.

Patterson said, "They talk about lifelong conservation, but yet one of the exhibits would be ‘the wilds of Illinois’ bears and wolves and cougars and bison."

He said, "I don’t think that those types of animals should be in a park district zoo."

Westergaard said she's concerned that the Cosley proposal bills animal features as exhibits.

"It’s almost exploitation of animals because they’re just exhibits," she said.

The Cosley Zoo website states that the zoo aims to "create connections between people and animals that will inspire lifelong conservation of the natural world." Cosley's parking proposal update asserts that "increasing visitor access will further that mission."

Patterson told Patch he would prefer Cosley Zoo to keep its small, traditional nature.

He said he's already seen Cosley Zoo change over the years to become more focused on profit on expansion.

“They want to turn this into one of the top sightseeing events for people in DuPage County, but it’s funded by the Wheaton Park District taxpayers," he said.

Patterson said he recalls one Christmas Eve in 1994 when Cosley Zoo's former manager, Jerry Douglas, opened up the zoo to let Patterson and his visiting family members have a special night.

Since then, Patterson's family has made it a tradition to visit Cosley Zoo during the holidays.

"We still talk about that Christmas Eve," he said.

Wheaton Park District Executive Director Mike Benard told Patch Wednesday morning via email that the updated expansion plan "holds all statements on this topic that can be attributed to me or the Cosley Zoo Director."