Wheaton City Council Approves Contentious Cosley Zoo Parking Expansion

WHEATON, IL — After months of opposition from residents who live near Cosley Zoo, the Wheaton City Council has approved a proposal to add a lot to expand the zoo's parking on Gary Avenue. City Council members and Mayor Philip Suess voted 7-1 in favor of the proposal at Monday's council meeting.

Council member Scott Brown, who represents Wheaton's North District, was the sole dissenter, voting "absolutely and boldly no."

A group of residents spoke at the meeting to express their disapproval of the parking lot, which had been unanimously recommended by the Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board in early June.

Stacy Wecker, a longtime Wheaton resident, said she was one of a group who circulated petitions to get the issue put on the November ballot as a referendum question.

Wecker said "all eyes" were on Wheaton in this process and urged council members to postpone their vote.

“It is imperative that you seek and consider the wishes of your constituents," Wecker said.

Residents who oppose the parking lot expansion have raised concerns about flooding issues and pedestrian safety on Gary Avenue.

The lot expansion had been part of Cosley Zoo's 2017 master plan, which later rescinded by the Wheaton Park District amid resistance from resistance to what had been proposed as a more comprehensive zoo expansion.

Original plans called for 258 parking spaces, but that number was reduced to 93 parking spots over a footprint of one acre.

The concept also calls for the city to install a stoplight and crosswalk on Gary Avenue near the lot. The lot would have a fence around the parking area, and the lighting will be designed to meet the standards established by Dark Skies Initiatives, per park district documents.

Before the council's vote, Council Member Brown said, "The process by which the Cosley Zoo expansion has been taken has been and remains a mess. It has not been consensus building. It hasn’t.”

Brown added, "We are the ultimate representatives of the direction and the tone that the city is to go, and we take that guide from residents. There’s been enough voice, enough concern raised that beyond the legalities of failing standards, one, two and six... should be enough to give the council pause."

Mayor Suess said the city council had followed "the process" for approving the lot, which he referred to as a "zoning issue, not a policy issue."

He said the issue was under the park district's discretion.

“The park district has made tremendous modifications to this project," Suess said. "What we’re looking at today is dramatically different from where we started."