Evanston's dog beach will shut down indefinitely on Tuesday, Dec. 1, after a council committee unanimously rejected an $863,850 contract for an ADA-compliant entrance ramp.

The Administration and Public Works (A&PW) Committee turned down the design-build contract with John Keno & Company at its Monday, Sept. 28, meeting. Alders called the price tag too high and the design too complicated.

The decision marked the fourth time in two years that the council has reset or delayed ramp construction at the lakefront beach. The beach has been out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since it reopened in October 2022.

Four formal ADA complaints have been filed against the city over the beach's lack of accessible entry, Evanston Now reported. No lawsuit has been filed. Corporation Counsel Alex Ruggie told alders the federal government generally gives a two-year grace period to bring a facility into compliance. Evanston has exhausted that window.

Ruggie said the city's strongest legal defense would be having an executed contract before reopening the beach.

The rejected contract was based on a concept from GEI Consultants. It would have drawn on $750,000 in 2025 and 2026 project bonds and an additional $113,850 in 2027 bonds, according to city council records. The original request for proposals, advertised in May, carried a $650,000 budget.

Ald. Clare Kelly (1st Ward) pushed for a fresh start. She proposed the city issue a new RFP in December seeking a simpler, cheaper ramp design. Staff agreed to draft one.

"We've been talking about it for far too long," Kelly said. "I think we're now at a place where we can get this done quickly and in a far better way, both for the users, for the disabled community, for the environment, for dogs and for everyone else."

Kelly said she was confident the beach could reopen with a compliant ramp by Saturday, May 15, 2027.

Public Works Director Edgar Cano was less certain. He said the redesign would likely cost less than $863,850 but could not estimate how much. Army Corps of Engineers permitting for construction on Lake Michigan remains what he called an "outstanding" constraint.

In a staff memo, Cano, Project Manager Jason Krohn and City Engineer Lara Biggs wrote that they plan to return with a proposal for a ramp using a pier-style structure to reduce shoreline hardening, targeting the 2027 summer season.

Parks and Recreation Director Audrey Thompson told alders the beach already closes each winter because of ice and safety concerns. She recommended keeping it closed until a formal plan is in place.

The city's ADA Advisory Committee, chaired by Murphy Monroe, approved a recommendation on Thursday, Sept. 24, to close the beach until a ramp is built. Monroe told the Evanston Roundtable the beach "is illegal, and there is no other entity in Evanston that we would allow to stay open if it didn't allow a protected minority class to enter."

In August, a wheelchair-using resident filed an ADA grievance with the city, writing that without action they would be "forced" to file a complaint with the state's human rights department or sue in federal court. The resident was not identified by name.

Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th Ward) said reopening the beach once a formal plan exists, even before the ramp is built, could be revisited later. But Ald. Krissie Harris (2nd Ward) drew a hard line.

"I just want to be clear, because Wednesday, December 2, 2026, I don't want a dog on the beach," Harris said.

The A&PW Committee's last meeting of the year falls on Monday, Dec. 14. Cano told the Roundtable that voting on a new contract by that date would be "virtually impossible," noting the last design-build bid took five months to finalize.