Shorewood board pauses appeal by George Washington Lodge over denied occupancy permit

The Village of Shorewood Board of Appeals on Dec. 11, 2025, voted unanimously to adjourn an appeal by George Washington Lodge No. 337 of the zoning administrator’s denial of a commercial occupancy permit for 4121 N. Wilson Drive so the board can review a missing Oct. 20, 2025, response and related exhibits before issuing a ruling.

The dispute centers on how the village’s zoning code classifies the lodge’s planned activity. Applicant counsel Debbie Tomczak told the board the narrow, tri‑level building (about 4,400 square feet on a site just over a half‑acre) is best suited to a mix of office and small event‑venue uses and that classifying the project as “community assembly” with Shorewood’s 20‑foot locational restriction would leave only about 10 feet of usable depth from the primary façade, effectively preventing the proposed reuse. “A picture is worth 1,000 words,” Tomczak told the board while walking through site plans and floor layouts.

Village counsel (identified in the record as Attorney Baer) urged the opposite interpretation. Citing the village zoning exhibits and printouts from the lodge’s own website, he argued the code…