City Council members are scheduled to make decisions this week on the controversial Riverwoods housing development on Woodstock’s east side, from annexation to rezonig to preliminary plat approval. To accommodate an expected big crowd, council’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday has been moved to the Opera House, rather than Council Chambers in City Hall. […]
By Lydia LaGue news@thewoodstockindependent.com Artspace would bring a potential residential work space for artists in Woodstock, and the city’s Arts Commission brought interested residents together last week to talk about it. “We know how important arts and culture are to communities,” Wendy Holmes, senior vice president of Artspace Consulting, said during a public meeting last […]
By Lydia LaGue news@thewoodstockindependent.com In the second half of 2023, Anne-Marie Whitmore Lenzini became the new chairwoman of the Arts Commission after former City Councilwoman Wendy Piersall resigned when she moved. The commission also welcomed new members Julie Miller, Mark Murray, Barbara Bundick, and Bethany Fritz. With existing members Susan Stelford and John Hegner, the […]
At the end of a four-hour public hearing that involved several warnings about “inappropriate” conduct by people in the nearly full City Council chambers, only two of six Plan Commission members voted to recommend a new 320-unit housing development on Woodstock’s east side. Emotions ran high as officials from Lennar Homes explained their plan and […]
Lydia LaGue news@thewoodstockindependent.com The Woodstock Arts Commission will extend the deadline for proposals of an art installation at the city’s first traffic roundabout. During their June meeting last week, commission members reviewed three submissions they received by the May 26 deadline. Two come from Woodstock artists and one from a Chicago artist. The commission reviewed […]
Renovation of the Old Courthouse Center should be complete by mid-July to allow an opening in early-to mid-August for the new commercial tenants, the Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission was told. “We’re still on track as far as I can tell,” City Planner Darrell Moore told commissioners during their meeting last week. “It’s looking very good.” […]
Getting rejected by the Woodstock Plan Commission might have been the best thing that could have happened to the plan to redevelop the former Die Cast factory site. That was the consensus last week at the City Council meeting before a special use zoning permit was approved for Chicago Hubs Realty, which the council chose […]
By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com Pickleball was batted around during a special meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission this month. Woodstock currently has indoor pickleball courts at the Woodstock Recreation Center, but it was outdoor pickleball that was discussed at the May 5 meeting. Residents in the Olson Park neighborhood came in numbers to comment […]
In a sharp contrast to earlier City Council meetings involving the sale of cannabis in Woodstock, last week’s approval of zoning for such a dispensing business came with no discussion. The request of Six Labs Inc. of Chicago for a special use permit at the former miniature golf business at 1411 S. Eastwood Drive was […]
By Eileen Millard news@the woodstockindependent.com Building senior housing as part of a proposed development of the former Die Cast factory site has some strong support despite a negative recommendation from the Woodstock Plan Commission. County Board member Lou Ness voiced her support during the public comments section of last week’s City Council meeting. And Mayor […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
