EDGEWATER — A group of neighbors and business owners are seeking to overturn a judge’s dismissal of their lawsuit over the city’s recent upzoning of Broadway in Edgewater and Uptown.
In June, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Neil Cohen dismissed a lawsuit brought against the city by the group Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development over the upzoning of Broadway from Montrose to Devon avenues.
The City Council approved the upzoning in October 2025, which reclassifies the area’s zoning to allow for taller, denser buildings and permit additional business uses.
The neighbors alleged this upzoning violated their due process rights as well as city and state rezoning requirements by not properly notifying owners whose buildings would be rezoned or those whose buildings fall within 250 feet of the rezoned area. They also argued that they were improperly denied the opportunity to speak at a public hearing about the rezoning, according to the lawsuit.
In March, the city asked the court to dismiss the case, which Cohen ultimately did. The judge ruled that the Edgewater neighbors and property owners who brought the lawsuit failed to show how they were prejudiced or deprived of their “constitutionally protectable property interests.”
In an appeal brief filed Friday, the neighbors said Cohen “ignored 60 years of Illinois zoning law” by dismissing their case and saying they had no standing to challenge the zoning rights of neighboring properties.
Cohen also ignored the “fundamental problems” the neighbors had with how the city conducted its zoning committee hearing, at which the committee members approved the zoning changes but limited the amount of time the public could speak about the proposal, the plaintiffs wrote in their appeal.
A copy of the group’s full appellate brief is below.
Pat Sharkey, president of Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development, said should the Broadway upzoning stand, it would remake the Broadway corridor from “a dense, thriving and diverse neighborhood business district into a slick high-rise canyon” by targeting 80 percent of buildings along Broadway for demolition.
“And the City rushed to do this while denying basic due process to directly affected residential and business property owners,” Sharkey wrote. “That decision cannot be allowed to stand. [The neighbors’ group] and its Co-Plaintiffs intend to stay in this battle both to protect our businesses and homes, and to tell Downtown bureaucrats and politicians that they cannot arrogantly disregard Chicagoans’ constitutional rights.”
The city’s Department of Law said it’s aware of the appeal.
“The City does not comment on pending litigation,” spokesperson Kristen Cabanban said.
Broadway at Bryn Mawr Avenue, in Edgewater, on April 14, 2025 Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The upzoning of Broadway sparked intense neighborhood debate in Edgewater last year.
Officials who backed the plan said it was intended to create more housing and business opportunities on a corridor that abuts the Red Line and in an area that has seen housing prices spike and gentrification concerns increase. Those in support included the three alderpeople whose wards cover the area: Angela Clay (46th), Matt Martin (47th) and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th).
A group of Edgewater neighbors organized against the proposal by hiring an attorney and paying for two billboards in the neighborhood to direct people to their website, SaveEdgewater.com. Those neighbors are behind the lawsuit against the city.
Other neighbors who were in favor of the changes launched a digital campaign to advocate for the upzoning, started petitions to voice support to the zoning committee and made satirical flyers lampooning the opposition effort.
Neighbors of Edgewater & Uptown, one group supporting the Broadway upzoning, say the changes make it easier to build more homes and businesses in one of the city’s most transit-rich neighborhoods.
“While we are not surprised by this appeal, we are disappointed that a small and unrepresentative group of our neighbors are continuing their attempts to undo the results of a transparent and democratic public process,” said Neville Hemming, president of Neighbors of Edgewater & Uptown, in a statement. “This framework has been discussed, debated, and voted on. At a time when Chicago faces a housing shortage, it’s time to move forward with a community vision that supports more homes, thriving local businesses, and a more vibrant Broadway Corridor.”
ERRD – Appeal – Opening Brief – Final – FSDownload
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