Edgewater neighborhood group sues to stop Broadway upzoning plan approved by Chicago City Council
It has been months since the Chicago City Council approved a plan to update the way a roughly two-mile stretch of Broadway in the Edgewater and Uptown neighborhoods is zoned.
Now, a group of homeowners long opposed to the change are suing to undo it.
The new zoning rules on Broadway allow for mixed-use buildings of up to 80 feet. Buildings that fit that description have been getting built in the affected area of Edgewater and Uptown for years — this change just removed the need for developers to get a one-off zoning exception approved by alders, which can take months.
The plan is officially called the Broadway Land Use Framework. Alderpeople Angela Clay (46th), Matt Martin (47th), and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) are behind the plan to change the zoning along Broadway between Devon and Montrose avenues. Speaking to CBS News Chicago on Thursday, Manaa-Hoppenworth emphasized what she said was a need for more affordable housing.
The plan calls for changing the zoning on Broadway between Devon Avenue and Winona Street to B3-3 B3-5, allowing for higher-density residential development such as mixed-use mid-rise buildings with a maximum height of 80 feet. The zoning would allow for restaurants and most retail.
Between Winona Street and Montrose Avenue, the zoning would be C1-5, which would allow for more types of businesses than B3-5 — including bars, liquor stores, and tattoo parlors. C1-5 zoning also allows for new buildings of up to 80 feet.
The area zoned C1-5 would also involve a pedestrian street designation, which published reports note would improve walkability and block curb cuts for car-oriented businesses such as new strip malls.
The group Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development claims its right to due process was violated in the development of the plan, and is suing.
A vocal group of residents has long claimed the city failed to consult with the community for the upzoning plans, which have been publicly in the works for years.
"The DPD process in Edgewater has been superficial and exclusionary," the website Save Edgewater says. "A 'downtown-style' vision for Broadway was developed without a residents' advisory board or meaningful engagement from the people who actually live here."
Save Edgewater also questions the city's claims that Edgewater is experiencing rising rents and gentrification, and that more housing units and higher density will lower rents — pointing out that some of the highest-density areas of Chicago are also the most expensive.
The 48th Ward website counters that no buildings under the new zoning would be tall enough to create an urban canyon effect, and emphasized that the plan calls for more legally protected affordable housing.
The neighbors' group endorsed upzoning on the east side of Broadway alongside the Red Line, but said the west side of Broadway should not be upzoned — as taller, high-density buildings would dwarf the smaller buildings to the west.
As to the lawsuit, CBS News Chicago has reached out to the city for comment. The city's Department of Law told the Chicago Sun-Times it has yet actually to be served a lawsuit.