Edgewater residents, businesses sue city of Chicago over Broadway zoning changes

A group of Edgewater residents are suing the city of Chicago over zoning changes meant to promote increased density along a nearly 2-mile stretch of Broadway.

The group, dubbed Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development, said the city violated property owners’ due process rights, in addition to city and state zoning requirements, in a complaint filed Monday in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Thirteen Edgewater residents and business owners are also plaintiffs.

The lawsuit comes about three months after the city approved a hotly contested development framework for Broadway, which included more than 20 ordinances impacting what could be built along the central commercial corridor. The ordinances cover a 1.5-mile stretch of Broadway and hundreds of properties.

The new zoning classification allows for buildings up to 80 feet and “a series of uses that are incompatible with the existing neighborhood,” according to the complaint, such as gas stations, hotels, large entertainment venues, recycling facilities and crematoriums.

The group is asking the court to revert the zoning to its previous classifications, invalidating the ordinances passed in October 2025.

A spokesperson for the city of Chicago said it hadn't yet been served the complaint, and that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The office of Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), whose ward includes the area, referred the Chicago Sun-Times to the Department of Law, which said it doesn't comment on pending litigation.

Manaa-Hoppenworth was a strong advocate for rezoning Broadway and previously said it would create a "more welcoming environment for developers and investors and business owners to consider Broadway."

In addition to reverting zoning changes on Broadway, Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development wants to see “a real planning process,” if the topic is revisited, Patricia Sharkey, the group’s president, said.

“The complaint that the community has had for over a year is that there was no study, and there was no planning,” Sharkey said. “[The city] jumped to zoning as their plan, and it came from Downtown instead of coming from the community.”

Since the Broadway “land use framework,” as it was called, was voted on by the Chicago Plan Commission in February 2025, it's drawn polarizing opinions from both Edgewater residents and urbanists around the city.

Some Edgewater residents have said it will worsen congestion, raise rents and force businesses to close. Neighbors also accused Manaa-Hoppenworth of ramming the framework through the city approval process without working with neighbors or issuing a city study on how the changes will impact the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, the measure drew support from residents and groups promoting affordable housing, business growth and mass transit, including housing expert Daniel Kay Hertz, who penned a book about gentrification in Lincoln Park.

The framework was endorsed last year by the Plan Commission 12-1, after two hours of public testimony, with most speakers in opposition. The commission also received about 450 pages of written comments before its meeting, with the majority supporting the proposal.

It then took months for the proposal to reach the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards — largely because of an issue pointed out in the new lawsuit.

The plaintiffs said they weren't given advance written notices about hearings for Broadway's upzoning and that a “lottery system” for public speakers at the city’s zoning committee meeting denied them the chance to testify about the changes.

Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th), the temporary zoning chairman, said during the committee meeting that the city met its obligations to notify property owners. Many notices posted along the street were torn down or defaced, but he said they were replaced.

Sharkey said the Edgewater community has a long history of community involvement, especially on Broadway. A community-driven process in 2006 produced the previous zoning changes on Broadway, but that process didn't happen this time around, she said.

Sharkey said Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development hopes to be in conversation with the city about any further changes to Broadway's rezoning. She said “nobody’s against development,” and parts of Broadway can handle more density. The issue is on the western side of Broadway, where lots aren’t as deep.

“This is an experiment that they are doing with our community, with no community input,” Sharkey said. “It's not representative democracy. It's not the way planning is supposed to be done.”

A hearing is set for March 13 at 9:30 a.m.