On November 24, 2025, the Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood group formally notified the City of Raleigh of their intent to sue.
(see the notification letter in full below)
If you wish to help with funding, contact the group here: GlenwoodBrooklynFund@gmail.com
If you are one of the nearly 2,000 people who signed the petition opposing this rezoning you can help one more time with a donation!
Our readers may remember Z-12-25, the recent controversial rezoning request to build a 30-story building at the intersection of West and Peace Streets without any transitions to protect the nearby historic Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood.
The rezoning request was approved by a vote of 6 to 2, with Councilors Harrison and Jones voting against the request.
Now a group of residents from Glenwood-Brooklyn are taking legal action to reverse the rezoning and have notified the City as well as the developer.
Here is a summary of the main points:
- The Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood group has hired The Brough Law Firm, PLLC to challenge this rezoning case. The firm is investigating what we believe are several defects in how the City has handled the situation. We plan to file a lawsuit to let the courts examine the City’s conduct.
- We do not oppose development in the City or on these particular parcels. But we do not believe the City Council gave fair and careful consideration to the impact this rezoning will have on our properties and the Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood, generally. We understand that these parcels will inevitably be developed. We simply want to make sure that it is reasonably designed to mitigate its impacts on our homes and neighborhood and more reasonably balances our interests with the developer’s.
- It’s hard to describe the sheer magnitude of the building size that is now permissible. Standing at the end of our neighborhood, it would completely replace your eastern horizon. Imagine a 30-story high-rise that replaces a horizon. If it were built right now, it would be the third-tallest, and almost certainly the longest, building in the City.
- The City has laws and policies that are designed to create gentle transitions from slow, quiet neighborhoods to the busy downtown area. That’s just an entry-level understanding of land use and zoning principles. We believe that the City has ignored basic principles and is overrepresenting developer interests.
- There is no precedent for this rezoning at all. You can’t find a single high-rise this close to a historic residential neighborhood across the state. They don’t do this in Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, or anywhere else in Raleigh. Our neighborhood is becoming a landmark for poor city planning.
More details will be shared as they become available, so stay tuned…
The Demand Letter & Litigation Hold Notice re. Case No. Z-12-25 are below:
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