City of Chicago Hearings Coming for Emanuel Congregation/Fern Hill Proposed Development

With the City of Chicago hearings coming soon, it is crucial to make your voice heard about the Emanuel Congregation/Fern Hill Proposed Development.

Please email:

• CHICAGO PLAN COMMISSION (cpc@cityofchicago.org), which handles the Lakefront Protection Ordinance

• CHAIR OF ZONING, ALDERMAN GILBERT VILLEGAS (ward36@cityofchicago.org), who handles zoning changes

• MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (letterforthemayor@cityofchicago.org)

• ALDERWOMAN LENI MANAA-HOPPENWORTH (leni@the48thward.org)

Let them know your perspective on the Emanuel Congregation/Fern Hill Proposed Development at 5948, 5959, and 5965 N. Sheridan.

We suggest mentioning among your other concerns:

• NO to the B3-5 zoning change (impact of 603 units)

• YES to keeping 2006 Sheridan Down Zoning (6 stories in height RM5-5)

• NO to additional traffic/congestion gridlock

• YES to compliance with Lakefront Protection Ordinance

• NO to a west-side alley that is too narrow for delivery traffic, garbage collection, and neighbors accessing their properties.

• YES to the west side property with a front, functional, circular driveway to assist rideshares and deliveries.

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A Letter to the Editor from ASCO as published in the News Star on July 8th

Fern Hill, Emanuel plans will create very different future for neighborhood

When Emanuel Congregation and developer Fern Hill announced a joint redevelopment project last June (2025), it was presented as an opportunity to build a new synagogue and revitalize the properties at 5948, 5959, and 5965 N. Sheridan. Since then, ASCO, Association of Sheridan Condominium/Co-op Owners, has remained in contact with both Emanuel and Fern Hill regularly. The ASCO Board, together with the presidents of the nearby Malibu and Thorndale Beach North buildings, has met with the project team and participated in all community meetings. ASCO supports Emanuel’s desire to remain on Sheridan Road, and we deeply value their long-standing presence. Yet at the same time, we realize the details that have emerged point to a very different future for our neighborhood.

ASCO has four main concerns regarding this proposal: zoning/height, proposing a total of 603 multi-unit residences, problems with more congestion/traffic, and a limited number of parking spaces totaling 270 for both the east and west sides of Sheridan.

At most of the community meetings, Nick Anderson from Fern Hill, the developer, refers to our high-rises with multi-units built in the 1960s and 70s as justification for their proposed massive scale. What is conveniently left out is that these older buildings are exactly ‘why’ the six-story limit was created. Down- zoning was enacted specifically to prevent the very gridlock and strain we are facing today. For those unfamiliar with the term, “down-zoning” is a city action to lower the legally allowed height and density of future developments in order to protect a neighborhood from becoming overcrowded.

Sheridan Down-Zoning was developed through a collaborative effort between ASCO, the late Alderman Mary Ann Smith, legal counsel, and the community. Adopted by the Chicago City Council in 2006, it limits development along Sheridan Road to 47-60 feet (5-6 stories) under RM 5.5 zoning. This standard has been consistently respected since its adoption, adhered to by both developers and Alders. Ever since 2006, every development has followed this. Even the property (5948) that Fern Hill purchased from another developer was planned and approved to be six stories. Sheridan Road does not need to be, and should not be, changed to B3-5 zoning.

At  Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth’s third community meeting on June 24, Fern Hill announced that the proposed development will have 603 total units across both sides of Sheridan, yet only plans for 270 total parking spaces. When you factor in the 50 spaces reserved for Emanuel Congregation, that leaves just 220 parking spots for over 600 new households. The math simply does not work. There will be more people and vehicles, and it will be overwhelming. The lack of sufficient parking will force their new residents, as well as current locals, to compete for already scarce street parking.

Let’s look at the west side of Sheridan Road. CDOT (Chicago Department of Transportation) did not approve a curb cut in front of the building. The developer plans to put a cafe in front of the building. Imagine the daily reality of no dedicated driveway causing traffic problems on southbound Sheridan Road. Where will the stream of Amazon, FedEx, and UPS park? Will they double-park while leaving their trucks idle? Where do the rideshares stop for drop-offs and pick-ups? The answer is right in front of the building. ASCO and others have expressed concerns about the lack of a functional circular driveway in front of and/or around the building to remedy this problem.

ASCO is hoping Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth will give serious thought to the immense impact on Sheridan Road, both now and in future generations. The time to protect our neighborhood is now. The Alderwoman and her office staff count the online feedback forms they receive, and we need to ensure our concerns are on the official record.

Let’s stand together to protect the future of Sheridan Road.

Sandy Chaet
ASCO President

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Broadway Legal Update: Judge Dismisses ERRDs Case against City – Appeal Likely

On June 29, 2026, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Neil Cohen granted the City of Chicago’s Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit filed by Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development (ERRD) and 13 individual Edgewater businesses and property owners. The lawsuit challenges the City’s indiscriminate upzoning of properties on Broadway (and its cross streets) between Devon and Foster. Judge Cohen issued a 10-page opinion with his decision.

ERRD President Patricia Sharkey provided the following statement in response to this decision:

As an organization dedicated to Chicagoans’ right to participate in government decisions that directly affect their neighborhoods and their lives, we are shocked by this decision. 

Judge Cohen’s narrow reading of who is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard and the principles governing valid zoning decisions is contrary to 60 years of Illinois law – as well as the fundamental tenets of due process and fairness.

As stated by the Illinois Appellate Court in 2020:
“‘[N]otice’ is no casual word in the context of zoning matters. It refers to the constitutional due process rights of property owners to have a say in governmental decisions made about their own or neighboring properties. See Passalino v. City of Zion, 237 Ill. 2d 118, 124 (2010). Zoning laws tell citizens what they can and cannot do with their property. The idea that the government can change those rules without first giving notice to the interested public is antithetical to a free society and incompatible with the principles of due process, as well as the Illinois …Municipal Code.” Sullivan v. Village of Glenview, 2020 Ill. App (1st) 200142

Illinois statutes provide that “the principles of substantive and procedural due process apply at all stages of the decision-making and review of all zoning decisions.” Illinois Municipal Code Section 11-13-25 

Yet the Judge here ruled that neighboring property owners — and even owners of properties that were directly upzoned with no notice whatsoever — have no rights and no recourse in the courts. This is simply wrong.

ERRD and its thirteen Co-Plaintiffs will be evaluating their next steps, but this is too important to the lives of Edgewater residents and businesses for this narrow view of citizens’ rights to be the last word.

An appeal is likely. Stay tuned.

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