Judge dismisses injunction request against Jefferson Park proposal

Opponents of a proposed storage facility and housing development for the southwest corner Northwest Highway and Milwaukee Avenue were dealt a major blow late last week when a judge dismissed a request for temporary restraining order on the zoning approval process. The suit, filed by a Jefferson Park neighborhood organization, alleged that the zoning approval process had been unlawful. The Neighbors for Affordable Housing in Jefferson Park group published an update on Facebook following the defeat, citing that the judge shot down the effort because the suit did not present an emergency or “irreparable injury.”

However, opponents of the seven-story, 100-unit mixed-user still have thousands of dollars in their war chest. In recent weeks, the group Northwest Side Unite raised nearly $20,000 between an online crowdfunding campaign and other fundraising efforts. The group claimed that it would use these funds to fuel its legal campaign against the proposed development at 5050 N. Northwest Highway.

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However, the attorney for Northwest Side Unite tells DNAinfo that the result from the first court hearing “wasn't unexpected.” While the proposal is cleared to be presented to the City Council, the group tells DNAinfo that it plans to continue fighting the proposal even after it clears the city’s zoning committee.

Last week, Alderman Arena responded to the lawsuit and the critics to the proposed affordable housing development at the corner in a Facebook post, stating that he “won't be bullied or discouraged from fighting for safe, accessible, reasonably priced housing for people with disabilities and those who bravely served our nation.”

• Jeff Park Storage Facility’s Zoning Request Can Move Forward, Judge Rules [DNAinfo]
• Alderman responds to lawsuit from Jefferson Park residents [Curbed Chicago]