Neighborhood Lawyers up Over Incoming Tower

Locals intend to sue over West at Peace project. 

A complaint aimed at halting—or reshaping—the West at Peace development officially landed in Wake County Superior Court Dec. 5.

Backed by The Brough Law Firm, three residents of the historic Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood intend to sue the City of Raleigh and Raleigh Development Company (RDC), alleging that City Council improperly approved the controversial project’s rezoning in the fall.

City Council voted in October to greenlight the rezoning that made West at Peace possible. While many city planning documents recommend a 3- to 12-story height limit near established neighborhoods, the approved plan allows the project to rise 240 feet at the north end and 360 feet at the south end—roughly 25 and 27 stories, respectively.

The Glenwood-Brooklyn group argues the rezoning approval crossed the City’s own planning guardrails.

In a Nov. 24 letter to the Raleigh City Attorney and RDC’s legal counsel, the residents’ attorneys outlined their concerns, arguing RDC’s special height waiver was not properly reviewed. They also point to the City’s earlier rejection of Case Z-54-22—a nearly identical rezoning request from RDC for the same property in 2023—as evidence that the latest approval is legally vulnerable.

The lawsuit further alleges the rezoning violates local guidance on building-height transitions, amounting to illegal spot zoning, and raises questions about possible statutory conflicts of interest tied to City Council’s review of the waiver and final vote.

Raleigh Neighbors United’s Roy Attride is one of the three Glenwood-Brooklyn residents named in the suit. He’s been following the project since RDC first submitted a proposal in 2022.

“The lawsuit is about the fact that we feel the City cut across its own processes and its plans to approve this excessive development so close to a historic neighborhood that’s supposed to have protections,” says Attride. “Once you cut across those plans here, it means you could do it pretty much anywhere.”

Attride stresses he isn’t antidevelopment—he acknowledges Raleigh is “in a housing crunch”—but says the scale of West at Peace doesn’t fit its surroundings. Beyond its height, the project would stretch more than 775 feet, nearly three city blocks, potentially blocking views and casting shadows or glare across parts of Glenwood-Brooklyn, depending on the time of day.

As in previous appeals to City Council and RDC, Attride says he still hopes for a negotiated outcome—one that lowers the height and better responds to the neighborhood.

RDC, meanwhile, has published project materials emphasizing what it describes as significant separation, with “the tallest sections set farthest from existing homes.” The developer also points to West Street, existing mixed-use buildings, the railroad corridor, and tree canopy as buffers between the project and nearby neighborhoods.

In addition to the lawsuit, other Glenwood-Brooklyn residents are crowdfunding to support separate efforts to protect the neighborhood. Whether those efforts will slow, reshape or stop West at Peace remains to be seen.