The City of Greensboro Legal Department Unleashes Full Force Against Its Own Residents
In an effort to overcome strong neighborhood opposition, the City of Greensboro is pursuing an aggressive and cynical strategy: outspend the opposition using superior financial resources — funded by Greensboro taxpayers. That is, be the bully.
- Hired a high-powered law firm based in Philadelphia to represent the city
- Defending a rezoning that benefits a single private developer from Burlington
- Using unlimited taxpayer resources to outspend a grassroots neighborhood group
- Developer has a prior dispute history with the city — including receivership-related conflicts in 2024–2025 that nearly resulted in legal action
- Fighting against two of its own council members who voted no — including now-Mayor Abuzuaiter
- A community organization supported entirely by donations from neighbors
- 14 neighboring homeowners willing to stand up and be named plaintiffs in court
- Clear, single objective: preserve the property's R-3 single-family zoning
- Backed by the votes of Marikay Abuzuaiter (now Mayor) and Zack Matheny (then-District 3 councilman) — both voted NO
- Supported by the city's own Staff Report, planning notes, and Comprehensive Plan language that confirm incompatibility
The City of Greensboro is committing public resources to defend a rezoning decision that benefits one private out-of-town developer at the expense of thousands of established residents. Every dollar spent defending this case is a dollar not spent on city services.
The developer has a prior history with the City of Greensboro that includes disputes related to receivership work in 2024–2025 — conflicts that nearly resulted in legal action. Yet the city is now spending taxpayer money to defend a project tied to this same developer.
Both now-Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter and then-District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny voted NO on this rezoning. The city is now spending public money to defend a decision its own elected leaders opposed — including the person who now leads the city as Mayor.
The Council Members Who Stood With New Irving Park
At the April 15, 2025 City Council hearing, two council members broke from the majority to oppose the rezoning — and each delivered detailed, specific, on-the-record testimony explaining exactly why. Their words are now part of the legal record in Guilford Superior Court.
As a resident of the neighborhood, Abuzuaiter personally attended multiple community meetings, independently researched nearby density data (documenting nearly 700 existing multi-family units within a half-mile), and drew a clear distinction between this project and prior approved developments. She is now the Mayor of Greensboro — yet the city is spending her constituents' tax dollars to defend a decision she opposed.
As New Irving Park's own district representative, Matheny walked the property, attended community meetings, researched the planning department's own notes, and presented a detailed slide analysis showing the project failed every relevant standard — including the developer's own previous work. He stated clearly he would not support this in any neighborhood in the city.
What Is Happening at 1201 Pisgah Church Road
New Irving Park is a serene, family-friendly community with homes of every size — from starter homes to larger residences — along with a middle school, townhomes, parks, a lake, and easy access to everything Greensboro offers. It is the kind of neighborhood people work for years to join.
At the entrance to our neighborhood sits 1201 Pisgah Church Road: a single undeveloped 0.86-acre lot. Every property surrounding it is zoned R-3 — the city's lowest-density single-family classification. That has been true for decades. Until now.
A developer from Burlington, NC sought to rezone that single lot to CD-RM-12, allowing up to 10 attached luxury townhomes — a fourfold increase in density on one parcel, creating an isolated spot-zoning "island" that benefits one developer while undermining the established character of the neighborhood.
The city's own staff report confirms the parcel is surrounded entirely by single-family homes and city-owned drainage space. This is a textbook case of illegal spot zoning.
On April 15, 2025, the Greensboro City Council voted 6–2 to approve the rezoning over the objections of approximately 200 residents who filled the council chamber. Now, rather than reconsider, the city has hired an out-of-state law firm to fight the neighbors it is supposed to serve.
Friends of New Irving Park has one clear objective: restore the property's single-family R-3 zoning and send a message that neighborhoods have a right to be heard.
"This would place the owners of any established cluster of single-family homes anywhere in the City in jeopardy of having dense multifamily dwellings inserted onto a single small lot for the economic benefit of one person."
Case No. 25CV012515-400 · June 10, 2025
- 0.86 acres — size of the rezoned lot
- 4× density increase — from 3 to 12 units/acre
- R-3 zoning on every surrounding private parcel
- No affordable, senior, or ADA units proposed
- Philadelphia law firm funded by taxpayers to defend it
- Now-Mayor Abuzuaiter voted against it
"The city now appears prepared to commit substantial public resources to defend its decision — one that narrowly benefits a private, out-of-town developer — while the opposition is a grassroots neighborhood group supported entirely by donations."
Why This Rezoning Is Wrong for New Irving Park
Our opposition is not about resisting all growth. Greensboro needs more housing. But responsible development means the right project in the right place — and this is the wrong project, on the wrong lot, with the wrong precedent for every neighborhood in the city.
North Carolina law defines spot zoning as rezoning a single small parcel, owned by one person, surrounded by a uniformly-zoned area, to relieve it from restrictions its neighbors bear. The legal standing for this rezoning is dubious — and fourteen homeowners are now pressing that case in Guilford Superior Court.
Both proposed driveways access a single southbound lane on Willoughby Boulevard — the same road used for Hall Middle School pickup every afternoon. A retired civil engineer testified that the buildable area after setbacks is less than half an acre, making 8–10 units physically implausible and the traffic design unsafe.
A creek originating at 1201 Pisgah Church Road flows directly into Buffalo Lake. Testimony showed dramatic sediment accumulation since 2008 — the lake is barely recognizable. Neighborhood stormwater infrastructure was designed for low-density use and is already overwhelmed.
The city's own GSO 2040 Comprehensive Plan requires development be "in scale with the neighborhood." Eight attached townhomes on 0.86 acres at the entrance to an established single-family neighborhood fails this standard — by the city's own written rules.
Greensboro is spending public money on a Philadelphia law firm to defend a decision that benefits a single private developer with a troubled history with the city — including receivership disputes in 2024–2025. This is an extraordinary misuse of public resources.
If this rezoning stands, any small lot in any single-family neighborhood in Greensboro can be spot-zoned for dense multifamily housing at any time. The legal distinction between R-3 and RM-12 becomes meaningless everywhere. This case is about every neighborhood — not just ours.
New Irving Park: Already the Model Greensboro Is Building Toward
This is not a "not in my backyard" neighborhood. New Irving Park was master-planned from the beginning to include every type of housing — and it does. Apartments, townhomes, starter homes, larger homes, senior living, a school, parks, and trails. We already have the density the city is asking for — placed properly and by design.
Mendenhall Middle School is part of the neighborhood. Families choose New Irving Park for its walkable, school-centered community.
Sherwood Swim & Tennis Club, bike trails, parks, Buffalo Lake — quality of life infrastructure that took decades to build and deserves protection.
Within half a mile: Village Lofts (97 units), Finley Ridge (16), Ginger Lee Way (12), Woodland Park (184), The Point (144), The Reserve (106). We are not a single-use neighborhood.
Battleground Avenue shopping, Moses Cone Hospital, and easy access to downtown Greensboro and all major corridors.
Tree-lined streets, Buffalo Lake, natural drainage corridors, and the wooded character of Willoughby Boulevard — one of Greensboro's most visually distinctive neighborhoods.
Families who have lived here 30, 40, even 50+ years — people who chose this neighborhood and trusted that its established zoning would be honored.
The Lawsuit — Where Things Stand
What Was Filed
On June 10, 2025, fourteen New Irving Park homeowners filed a civil complaint against the City of Greensboro in Guilford Superior Court. They are represented by D. Marsh Prause, Allman Spry Leggett Crumpler & Horn, P.A. of Winston-Salem, NC.
Four causes of action: illegal spot zoning, constitutional due process violations, a preliminary and permanent injunction to block all construction permits, and attorneys' fees under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 6-21.7. The city is now being represented by an out-of-state firm paid for by Greensboro taxpayers.
- Case No. 25CV012515-400
- Court Guilford County Superior Court, NC
- Filed June 10, 2025
- Defendant City of Greensboro
- Plaintiffs 14 New Irving Park homeowners
- City's Defense Philadelphia law firm — taxpayer funded
- Status Active · Preliminary injunction pending
What the Plaintiffs Are Asking For
- → Court declaration that the rezoning constitutes illegal spot zoning under NC law
- → Reinstatement of R-3 zoning for 1201 Pisgah Church Road
- → Preliminary injunction blocking all construction permits while the case is pending
- → Attorneys' fees taxed to the City of Greensboro if it acted outside its legal authority
Why the Case Is Strong
- ✓ City's own Staff Report confirms R-3 surrounds the parcel on all sides
- ✓ City's own Comp Plan requires "scale" compatibility — this project fails it
- ✓ City's own planning notes state 8 townhomes "is not compatible with single family"
- ✓ Now-Mayor Abuzuaiter and Councilman Matheny both voted no and created a strong dissenting record
The City Has a Philadelphia Law Firm.
We Have You.
Friends of New Irving Park is a grassroots neighborhood organization supported entirely by the community. We have no outside funding, no political backing, and no city resources. What we have is a strong case — and neighbors who care. Your support keeps this fight going.
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