Izzy Wise, owner of 120 Market St., has filed suit over the property's designation under the new Form Based Code.
The Chancery Court complaint is against the city of Chattanooga and the City Council.
The property, where a Buffalo Wild Wings operates under a long-term lease, got a commercial designation for the front portion and a residential status for the rear fronting Cherry Street.
Mr. Wise said he wanted to have the entire property commercial with a four-story height limitation as was approved by the Planning Commission.
He noted that in 2009 he got a zoning change that took the property from two different zones to a single C-3 designation.
The suit notes that City Councilman Chris Anderson wanted the residential designation for the rear portion, citing concerns of neighbors.
The complaint says it was unfair to deny commercial zoning along Cherry Street to the Wise property, while the property across Cherry Street at the Museum Bluff Condos allows some commercial.
The suit, that was assigned to Chancellor Pam Fleenor, was filed by attorneys Michael Alston and Andrew Hodgson.
For many years, a car wash was at 120 Market St.