locust house

1110 Locust Avenue in Huntsville. The Alabama Supreme Court in January ruled: "The zoning-enforcement coordinator's interpretation allowed the house in question to be built approximately 20 feet closer to the street than other existing houses on the street." (cstephens@al.com)

The lawsuit stemming from a house in Huntsville being built outside city zoning codes has reached settlement with payments made to the complaining neighbor.

Richard and Betty Chesnut first raised the issue of the house at 1100 Locust Avenue being built too close to the road and out of step with surrounding homes in 2013. The Chesnuts' complaints were rebuffed at every level until the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in their favor in January, overturning the decisions by lower courts.

The city of Huntsville paid the Chesnuts $60,000 to settle the claim while builder Denton Niemitz Realty LLC paid the couple another $15,000 to settle the suit for a total settlement of $75,000, according to city documents.

The settlements end a three-year legal battle waged by the Chesnuts over a $725,000 house with 3,000 square feet built 20 feet too close to the road.

Trey Riley, attorney for the city of Huntsville, said the Supreme Court's ruling was a surprise after the series of victories for the city in the lower courts.

"This was a result from the Supreme Court that I will say was not anticipated," Riley told AL.com on Wednesday. "I would note that the board of adjustments decided differently and, of course, the circuit court to which it was appealed decided differently and the court of civil appeals decided differently.

"The interpretation that the city made was, I guess you could say, affirmed by every level of tribunal it appeared before until we got to the Supreme Court. To say it was unexpected is to put it lightly."

The city originally gave Niemitz the go-ahead in January 2013 to build the house 30 feet from the road even while surrounding homes are set back an average of 50 feet.

Richard Chesnut first voiced his concern with the builder when the home was being framed. He took his concerns to the city's board of zoning adjustment, then to the Madison County Circuit Court, then the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals before, ultimately, the Alabama Supreme Court.

Chesnut told AL.com during the summer that his concern over the house was that it affected his property value.

Following the Supreme Court's decision, the city granted Niemitz a variance, which allowed the house to remain.

Chesnut protested that variance but the settlement, according to a resolution approved by the city council in August, includes allowing the variance to remain in place.

Riley said city officials are considering changes to zoning codes to avoid similar situations in the future.