A home developer bought the house next door to an Austin couple in January 2021, on a street where the deed restrictions allowed one one-story home per lot. He went door to door for signatures to drop the one-story rule, telling owners, the couple’s lawsuit said, that he wanted a 3,500-square-foot two-story home for his family. The plans he filed with the city showed 5,108 square feet, reaching into a 10-foot side setback. A Travis County judge ruled his signatures fell short, and the ruling held on appeal in January 2026.
The Treadwell subdivision’s restrictions allow “only one one-story single family dwelling unit” per lot and no house nearer than 10 feet to an inside property line. The husband next door testified that most homes ran 1,500 to 2,500 square feet and dated from the 1950s, and that the developer told him in February 2021 he planned a 3,500-square-foot home.
The developer filed his amendment, with 23 signatures, in the county property records. He filed plans in September 2021, and the old house came down that fall. On October 5 the couple’s lawyer asked him to honor the setback and build a “more reasonably-sized structure.” He declined, calling the letter premature because no permit had issued. The permit came October 26, and by November wooden foundation forms were up…