Remodeling project goes to court

The Town of Saukville has filed suit against a Spring Green couple in Ozaukee County Circuit Court, saying they built an apartment over a garage, creating a second dwelling on the property in violation of town ordinances.

According to the civil complaint:

Reed Horton submitted plans in 2015 to replace a garage structure at 3160 Highview Road, where the couple also has restored a main house. The floor plans of the garage show a second floor “bonus room” and bathroom. The purpose of the structure, the plans stated, was for “storage” and would be built at a cost of $25,000.

In September 2015, the Hortons told the town Plan Commission that he hoped to make the bonus room a living space. The next month, commissioners denied the request for a living space but agreed to allow it to be used as a studio by Jeanne Horton as long as a kitchen would not be included.

In March 2017, town Building Inspector Walter Grotelueschen visited the site and found a kitchen had been installed. According to the civil complaint, it included a full-size refrigerator, double oven, gas cooktop, upper and lower kitchen cabinets, granite-topped kitchen island with a sink, as well as partitioned bedrooms with closets.

The town subsequently issued an order to remove the kitchen equipment, cabinetry, fixtures, appliances and their hook-ups, and remove the bedroom partitions and closets.

Horton appealed but the Town Board decided he had misrepresented the intended use of the garage and that nothing had prevented him from adding on to the main structure to accommodate visitors without violating town ordinances.

Horton claims that the inspector was aware of the kitchen installation because the plumbing and electrical had been installed when he visited previous to March 2017, but had never brought up its potential illegality. He also argued to the town that allowing the second structure would benefit the town with increased tax revenue and that it would not harm surrounding properties since it’s on a dead-end road and has only one neighbor.

The town asks that the Hortons dismantle the kitchen and other amenities that make the space a “dwelling unit,” pay fines of $100 to $500 for each day the structure is in violation of town ordinances and lawyer fees and costs.

Town Attorney Sara MacCarthy said recently the town would be satisfied if the Hortons would agree to remove elements of the kitchen, including the stove, cooktop and refrigerator. Reed Horton told the Ozaukee Press that he would be willing to remove the cooktop and stove but wanted to keep the refrigerator and would not tear out the cupboards, saying he had invested $200,000 into the apartment.
“I’m not going to start tearing $200,000 worth of cupboards out,” he said.

The property was a longtime family retreat bought by Horton’s grandfather in the 1940s that was sold 45 years later. The Hortons bought the property in 2014 with the hopes of once again making it a family retreat, with the second structure housing visitors.

The case has been assigned to Judge Joseph W. Voiland. A hearing date has not been set.