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The office building at 1716 Keller Parkway. is seen here from Karen and Ron Pyle\u2019s backyard. The Pyles argue that the city of Keller violated a development ordinance that restricts buildings on that site to one and a half stories tall. The office at 1716 Keller Parkway is, the Pyles say, a two-story building, the presence of which devalues their home.<\/p>\n
Karen Pyle<\/p>\n
Homeowners in fast-growing Tarrant County are learning that if you don\u2019t own the land as far as the horizon, you might wake up one day to unexpected neighbors.<\/p>\n
When Karen and Ron Pyle bought their house in Keller\u2019s Adalina at Bloomfield neighborhood in 2008, their property backed up to pastureland. But that pastureland\u2019s proximity to busy Keller Parkway meant it wasn\u2019t going to stay undeveloped forever, and in recent years it\u2019s become the Bloomfield Office Park, home to eight office buildings.<\/p>\n
In 2024, a development group under the name Bloomfield Lot 6 Office, LLC, began constructing a building on the property at 1716 Keller Parkway, directly behind the Pyles\u2019 home. Karen Pyle said before she knew what was happening, there was a two-story office with windows overlooking her backyard.<\/p>\n
The Pyles weren\u2019t happy with what they saw as an intrusion on their privacy, especially when they discovered a Keller ordinance from 2000 that restricted building height on the lot behind them to one and a half stories.<\/p>\n
With their attorney, the Pyles have argued that the city issued a permit for what amounts to a two-story building on that site without requesting a zoning variance. Because of that, the Pyles believe the permit should be void.<\/p>\n
Karen Pyle said she and her husband raised that point with the Keller City Council, and the Pyles appealed to the city\u2019s Zoning Board of Adjustment in October 2025. The board held a hearing, but members ruled against the Pyles 4-1.<\/p>\n
Last fall, the Pyles sued the Bloomfield developers in Tarrant County District Court, and they asked for judicial review of the Zoning Board of Adjustment\u2019s decision. The Pyles have since filed suit against Keller, alleging city officials violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. The lawsuit against Bloomfield is scheduled to go to trial the week of Oct. 26.<\/p>\n
At the heart of the disagreement between the Pyles and the city, though, is a dispute over what constitutes a half story.<\/p>\n
The building at 1716 Keller Parkway is just under 30 feet tall when you factor in the roof height, according to construction plans Karen Pyle shared with the Star-Telegram. Those plans show a bottom story that is 12 feet high and an upper story that is 10 feet high.<\/p>\n
In court filings from last year, the city argued that the second story was half the height of the first story, so it met the definition of a half story.<\/p>\n
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A crew works on the new office building at 1716 Keller Parkway. Karen Pyle, who lives behind the office, said the building violates her and her husband\u2019s privacy. Karen Pyle <\/p>\n
The city\u2019s Unified Development Code<\/a> (Section 3.473) defines a half story as a space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than feet above the top floor level, and in which space not more than two-thirds of the floor area is finished off for use.<\/p>\n The construction plans provided by Pyle show the upper floor of 1716 Keller Parkway was meant to be finished, with three office suites and a common area with two bathrooms.<\/p>\n The Star-Telegram contacted Keller officials via a city spokesperson to get clarification on the code governing half stories along with answers to other questions. Because of the ongoing litigation, however, the city would only provide the following statement:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pyles applied to appeal the decision of an administrative official to the City of Keller Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA). The ZBA conducted a public hearing, considered the appeal and affirmed the decision of the official. The Pyles then appealed the decision of the ZBA to District Court. The City of Keller is complying with this process. No construction activity has been permitted on the property since the ZBA hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after the Pyles filed their lawsuit last year, the judge in the case signed a temporary injunction barring further construction on the office\u2019s upper floor. A hold remains on the building.<\/p>\n Attorneys for the Bloomfield group have argued that the building behind the Pyles does not create a nuisance. The attorneys have also said the district court has no jurisdiction to enforce Keller\u2019s city ordinances \u2014 that the city, as a home-rule municipality, has the sole authority to enact and enforce local laws.<\/p>\n In court filings, a Bloomfield attorney cited a 2018 case<\/a> in which neighbors sued the Denton County Cowboy Church in Ponder after the church built a rodeo arena on its property. The plaintiffs in that case alleged the rodeo arena violated city zoning ordinances. The Texas Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to enforce the city\u2019s rules, saying the relief sought in the lawsuit was an attempt to \u201cusurp the authority given by the legislature to the municipality to enforce its own zoning ordinances through criminal prosecution or injunctive relief….\u201d<\/p>\n Karen Pyle said the only concession the city has made to her and her husband\u2019s complaints thus far is to have the developer remove the upper story rear windows from the office building. That addressed some of the Pyles\u2019 privacy worries, but it wasn\u2019t enough for them.<\/p>\n Pyle and her husband want 1716 Keller Parkway to be rebuilt without that upper floor. In their lawsuit, they\u2019re also claiming monetary damages. The Pyles believe the office building devalues their property, which was appraised this year at just under $500,000, according to Tarrant Appraisal District records. In 2025, the records show, the home was valued at over $600,000.<\/p>\n
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