In 2004, Garth Hystad bought 35 acres in El Paso County and left Colorado Springs to escape a homeowners association that fined him $1,500 for frequently parking his boat and RV on the street overnight.

Hystad wanted more room for his toys and acreage where he could express his creativity and indulge his passion for golf by designing and building a private golf retreat - an extension of his career building outdoor living spaces as founder of Colorado Custom Decks.

(See photos of his home and golf retreat on my Side Streets blog)

But living with an HOA was nothing, Hystad said, compared to living next door to Robert and Lana LeVeck. He has spent four years battling the LeVecks, who tried to stop him from building his retreat. They lost, but the complaints have only escalated.

As often happens in neighborhood disputes, it has gotten ugly with name-calling and legal action. A recent confrontation ended with the LeVecks accusing Hystad of provoking violence. They got a restraining order against him. A hearing scheduled Wednesday was postponed.

The LeVecks launched their campaign against Hystad in 2005 by contacting Side Streets and insisting their new neighbor was violating covenants in the Turkey Canyon Ranch Estates on Barrett Road, 15 miles south of Colorado Springs off state Highway 115. Covenants, however, were never legally filed for the subdivision.

They opposed his effort to rezone and build a second house. They challenged his water use and his motives.

At the time, Robert LeVeck alleged Hystad planned a public golf course. LeVeck said he didn't like golfers and didn't want golfers in his neighborhood or golf balls near his horses.

Hystad hoped the fight had ended when he won rezoning and then supported the LeVecks' request to legalize a barn and riding arena they built too close to his property line.

Instead, the situation deteriorated.

Hystad says his seven-hole golf retreat is not public, nor is it an amusement park or an outdoor recreational camp as alleged. Hystad denies he has a wedding business - he said he hosted a friend's wedding. (And he accuses the LeVecks of disrupting it by running chainsaws throughout the ceremony.)

And he said a weeklong Fellowship of Christian Athletes golf retreat was donated, contrary to a LeVeck complaint it was a money-making camp.

"They are using every means possible to harass me," Hystad said. "But I've done nothing wrong."

Bill Louis, El Paso County attorney, basically agrees, adding he will offer a legal opinion soon on the allegations.

"Both sides have some legitimate complaints, but I don't think he has crossed the line to a violation," Louis said. "He does not have a golf course.

"We're caught in the middle of some bad blood. I just hope we can reach an understanding."

Or not. Consider the restraining order. Hystad said he became angry when the LeVecks abruptly ripped out a fence dividing the property line. The gap would let his horses reach the road. His anger boiled over.

"I called Lana a liar and Bob a coward, but I never threatened them," Hystad said.

Lana LeVeck said Hystad is the liar. She accused him of often hitting golf balls onto her land and at her horses, of illegally pumping water and abusing an agreement his second home would only be for weekend guests.

"But you won't print my side," she said before angrily hanging up. "You love him. He's ‘golf balls for God.' You won't print the truth."

Fore!

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Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com