SAN MARCOS -- The city has put on hold a lawsuit against Rey and Linda Rodriguez after the San Marcos couple submitted plans to make compliant a controversial room addition that violated building codes, a lawyer representing the city said Thursday.

Attorney Judy Hartwig said the city has dropped its motion for an injunction against the Rodriguezes that would have been heard July 21. Had the injunction been approved, it would have required that Rodriguezes tear down the part of their two-story, 1,128-square-foot addition that was built too close to a neighbor's property line, Hartwig said.

"The lawsuit is still on file," Hartwig said, adding that a cross complaint filed by the Rodriguezes against the city will need to be addressed. "All we ever wanted them to do was to remove the portion that extended into the setback. We never wanted them to take the whole thing down."

The Rodriguezes did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.

City building codes require that structures be set back at least 7.5 feet from property lines. But when the Rodriguezes had contractors build the room addition at their 414 Wintergreen Place home, it came to within four feet of their neighbor's property.

The violation escaped notice when city inspectors visited the site, but was brought to light when Debbie Cantwell, the neighbor of the Rodriguezes, hired a surveyor and notified the city that the setback was too small.

In November, the City Council directed the couple to remodel the addition to conform to city codes. They ignored the request, and in May, the city sued to force them to comply.

Then, in mid-June, the couple submitted plans to modify the addition, Hartwig said, so the city canceled its motion for an injunction.

"Those plans were approved by the building department last week," she said, adding that the city is waiting to see the remodeling begin before it considers dropping the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, the Rodriguezes have filed a cross complaint against the city, claiming it was negligent in its inspections, Hartwig said.

"The weakness in that argument is that the city has governmental immunity in issuing permits," she said. "It means you can't sue the government for negligence in issuing permits."

A hearing is set for Sept. 15, at which Hartwig said she will move to have the cross complaint dismissed.

"The Rodriguezes would need to drop their cross complaint against the city before the city would be willing to drop the lawsuit," she continued. "And we'd have to see some substantial work on the modification to the room addition."

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 761-4414 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.