SPENGA’S UPPER-DECK GYM WILL JUT OUT REAL CLOSE TO ITS NEIGHBOR 
Just 8 in. will separate the cantilevered fitness studio’s eastern, over-the-edge portion from the eaves of the 1915 home adjacent to it — reports abc13’s Christine Dobbyn — which will soon house Arden’s Picture Framing and Gallery. The 15,700-sq.-ft. lot where the new retail building’s planned at 307 Westheimer is currently going up; Italian restaurant Michelangelo’s went to pieces on its west side last December (the east was all parking). [abc13; previously on Swamplot] Rendering of 307 Westheimer Rd.: Spenga
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So lemme get this straight. The owner and the tenant of a structure built right on the property line is upset that their next door neighbor is building a structure right on the property line? How about if you don’t want a neighbor 8 inches away, don’t buy a building within 8 inches of the property line.
That said, the optimal distance between structures in an area like this is probably zero inches.
You can build right up to the property line, except if you are building up next to a residence. Then you must setback 3 feet. But since this is now a business, it’s no longer a residence, even though it looks like one, there is no violation of building code. However, unless the frame shop owner is going to live in the house, the conversion of a house into a commercial business is a very difficult and costly endeavor, if it’s being permitted that is. Where to start: building must meet parking ordinance, landscape ordinance, floors must be beefed up to support commercial loading, site must internally drain, detention if there is an increase in impervious cover, all wiring has to be pulled out, romex or knob and tube not permitted, must meet new energy requirements, windows and insulation probably don’t comply, it goes on and on. If they are bootlegging the move, last thing I would do is complain to the media about the next door neighbor who probably has a permit.