<human>: Give me a shortened version of the text

Last month I contracted a local, state-licensed home improvement contractor to build a small  room in my backyard. They took measurements, made a design and site plan, and applied for a building permit. The permit wound up being denied by the city for being too close to my house's property line. I could have applied for a 'variance' (an exception to city building codes that would have allowed the project to continue), but after talking directly to the city, it seemed unlikely that the city would approve the variance. Seeing no other option I cancelled the project and the contractor wanted to be paid over $1500 for his expenses and time. Project never got off the ground, no ground was broken and no materials were ordered.

My beef is that the contractor should have known what the building codes were to begin with and not made a design that was rejected by the city. If there was a chance that building the room would be a problem I think the contractor should have let me know ASAP. I didn't find out about the property line problem until the permit was rejected by the city. I'm pretty ticked off and was wondering if I had grounds for legal action (contractor kept part of my down payment). Is it not the contractor's responsibility to know state, county, and local building codes when submitting a design and applying for a permit? I know that he has incurred expenses, but I think that if he had been more knowledgeable of zoning/building codes, those were expenses that could have been avoided altogether.
<bot>: Hired home improvement contractor submitted a building plan that was rejected by the city, has now kept over $1500 for what he says are his expenses. I'm mad as hell.