Dance continues for city, tree house rooted in legal limbo

The city may have been handed a favorable ruling Sept. 16 regarding an unpermitted tree house, but any action is stalled, rooted in legal limbo.

The limbo dance was popularized to the sounds of a steel drum beat in Trinidad. The dance contest ends when one person successfully “limbos” the lowest under a horizontal bamboo bar.

For the city of Holmes Beach and the owners of a tree house made infamous on the Internet, the dance under the bar may play yet out in a Manatee County courtroom.

City attorney Patricia Petruff told commissioners at a Sept. 23 meeting that the ruling will not be final until the waiting period to file for a rehearing has expired for owners Richard Hazen and Lynn Tran.

Petruff said while filing for a rehearing is an option for Hazen and Tran, who are represented by attorney David Levin of Sarasota, she did not think Levin would have sufficient information to change 12th Circuit Judge Janette Dunnigan’s opinion in favor of the city.

Petruff said Levin also could appeal Dunnigan’s decision.

“We still need to wait awhile before this case is over,” Petruff said.

One opinion has been issued, but the litigation between the tree house owners and city is far from over.

Still pending is a case filed by the city to declare null and void a petition, and consequently a referendum, filed by the couple with the city.

Hazen and Tran circulated the petition, gathering signatures of 10 percent of the city’s voters and seeking to force commissioners to vote on an ordinance that would grandfather the tree house in September 2013.

The forced vote died, however, lacking a second in the city commission.

Climbing to the next branch of legal wrangling, Levin filed for a referendum that would put the fate of the tree house on a ballot in a special election, allowing voters in Holmes Beach to make the call on keeping or removing the tree house.

Petruff filed for a declaratory judgment in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court that would kill the special election. Petruff argues a state statute dictates a referendum cannot take place for a development order, and that anything requiring a building permit falls into the category of development.

“I think the declaratory action ruling will also be favorable, since we’ve foiled that,” said Petruff.

She added a similar case was ruled on over the summer, aligning with the opinion she asserted in the request for a declaratory judgment.

“There’s at least one other case that we can send to (Dunnigan) saying some other court has ruled supporting our interpretation,” she said.

Levin did not return calls from The Islander.

The legal dispute between Hazen and Tran began with an administrative order handed down by the city’s code enforcement board.

In July 2013, the Holmes Beach Code Enforcement Board filed a final administrative order, finding the owners of the tree house in violation of building code requirements.

Construction began in April 2011 on the tree house, supported by wooden pilings and the base of an Australian pine tree on the beachside of the resort.

An anonymous tip led the city to find the tree house to be in violation of several city and state codes and to have been built without a permit. The state violation includes the structure being built within the setback for the erosion control line.

The couple appealed the code board decision, which was decided by Dunnigan in favor of the city.

“City staff did a great job being expert witnesses,” Petruff said. “We’ve been waiting on pins and needles for quite a long time. We’re ever hopeful and heartened by the decision.”