A vacation in the treetops might have to be placed on hold.
A treehouse — built without permits in Holmes Beach in 2011 — has led to four pending lawsuits spanning nine years.
And now owners face setbacks from city code violations.
In an Oct. 16 letter to property owners Richard Hazen and Lynn Tran, code compliance supervisor JT Thomas wrote that $95,600 in fines must be paid before the vacation rental license could be renewed by the city for the four rental properties they operate in the 2800 block of Avenue E, where Hazen and Tran reside and the treehouse was built.
“Pursuant to the code, we cannot have any fine, liens, violations or health risks at the property,” Thomas said. “We stand on the findings of fact from the past, and those liens have been filed with the city and county court system.”
In one of three pending cases in state court, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas denied Aug. 12 the city’s motion to dismiss the couple’s third amended complaint.
However, the city repeatedly has prevailed in court, including a November 2019 hearing on a case that started in 2013. At that hearing, Nicholas refuted the plaintiffs’ claim that a city ordinance, including a 50-foot setback from the state’s erosion control line on the beach, amounted to property taking without compensation.
Tran and Hazen built the two-story, uninhabitable structure in 2011 attached to an Australian pine tree on the beach fronting their home and four short-term rental units they operate, leading to litigation between the city, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the owners.
The city argued that the treehouse was built in violation of building codes and the beach setback.
The setback rule prohibits structures within 50 feet of the ECL, which separates the public beach from private ownership. The beach renourishment project, which started in 1992, permanently set the ECL in the sand in Holmes Beach.
The owners claim that state law, which allows a more flexible setback, supersedes local law, and that then-city inspector Bob Shaffer said no permit was required.
However, those claims were settled in favor of the city in court.
Thomas told The Islander Dec. 3 that the city’s code must be enforced to protect the safety of those who might rent the adjoining properties and have access to the treehouse.
“They are great people with a beautiful property,” Thomas said. “But there is a code that cannot be changed or bended. This case has been adjudicated all the way to the Supreme Court. At this point, it seems the only way they can come into compliance is to remove the treehouse.”