After years of stagnation, dominos are starting to fall in the Holmes Beach treehouse litigation.
A final hearing for one of two remaining lawsuits surrounding the unauthorized structure is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
Richard and Lynn Tran-Hazen reside at 2818 Ave. E., Holmes Beach, where they also operate four vacation rental units as the Angelinos Sea Lodge. They built a multistory treehouse around an Australian pine tree on their beachfront.
The structure has been the center of litigation since it came to the city’s attention in 2011.
However, a January ruling by 12th Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas may have spurred on the final phase of litigation for at least one of two remaining cases.
In January, Nicholas issued a final order in favor of the city on all counts in a 2013 lawsuit brought by the Hazens, challenging the constitutionality of the city’s setback restrictions, which prohibit the treehouse.
Nicholas’ ruling did not include an order to remove the treehouse, leaving that decision to be determined by the remaining cases:
- The city of Holmes Beach v. property owners filed in 2018, asking the court to enforce the code board’s order to remove the treehouse and pay the assessed fines;
- Property owners v. the Florida Department of Environmental Protection filed in 2018, asking the court to temporarily prevent the treehouse’s removal and stop the assessment of “excessive” daily fines.
A temporary stay imposed in March 2022 on the city v. property owners case was lifted within 10 days of Nicholas’ ruling, allowing the case to continue.
The court then scheduled an Aug. 10 final hearing for the case but the parties filed a joint motion to continue the hearing to a later date.
Nicholas rescheduled the final hearing in August for December at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
In the property owners v. DEP case, there is no end in sight, as no hearings were scheduled as of Sept. 8, according to the Manatee County Clerk of Court.
The city’s attorney, Jay Daigneault of the Clearwater-based Trask Daigneault law firm, told The Islander Sept. 6 that he had no updates on the treehouse case.
Tran-Hazen wrote in a Sept. 7 email to The Islander that she and Hazen were just happy the treehouse got through Hurricane Idalia.
“The treehouse still stands tall and strong after Idalia … It’s like the superhero of all treehouses, the Tony Stark of timber, the Bruce Wayne of branches!” she wrote.
It’s unclear if the treehouse can avoid a legal buzzsaw, but Tran said she is communicating “in good faith” with the city and DEP to seek a resolution.
“Seriously, we still haven’t quite figured out what’s next with the legal actions since we are still working on having an amicable resolution,” Tran wrote. “It’s important to us that all parties involved find a fair and mutually beneficial solution.”
“Anything can happen in the future. So I embrace the present and let go of the past.”
About the treehouse on the beach
The Holmes Beach treehouse controversy has stretched on for more than a decade.
Lynn Tran-Hazen and Richard Hazen reside at 2818 Ave. E, Holmes Beach, where they also operate four vacation rental units as the Angelinos Sea Lodge.
The treehouse was first brought to the city’s attention in November 2011, when an anonymous complaint was filed about beach construction at Angelinos.
The city argued the structure was built inside a 50-foot setback for the erosion control line and without a permit, and that it violated the municipality’s land development code.
The city’s code board ruled in July 2013 to fine the owners and order them to comply with city code or remove the structure.
The ruling was upheld in the 12th District Circuit Court in 2014 and in 2nd District Court of Appeal in 2015, but litigation has continued since.
The U.S. Supreme Court previously denied two petitions to hear the case.
Litigation has cost both the city and property owners hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A special magistrate updated the code board’s order in 2016 to additionally assess the owners a $50 daily fine that began July 22, 2015.
A magistrate also ruled in April 2021 to fine the owners $125 per day from March 18, 2021, until they obtain a valid vacation rental license through the city for the units at Angelinos.
So far, more than $261,500 in total fines have accrued against the property owners, adding to a litigation bill in excess of $170,000.
However, the property continues to be used as a vacation rental, with a $168.33 per night fee before taxes for a minimum three-night stay in the most affordable of four cottages as of Sept. 7, according to angelsealodge.com.
The city of Holmes Beach did not fulfill a Sept. 7 record request from The Islander for the cost of litigation by the newspaper’s press deadline.
— Ryan Paice