The controversial Holmes Beach treehouse remained standing the week ending July 21 despite its court-ordered demolition.
And it was unclear when the structure would come down.
Chad Minor, the city’s planning and zoning administrator, told The Islander July 15 that a demolition permit to remove the treehouse had yet to be completed almost two weeks after the structure was supposed to be demolished.
The treehouse behind the Angelinos Sea Lodge, 2818 Ave. E., was built in 2011 and has been the center of litigation since 2013, when the city issued code violations for the structure.
Property owners Richard Hazen and Lynn Tran-Hazen filed litigation in defense of the structure, but that defense came to an end in February, when Judge Edward Nicholas of the 12th Circuit Court ruled that the treehouse must be demolished.
Nicholas’ order allows the city to demolish the structure at the expense of the owners after 72 hours’ notice if they did not remove it by July 3.
Randy Mora of the Clearwater-based Trask Daigneault law firm, who represents the city, said at a June 26 compliance status conference that the city did not have plans to remove the structure on its own accord after the deadline.
The property owners hired Tampa-based Allied Wrecking, LLC, to complete the demolition and its permitting process.
At the time of the hearing, the contractor had applied for a demolition permit from the city, but the permit was incomplete.
Minor told The Islander July 15 that the permit remained incomplete and there was no apparent timeline for the treehouse’s removal.
Tran-Hazen did not respond to a July 16 email from The Islander about the permit’s completion and a timeline for the demolition.
Progress — or lack thereof — on the demolition will be discussed at another compliance status conference via Zoom at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
