Tick-tock. Removal of the controversial beachfront treehouse in Holmes Beach is imminent.
A demolition permit for the controversial treehouse in Holmes Beach was issued by the city July 30.
And the owners might face additional penalties if the structure is not removed soon.
Chad Minor, the city’s planning and zoning administrator, wrote in an Aug. 1 email to The Islander that the municipality had approved a permit to demolish the treehouse at the home of Richard and Lynn Tran-Hazen on property shared by the Angelinos Sea Lodge at 2818 Ave. E.
However, Minor added that there was no requirement or schedule for completion — and only a week remained before an Aug. 8 court hearing on the status of the court-ordered demolition.
The treehouse was built in 2011 and has been at the center of litigation since 2013, when the city issued code violations for the structure.
The Hazens filed litigation in defense of the structure, but Judge Edward Nicholas of the 12th Circuit court ruled in February that it must be demolished.
Nicholas’ order allows the city to demolish the structure at the owners’ expense after 72 hours’ notice if they did not remove it by July 3.
It was noted at a June 26 court hearing that the demolition would not be completed by Nicholas’ deadline and he scheduled an Aug. 8 hearing to discuss the status of the demolition order.
According to public records requested by The Islander, the city issued a $205.88 permit to demolish the structure July 30.
The permit allows work 7 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays but prohibits work on Sundays.
Tran-Hazen wrote in an Aug. 2 email to The Islander that the contractor, Oldsmar-based J.J. Sosa & Associates, was working on a schedule for the demolition.
She added that the Australian pine tree the structure is attached to houses osprey and yellow crown night heron nests in the summer and would be saved despite the treehouse removal.
A compliance status conference will be held via Zoom at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.