Holmes Beach tree house owners — slapped May 23 with a city fine of $15,350 and $50 a day going forward — are poised again for another round in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court.
On behalf of owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, Sarasota attorney David Levin filed an appeal May 25 of the May 23 city magistrate’s decision.
Magistrate Kelly M. Fernandez of the Lakewood Ranch law firm Persson & Cohen heard the code case May 4 and imposed the fine, reasoning the owners had failed to abide by a July 2013 code board order that required compliance or demolition.
The decision also stated Tran and Hazen failed to pay the $4,271 in costs ordered by the board.
After the magistrate’s order, Tran emailed city building official Jim McGuinness, seeking to determine what — short of demolition — the city will require to bring the structure into compliance.
She was directed to a generic application for a city permit and a checklist for new construction, including references to additional permits, such as an erosion control permit.
Not being a builder, Tran said she needs clarification about what pertains to the tree house that is already built.
Going into a June 3 meeting with McGuinness and code enforcement officer JT Thomas, Tran said she was expecting to review the documents.
The couple built the structure on the beach in 2011 at their residence at 103 29th St., where they operate a four-unit vacation rental property, Angelinos Sea Lodge.
They claim they asked the city about permits before constructing the tree house, but were misled by a former building inspector.
When the structure, supported by four pilings with removable windows and solar electric service, was discovered by the city, it alerted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP ultimately denied the owners an after-the-fact state permit because the city of Holmes Beach declined to sign off on the tree house, saying it lacked building permits and exceeded the erosion control line setback.
During three years of litigation that ensued, the city maintained the structure violated the setback and lacked the proper city and state permits.
For the owners, Levin has argued his clients’ reliance on the city’s misdirection, the local setback is preempted by state law and the tree house is an accessory use for which a city permit is not necessary. Thus far, court decisions have sided with the city.
Tree house litigated June 6
Can the tree house case be settled at the ballot box?
After the Islander’s press time, attorneys for the city of Holmes Beach and owners of the now infamous illegal tree house were in court, battling on whether city voters can decide the fate of the beachfront structure.
Owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen gathered the required number of signatures from the electorate in 2013 to put the issue to a vote and petitioned the city.
An attorney for the city, Jim Dye, Dye, Deitrich, Petruff & St. Paul, filed a court paper June 1 to stop the court’s ruling, arguing it is premature because the parties disagree on a material fact — whether development permits are necessary.
The city originally filed its opposition in September 2013, asking the judge to prevent the ballot question because it concerns a development order — an impermissible subject for voters, according to state law.