Special magistrate delays ruling on Holmes Beach treehouse case

HOLMES BEACH -- A decision on the fate of two homeowners embroiled in a fight with the city of Holmes Beach to keep their treehouse will have to wait a little longer after a special magistrate Wednesday said she will review transcripts before issuing a final order.

Married couple Richard Hazen and Lynn Tran own a treehouse nestled in an Australian pine at Angelinos Sea Lodge, 103 29th St.

Built in 2011, the $25,000 structure became the center of local controversy two years later when the Holmes Beach Code Enforcement Board found Hazen and Tran in violation of multiple sections of the land development code. The board also said the couple failed to fulfill building permit requirements.

Special Magistrate Kelly Fernandez, an attorney with the Lakewood Ranch-based law firm of Persson & Cohen, said she wants to review a package of transcripts and exhibits from a previous hearing.

"What I will say is, from the time I receive the transcript and the associated exhibits, I will issue a ruling within two weeks from that time period," Fernandez said.

The comment came at the tail end of more than four hours of testimony inside Holmes Beach City Hall brought forth by Jim Dye, who is representing Holmes Beach, and the owners' Sarasota attorney, David Levin.

Dye had a few witnesses testify, including Holmes Beach code enforcement officer James Thomas and building official James McGuinness.

Levin's only witness was Tran.

The public hearing was meant for the city to impose fines of up to $250 a day because Hazen and Tran have not complied with an order issued in 2013.

"The order instructed the owners to either remove the

treehouse or to get permits to leave it in place," Dye told the Herald earlier this week. "Neither of those things have happened."

The complicated case history was brought up during the hearing as Levin ran through some milestones.

"Here, in order to follow the order of the code enforcement board, this treehouse has to come down," Levin said. "That is a prejudicial, irreversible action that -- if the Hazens ultimately prevail in court -- can't be undone."

The city views this as a simple case with a complicated history, Dye told Fernandez.

"It's a case about construction without permits, and I don't think there's any question about that," the attorney said, adding there are safety risks involved with the structure. "I think it's a given that it was built without permits and it exists today in violation of city codes."

Tran testified her husband was told by a Holmes Beach building official in 2011 there was no regulation for treehouses in the city and they didn't need a permit to build one. At one point, she grew emotional as she spoke about the measures she has taken to save her treehouse, including a petition that garnered more than 4,700 supporters. Tran said she goes to the treehouse for meditation and yoga and only she, her husband and family members go inside.

After the hearing, Tran and Hazen stood outside City Hall. Tran dismissed the safety risks brought up during the hearing.

"The treehouse has been there for five years," she said. "It has not shown any safety risks or anything."

"No signs of weakening at all," Hazen added.

Asked what the treehouse meant to them, Tran said "a lot."

"Otherwise we would not have spent all this to try and save it, really. ... It's sentimental to him," she said, looking up at her husband. "I don't know what we're going to do if we have a big fine and all that stuff."

Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisCastillo.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Special magistrate delays ruling on Holmes Beach treehouse case ."