Holmes Beach to hold public hearing on controversial treehouse

HOLMES BEACH -- The city of Holmes Beach will try to impose fines at a 2 p.m. public hearing Wednesday on two Holmes Beach homeowners embroiled in a fight to keep their treehouse.

"The city has determined that the final administrative order issued by the city of Holmes Beach Code Enforcement Board on July 13, 2013, has not been complied with and that the city will seek an order imposing a fine for failure to comply," read a public notice written by Holmes Beach code enforcement officer James Thomas addressed to treehouse owners Richard Hazen and Lynn Tran. "You are hereby ordered to appear before the Special Magistrate on that date to explain why the property has not come into compliance."

Hazen and Tran own a treehouse in an Australian pine at Angelinos Sea Lodge, 103 29th St. In 2013, the city Code Enforcement Board found them in violation of multiple sections of Holmes Beach's land development code. The board also said the couple failed to fulfill building permit requirements.

The owners' Sarasota attorney, David Levin, did not respond to a message Tuesday.

Jim Dye, who is representing Holmes Beach in the case, said Hazen and Tran have not complied with the original 2013 order.

"The order instructed the owners to either remove the treehouse or to get permits to leave it in place," he said. "Neither of those things have happened."

The city, Dye said, is now seeking fines up to $250 a day because the owners have not complied.

"They've been to court quite a few times," he said of Hazen and Tran. "They had the opportunity to get permits but they haven't done anything about that, so this is the city's only recourse."

Holmes Beach Commissioner Marvin Grossman said Tuesday he hopes the issue surrounding the treehouse will finally be settled.

"It's beautiful. I think it is. I think it's really nice inside," he said of the structure. "If it were a legal place and they'd gotten a permit, it would be wonderful."

The hearing will be at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive.

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

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Holmes Beach to hold public hearing on controversial treehouse ."