HOLMES BEACH – Tree house owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen may soon be getting their wish – it looks like their case is going to trial.
Manatee Circuit Court Judge Charles Sniffen has ordered attorneys representing the tree house owners and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to attend a Monday, Aug. 8 case management session with the intent of setting a trial date.
In the lawsuit filed in December 2018 by Tran and Hazen against the city of Holmes Beach and FDEP, the couple asks for a temporary injunction to prevent city and state leaders from removing the two-story beachfront structure they built in 2011 at Angelinos Sea Lodge, 2818 Ave. E. and to stop the accumulation of fines against the property owners.
Tran and Hazen’s case against the city asking for an injunction was dismissed in July 2021 but their case against the FDEP continues. During a July 27 hearing, Sniffen denied the FDEP’s motion for summary judgment because an amended complaint had already been filed that nullified the one that was the subject of the case that day.
Tran and Hazen’s attorney, Bruce Minnick, requested that the case go to trial rather than get entangled in more motions in circuit court.
Sniffen advised both parties to determine how they wanted to move forward and prepare to choose a trial date for the case.
The structure has long been a contested issue between the property owners and representatives from both the city and the state. Tran and Hazen contend that before building the structure, they went to the city’s building department and asked if a tree house would require a permit and were told it would not. They proceeded to build the structure on the beach in front of their home and rental property, supporting it with an Australian pine tree and telephone poles disguised as tree trunks.
Later, they learned that not only did they need a building permit, but that the tree house also was built partially on the erosion control line, requiring a permit from FDEP.
The couple applied for FDEP permits but were denied. Attorneys for the department argue that Tran and Hazen had a chance to appeal the denial and did not pursue that route despite asking for the deadline to appeal to be extended twice, which was granted.
In 2013, the tree house was the subject of a city code enforcement board hearing where it was determined that after-the-fact permits would be required or the structure would need to be removed. The couple took the results of the board hearing before Manatee County Circuit Court and the Florida Second District Court of Appeal. Both courts upheld the board’s ruling on the tree house. A 2016 code enforcement special magistrate hearing in the city led to a $50 fine which has been accumulating since July 22, 2015, the date of the Second District Court ruling. That fine is over $125,000 with additional fines and legal fees adding up daily for Tran and Hazen.
When the couple applied for after-the-fact permits with the city, the requests were denied. Former Holmes Beach Building Official Jim McGuinness examined the tree house during his tenure with the city and determined that the structure could not be brought up to current building codes. City leaders began pursuing the option of legally ordering the tree house to be torn down in 2018, a case which is still pending in Manatee County Circuit Court. A temporary stay was ordered in that case in March 2021 which expires on Aug. 31 to allow the parties time to try and work together on a way forward.
A third case related to the tree house also is pending in circuit court to determine the constitutionality of the city’s codes. That case is scheduled for a hearing in late September.
