The treehouse on Anna Maria Island that’s made headlines for years is back in the news; this time it involves the Supreme Court.

  • Supreme Court won't take Anna Maria Island treehouse case
  • Couple said city originally said they could build treehouse
  • Ordered to pay fine of $50 every day treehouse is up

The couple, Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, took their treehouse case to the high court but learned on Monday that the Supreme Court declined to take the case.

The couple built the treehouse on their Holmes Beach property back in 2011. The couple said they were originally told by the city they could build the treehouse.

But they said when there was a change in leadership at the city and an anonymous complaint was lodged; the battle to keep the treehouse began.

“We had it up since 2011. Why did we put it up? Well gee, it’s just like a dream my husband had you know, it started with him really,” Tran said.

The couple said they worked with different government agencies and engineers. They even got residents to sign a petition to have city commissioners vote on if they could get a permit after the fact.

But local leaders took the matter to court where the couple lost and that’s when the couple took the case to the high court

“The city commissioners took our case to court and said that we can’t do it because there’s a new state law that’s retro back as an effective date to a certain date, that we cannot do a petition for land development,” Tran said.

Another setback the couple has been dealing with is a fine. Tran said that in 2016, they were ordered to pay a $50 fine for every day the treehouse stays up and those fines have been mounting.

They’re hoping to go back to the city to apply for a permit again, but Tran admits, after years of fighting, the process is getting frustrating.

“How can you trust an approval when an approval doesn’t mean anything? And even when it’s certified and approved, looked at by attorney’s two or three times, none of it means anything, you still end up taking the bullet,” Tran said.