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Next treehouse appeal could wind up in court
(by Sue Reid - November 04, 2009)
Next treehouse appeal could wind up in court
By SUE REID
Solon City Council unanimously denied the appeal of a resident Monday who is seeking to keep a treehouse on his Pettibone Road property.
Mitchell Buckley appealed the denial by the city's planning commission, which rejected requests for two variances. One was to allow another accessory structure on the property because the city's zoning code only permits one and he already has a shed. The second was for a 4-foot height variance because the proposed structure is 16 feet tall and the code permits a maximum height of 12 feet.
City Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said following the meeting that, if Mr. Buckley does not agree to either bring the structure in question in compliance or tear it down, the city would have no choice but to file action in court.
"I'm going all the way," Mr. Buckley said Tuesday. He said he has an attorney and will appeal this decision in court if he has to.
Mr. Buckley, who had appealed twice to the planning commission, told City Council he has a sentimental attachment to the treehouse and that he constructed it while his son battled cancer. He said he would not even have been before the commission or council if his neighbors had not complained about the structure, he said.
The two-story structure has drawn complaints from neighbors who expressed concerns to the city that it is both illegal and an eyesore.
He told council members that there are other properties in the city that have other structures and a treehouse.
Mr. Frankland said the zoning inspector is investigating those and thus far has found the majority of those cited by Mr. Buckley to be in compliance with code.
Law Director David J. Matty asked Mr. Buckley with regards to his appeal to specifically address the questions of why he should be able to have two accessory structures when the code permits one and why should the accessory structure in the form of a treehouse be 4 feet higher then the code permits.
Mr. Buckley said that when the treehouse started to move, he used posts, but could not dig the hole because of tree roots. As a result, he built a base, he said. It is an empty spot that goes up to the treehouse, Mr. Buckley said. It is not a storage shed, but a tree house, Mr. Buckley said. It houses his son's Boy Scout camping equipment and pictures, he said. "It was used as a treehouse," he said. Mr. Buckley said he built the shed on three trees, two large ones and one small one.
He said he built the treehouse with his son, Marshall, while he was a sophomore at Solon High School, in 1996. At that time, his son had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.
Councilman Lon D. Stolarsky told Mr. Buckley that council appreciates the sentimental attachment but they are bound by the practical difficulty standard. "If there was something unique about the property making it necessary to have two accessory structures," then that could be considered, he said.
"It's your conscience you will have to sleep with tonight," Mr. Buckley told council members.
Commission members had indicated to Mr. Buckley when he first came before them that they would have supported the structure had it been continued to be used as a treehouse for children. They also strongly suggested the structure be made to look more presentable.
At Mr. Buckley's first appearance before the commission, Mr. Frankland had said there were some violations on the property and that his office received a call to look into them. Mr. Frankland said that Zoning Inspector Joyce Soltis found that an addition had been made to a noncompliant structure on the property, the treehouse, and she took action on that complaint. Additional walls were constructed to enclose it as well as the addition of a floor base and access door.
"The violation is that it is in fact a storage building," Mr. Frankland said, and the city's zoning code allows only one storage building per property.
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