Anna Maria Island treehouse torn down after long court fight

Treehouse demolished in Anna Maria Island

Lloyd Sowers reports

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. - A large treehouse on Anna Maria Island that was the subject of a long court fight has been torn down.

The property owners, Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, said they're tired. Their fight to keep the treehouse has gone on for more than a decade.

"We took this to so many courts," said Hazen. "We tried the Supreme Court twice. We just got pooped out and said ‘Hey, let’s just end this, so we can go on.’"

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They built the treehouse in 2010, and Hazen said he asked a building official if a permit was needed and was told no. However, in 2013, after an anonymous complaint to Holmes Beach officials, he was told the treehouse wasn't permitted and had to be torn down.

Their fight against that order went on until this week, when they decided to tear it down and move on.

The treehouse was much more elaborate and spacious than the ones most people remember as kids.

"We would hang out there and watch sunsets," Hazen said. "Lynn would do her yoga up there. It had a hammock, and we would take naps. It had a phenomenal view of the beach."

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According to the property owners, they must even return the earth beneath the tree to its natural state once the treehouse is removed.

Tran and Hazen said they are heartbroken. When they look up, they will always see where they once built their dreamhouse in a tree.

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