Treehouse on Anna Maria Island demolished after long legal battle

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Florida. – A large treehouse on Anna Maria Island that was the subject of a long legal battle has been demolished.

Property owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen said they are tired. Their fight to save the treehouse has lasted more than a decade.

“We've taken this to so many courts,” Hazen said. “We tried it twice in the Supreme Court. We were just mad and said, 'Hey, let's just end this so we can move on.'”

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They built the treehouse in 2010 and Hazen said he asked a building official if a permit was required and was told it wasn't. However, after an anonymous complaint to Holmes Beach officials in 2013, he was told the treehouse didn't have a permit and would have to be torn down.

Their fight against this order lasted 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 from their childhood.

“We hung out there and watched the sunsets,” Hazen said. “Lynn did her yoga up there. There was a hammock and we took naps. We had a phenomenal view of the beach.”

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According to the property owners, after removing the treehouse they will even have to return the soil beneath the tree to its natural state.

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

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