Save Alyssa's Tree House

Our daughter might lose her tree house due to modifications subcommittee decision! My bad for not getting prior approval but it was completely covered with leaves until late November.

This will break my daughters heart if it has to come down. She is special needs and this is her place of refuge. It was a gift of time, sweat, and materials from her Dad.

I've started a petition because I need community support to soften the hearts of the subcommittee so they will work with me to find a way to keep the tree house up. Petition (with pictures) is here: http://tinyurl.com/7z7v2v2

 

Signed. Good luck, it's a beautiful tree house!

 

I would think too that you will need letters from all of your neighbors as well saying that they do not have a problem with this... but I suspect that at least one of them has raised this issue with HOA. I think your idea of a petition is a good one, but do you have a way to identify that the people signing the petition live in Broadlands?

Good luck.

 

Done. And shared on Facebook.

 

I signed, hope she gets to keep the tree house!

 

the spindle spacing doesn't look up to code... cool house though.... wonder how stable it is laterally when the wind is really blowing...

 

The front spindles only support the outlying load. The main beam is supported by the tree itself. The design is very light weight as well.

Also it's sheltered in that location - haven't seen any issues at all with 50mph gusts.

 

While not an easy task, could the structure be put on the ground and fit within the guidelines of 'one detached' structure, similar to many of the 8x10 storage sheds around the neighborhood? (just a more creative "storage shed") Might require tree removal from that part of the yard if space is tight. But, this could be a compromise for all parties and your daughter could still have her refuge.

A less likely option may be to paint it to match the surroundings to make it less visible. Similar to a realistic wall mural. It would take some planning and probably an airbrush artist to execute but it could almost "disappear" if a neighbor does not like to see if during the winter months.

 

Great ideas, although moving the structure down to the ground is a last resort since it would no longer be a tree house

Right now it's certainly eye catching because the raw wood (ceder and pine) is still new and bright. That was intentional since I was aware that the Broadlands way of doing things is to keep wood a natural color (ie., no white picket fences).

I would go to great length to paint or stain it if that would help to keep it up.

 

Just to be clear...the Secretary to the Modifications Committee is not a decision maker, but rather an employee of the HOA. The Modifications Subcommittee which is comprised of volunteers who are all residents of the Broadlands and whose charter it is to review and approve applications according to the Design Guidelines makes these decisions. Should an application be denied, the applicant can appeal to the Subcommittee and if denied again to the Board of Directors, who will render a final decision.

 

I would hate to see the structure come down in light of what you shared about your daughter, however...

simply painting a front door a different color requires permission from the modifications committee. Did it not occur to you that constructing a tree house would not only require an approval process but stood a greater chance of being denied? Or, is that the reason you built it without approval? I'm not trying to be flippant or malicious, just trying to understand.

Had you applied and been denied your daughter would never have known or missed having a treehouse to begin with. Now she may lose the one place that brings her comfort and refuge. To me that is worse.

 

I whole-heartedly agree with KTdid. I'm sorry for your daughter, but it appears as if it may be the situation where "it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission".

Another concern for me is whether it passed county inpection...

 

mamatothree - Understood. Thank you for the clarification!

 

Yes, that is exactly the situation we're in - we are asking for forgiveness from the people of the community we live in, since it appears we have done something which runs counter to the values of that community. :scaredeyes:

Or does it?

It's tough, but we are asking each and everyone who takes an interest in this situation to decide for themselves whether this tree house and the girl who loves it is an asset to our community or a liability.

I hope that helps everyone to understand where this is headed.

 

Out of curiosity, what issues did the committee have with it?

 

Size, location, and visual impact. We can't do much about the size or location but we can definitely do something about visual impact. I hope we get the opportunity to hash that one out.

 

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/03/05/texas-family-wins-fight-against-hoa-to-keep-pet-kangaroo/

 

Sorry, but I am in agreement with KTdid and Olive. Living in an HOA community, you had to have known there were most likely going to be regulations governing structures in the yard, treehouses, sheds, playhouses, etc.

I don't mean to sound heartless, but I agree that, if you had submitted the request prior to building the treehouse, you would have known whether or not your treehouse was acceptable given the regulations of the community. And your daughter would not end up heartbroken.

I'm not sure how the HOA works but I don't think that a petition signed by people in the community can get them to change their bylaws. I think that in most communities, you need a 2/3rd vote of everyone in the community in order to change the bylaws.

It is a gorgeous treehouse by the way.

 

You are right, a petition by itself does not change anything. What it does do is provide a reading on the sentiments of many different people regarding an issue. It's purpose is to persuade decision makers to carefully consider the will of the people in matters that affect the lives of one or many people.

I know that the will of the people of our community, and of the greater community of homeowners everywhere needs to be heard on this issue. So I took the initiative and created the petition.

And you are right as well, prior permission was not obtained before constructing the tree house as this was not deemed necessary at the time. Then the leaves fell and suddenly it's center stage. :scaredeyes:

Look at it from our point of view - we have already invested way too much time into this to just give up now, bow our heads, say we're sorry, and tear it down. Not when so many have expressed their will that it stay up. So we're challenging business as usual and hoping for a satisfactory outcome for all concerned parties.

If in our shoes, what would you do? (and saying you would never be dumb enough to be in our shoes doesn't count )

 

Good luck - hope it works out in your favor.