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Supreme Court won't take Florida couple's treehouse dispute

08 of January 2018

Lynn Tran and her husband Richard Hazen pose near their Australian pine treehouse Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, in Holmes Beach, Fla. The couple is hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will hear their case after city and state officials ordered the treehouse removed. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara),Lynn Tran and her husband Richard Hazen pose near their Australian pine treehouse Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, in Holmes Beach, Fla. The couple is hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will hear their case after city and state officials ordered the treehouse removed. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A Florida couple will have to take down their beachfront treehouse after the Supreme Court declined to get involved in a dispute over it. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take the case brought by Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, who live on Anna Maria Island on Florida's west coast. The couple and the city have been at odds over a two-story treehouse the couple built on their property in 2011.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida couple will have to take down their beachfront treehouse after the Supreme Court declined to get involved in a dispute over it.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take the case brought by Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, who live on Anna Maria Island on Florida’s west coast. The couple built a two-story treehouse on their Holmes Beach property in 2011 after being told they didn’t need a permit.

But after an anonymous complaint to the city about the structure, officials investigated and found the couple did need to go through the permitting process. It turns out the treehouse was located in an area where building is prohibited because of a city setback. The couple tried to take the fight to voters but courts stopped them.