Pointe-Claire, Que., resident Peter Ducree enjoys the fruits of his labor with the tree house he built behind his house.
Neighborhood children use the tree house, but the structure has become a focus of controversy.
The city of Pointe-Claire ordered Ducree to dismantle the treehouse because officials say it was built in a tree on public property.
It’s a claim Ducree disputes, saying he’s upset that city officials are ordering the treehouse to be dismantled.
“I’m frustrated. I guess the kids are devastated too,” Ducree told Global News.
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Ducree built the tree house last year and says only part of it is on public property, and that’s because tree roots have spread over the years, encroaching on city land.
He asks, if there was a legal problem, why didn’t the inspectors tell him last summer while he was building the tree house.
“They happened in the summer at least three times and why did they wait until it was completed and stuff and give you two weeks to take it down in the dead of winter?” he asks.
The mayor of Pointe-Claire insists that it is the owner’s responsibility to verify with the city whether the tree house to be built is on public or private property.
“You don’t need a permit to build a tree house. However, if you are going to build a tree house, you may want to make sure you are building on your own land,” Pointe-Claire Mayor Tim Thomas told Global News.
Thomas insists that he has no interest in ruining a perfectly good treehouse. He says that it just needs to be dismantled and moved.
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“Our interest is not to prohibit children from having fun or destroy the tree house. Perhaps the best solution would be to relocate the tree house somewhere on the property of someone who is willing to put it on their property,” the mayor said.
Ducree is willing to sign a legal waiver with the city and take full responsibility if anyone is injured while playing in the tree house.
You prefer that option to removing it and rebuilding it elsewhere.
“If I was forced to do it, I would do it. But you don’t want to, there was a lot of work put into this,” he said.
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Reference-globalnews.ca