HOLMES BEACH – By a 3-2 vote, city commissioners have denied a second request to reduce the treehouse-related $188,621 code enforcement lien the city placed on the Angelinos Sea Lodge.
Owned and operated by Holmes Beach residents Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, the beachfront resort is located at 2818 Avenue E.
The lien is the result of the $125-per-day code enforcement fine the resort owners incurred for 14 years while contesting the city’s request to remove the beachfront treehouse that was built without a city-issued building permit. After a long, costly legal battle, the treehouse was removed on Aug. 29, 2024. At that point, the daily fines for the unpermitted treehouse stopped accumulating, but they remain unpaid.
A lien associated with an unpaid debt can prevent or delay the sale of property and in some cases enable the lienholder to take possession of the property.
Lien reduction denied
On May 27, the commission voted 5-0 against reducing the treehouse-related lien requested by Tran and Hazen, with Tran suggesting $18,000 as a reduced amount to consider.
On June 24, Tran and Hazen again asked the commission to reduce the lien.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore made a motion to reduce the lien to $80,000, payable within 90 days. Whitmore said she never supported the treehouse or the legal actions and expenses the city was subjected to, but she wants the long-running saga to end. Commissioner Dan Diggins seconded Whitmore’s motion.
In response to a question from Commissioner Steve Oelfke, City Attorney Erica Augello said the city spent more than $200,000 on the treehouse lawsuits and appeals.
“The city had to file an injunctive action and expend public dollars to affirmatively get a court order after several years to have the treehouse removed,” Augello said.
Oelfke said he sympathizes with the resort owners, but their decisions resulted in the legal costs incurred by the city.
“I can’t support any reduction,” he said.
Commissioner Carol Soustek said she can’t support a lien reduction because Hazen and Tran chose to battle the city in court rather than work with the city to resolve the case.
“That was the choice made, so I cannot support any reduction,” she said.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said, “The amount of the lien as a result of those accumulating fines is a direct result of a continual 14-year period of resistance. As I said at the last meeting, we hope that you can continue to be a part of our community, but to capriciously reduce our lien – when it’s a direct result of your actions, not the city’s – would make a mockery of our system and would set an ugly precedent. For those reasons, I cannot support reduction of the lien.”
When addressing the commission, Tran said, “We didn’t do the treehouse out of malice.”
She said the building official at that time told them they didn’t need a permit for the treehouse and they later spent $19,000 in an unsuccessful effort to obtain an after-the-fact building permit.
Regarding the lengthy legal battle, Tran said, “We listened to our attorney. Please don’t say we chose to be in court for 14 years.”
Mayor Judy Titsworth said, “The choice to appeal was your choice. Unfortunately, 14 years added up. You knew that it was a daily fine but you continued to fight. I’m sorry, but it’s the consequences for the choices that were made.”
Diggins said, “I’m just looking at it from a compassionate point of view. $80,000 is a lot. $188,000 is a lot more. We’re not disputing the validity of the fines. We’re not disputing the lien. We are saying be compassionate to help a citizen.”
“This is a lot of money. I don’t think anyone up here today can write a check for $180,000,” Whitmore said.
Whitmore’s motion failed with a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Oelfke, Schaefer and Soustek opposing the lien reduction.
Soustek then made a motion to deny the lien reduction and that motion passed by a 3-2 vote, with Whitmore and Diggins in opposition.
Vacation rental fines
Tran and Hazen continue to incur a separate $125-per-day fine for operating their resort without a city-issued vacation rental certificate. Those fines now total approximately $190,000.
On May 27, Augello said the resort owners could have applied for a vacation rental certificate when the treehouse was removed but they didn’t; and to obtain a vacation rental certificate now, they must bring their property into compliance by temporarily suspending their rental activities and passing a city inspection.
“They’re not compliant because they’re continuing to rent their property in violation of code. They haven’t come into compliance,” Augello said on June 24 when Whitmore asked about the resort owners’ recent attempt to obtain a rental certificate.
Related coverage:
Treehouse fines will not be reduced
