By Alex McLeod for the Otago Daily Times
Dunedin City Council's demand that a family tear down a much-loved treehouse over safety concerns has been slammed as "ridiculous" by a Mosgiel mother.
Janice Norman-Oke says the council called on them to remove the treehouse after a neighbour complained it was affecting their privacy.
Janice Norman-Oke said the ruling was "ridiculous". Photo: Otago Daily Times
She said her father Trevor Norman built the treehouse for his three grandsons three months ago. It had brought hours of joy for her children Ethan, 12, Devon, 10, and Logan, 6.
Following the call from the neighbour the council ruled the treehouse to have breached section 17 of the Building Act 2004, which states that all building structures must comply with the building code.
The council has defended its actions saying it was obliged to follow up once a complaint had been made and had "no choice" but to uphold building laws.
Under the Building Code, the treehouse required a building consent due to the fact that the safety railing installed on the structure's platform was over three metres high.
Even if the treehouse's height was within the legal limit, it did not "meet building code requirements around structural integrity and safety from falls'', the council said in a statement.
Mr Norman told Morning Report the treehouse he had built was "pretty solid".
He said council staff were not interested in discussing what could be done to fix the treehouse, only that it had to be pulled down because it didn't comply with the Building Code.
"At the time it was all pretty ambiguous, there's no legislation or anything pertaining to treehouses, so I think they've latched onto a little clause in the Building Code."
He said the reaction was over the top and he just wanted the council to leave them alone.
"I built it for the kids to have a bit of fun, so I'm hoping it stays."
Ms Norman-Oke, a health and safety consultant, said she had made no progress on saving the treehouse since the "ridiculous'' ruling, but was adamant it was safe.
She was ordered by the council to tear the treehouse down last month, but said her father, the only person that could dismantle it, recently had surgery on his spine.
Nevertheless, Ms Norman-Oke said she would be willing to work with the council to help make the structure compliant with the Building Code standards, but she was unsure of what was needed for it to comply.
"They need to tell us what to do to stay compliant. I'm hoping they allow it to stay."
Dunedin City Council ruled the treehouse breached the Building Act. Photo: ODT / Screengrab
Council building solutions principal adviser Neil McLeod said in a statement the council did not make building laws but was required to uphold them.
"The DCC doesn't go looking for issues like this, but we received a complaint about the tree house which we were obliged to follow up.
"The structure doesn't fit any of the exemptions under the Building Act so our staff have no option but to enforce the rules," he said.
In a statement provided to other media, the council said it would have been happy to provide "further clarification" over the breach.
While the original complaint was about privacy, this was not a factor in the council's decision.
"Although we were not concerned about privacy issues, once staff were aware of the tree house they were obliged to follow up on the issues relating to the Building Act and the Building Code."
The council had only received one other complaint about a treehouse in the last three years.
"This was investigated and the structure, which did not meet building code requirements or set back requirements under the Dunedin District Plan, had to be removed."
* This article was first published in the Otago Daily Times
