Man ordered to remove four-story tree house

Spiralling around the old oak tree are more than a ton of pressure-treated lumber, some 500 lag screws and nuts, 1,000 feet of jute rope, and 48 feet of rebar.

Atop it all, about 50 feet in the air amid large, golden leaves, sits a copper squirrel fixed on a patina-covered weathervane.

The elaborately designed, four-platform treehouse cost Michael Chapman about $12,000 and just about every waking hour of the past three months. It was a work of love, a childhood dream come true, he said.



Now, after a city inspection and complaints from neighbours - one neighbour allegedly threatened to kill him - his lair in the sky must come down.

“It came out bigger and more conspicuous than I expected, and I’m saddened by the controversy,’’ said Chapman, 48, a botanist. “If I had done it over again, I would have tried to be more detailed in my pre-negotiations with my neighbours. But hindsight is 20-20.’’

After receiving complaints in September, officials from Worcester’s Department of Inspectional Services visited Chapman’s property and determined the treehouse violated city ordinances because it was higher than 15 feet and within 5 feet of the property line. So his department ordered Chapman to remove the tree house by Nov. 2. If he doesn’t, the city could fine him up to $300 a day.

There's a news video here.