A FATHER who built an impressive treehouse for his kids 24 years ago is being forced to tear it down after a lengthy legal battle.
Rick Polizzi, a former producer for the hit TV show The Simpsons, built the fort with nods to the series he worked on.
His children loved it and it became a local landmark as neighborhood kids flocked to the treehouse to play.
But after a complaint from a neighbor, the city of Los Angeles hit Polizzi with legal action over zoning and permits.
“They said I don’t have the right permit for it, but I’ve been trying to make it legal for years,” Polizzi told CW local affiliate KTLA this week.
The city demanded Polizzi do costly upgrades in order to get approval for the structure, which sparked a years-long legal battle.
The fight, now in its seventh year, has cost Polizzi $50,000 in legal fees with no end in sight.
“It was just so frustrating,” Polizzi fumed.
“We went to pre-trial, but we didn’t even get to say anything. It’s exhausting.”
Polizzi is ready to give up and plans to tear down the Sherman Oaks treehouse to end the legal dispute and get the case dismissed.
On Saturday, Polizzi’s family held an informal farewell to the structure, bracing for its demolition this week.
As of Tuesday, the treehouse was still standing.
Polizzi said a city council member contacted him to try and help save the treehouse but he remains doubtful.
“They said the same thing to me last year, and nothing came of it,” he said.
He pointed out the treehouse is in Los Angeles, a city known as a hub of arts and culture.
“It’s a town built on creativity,” he said.
“You’d think they would want to keep something like this around.”
SIMPSONS INSPIRED
The three-level Boney Island treehouse is inspired by an episode of The Simpsons.
He built it in 2000 as the centerpiece for a haunted house for his young daughters.
With dancing skeletons and spooky music, it drew crowds from all over the City of Angels.
But a neighbor complained, saying the spectacle garnered too much attention.
He was even accused of making money off of it.
City officials investigated and found no business-related violations, Polizzi told local NBC affiliate KNBC last year.
However, they did ask a different question, “Do you have a permit for that?”
By 2017, Polizzi had enough of the constant battles and shut down the haunted house but he kept the treehouse up.
All the special effects, puppets, and dancing skeletons were moved to Griffith Park and later to the LA Museum of Natural History in Exposition Park.
An argument between the city and Polizzi arose regarding the treehouse. The city informed Polizzi that he needed to make costly improvements to the structure to ensure it met the required standards.
He was summoned to court in May 2024 and has since given up hope.
The City Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
