Kids told to take down fort

[lildog]

Saw this in the news today thought I'd share.  Had a couple ironic points in it.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=617458

Elm Grove is drafting rules for play structures after ordering one removed from a backyard

Tom Eddinger knows the backyard fort he built for his children is bigger than a typical playhouse.

Two stories and 22 feet tall to the peak of its shingled roofs, the split-level "stilt fort" is hoisted into the air on four telephone poles and has windows and vinyl siding that match his home. It spans about 232 square feet.

The best part for Eddinger's 8-year-old son, Jack, who loves spy mysteries, is a sliding door that leads to a "secret" room.

...

The village has ordered the Eddingers to take down the playhouse by Aug. 31 or face daily fines of $150.

The playhouse, village officials say, amounts to an accessory structure like a shed that requires a permit to build. Even if Eddinger had obtained a permit - which he didn't - it's too tall and large, village officials said. Children's playhouses can't be taller than 10 feet or larger than 150 square feet, they say.

...

Elm Grove's codes don't specifically mention play sets and houses.

That could change. Village plan commissioners are drafting language to detail what residents must do to erect all but the smallest and most portable structures and swing sets. They might set a 15-foot height limit - higher than the 10 feet allowed for sheds - so most retail jungle gyms would be allowed.

...

In 2005 he searched the village Web site, found no rules, called and was told to wait because rules were being drafted.

He built it anyway.

Two years later someone complained, and rules still aren't finalized.

The rules aren't finalized yet they are enforcing them anyway on a structure that had been standing for two years prior!

[KBCraig]

Loved this part:

Children's playhouses can't be taller than 10 feet or larger than 150 square feet, they say.

...

Elm Grove's codes don't specifically mention play sets and houses.

They have no rules about it, they aren't mentioned in the code, but they still seem to have a strict limit on size.

[LiveFree]

The play house hurts who, exactly?  Whose property is it on, again?  Local government is often the most oppressive level.

[Edwin Sheldon]

This article made me unbelievably angry.

[TylerM]

It's not a child's fort, it's the making of a 'hilltop compound' where dissidents might 'barricade' themselves.