Judge Orders Village To Stop Fining Man For Tree House

BABYLON, NY - A federal judge ruled on Monday that a Babylon man can keep a treehouse he built in his backyard for the time being after the village ordered he take it down.

John Lepper, an New York City firefighter and father of two, built a treehouse back in May for his son's birthday. A week later, he received a letter from the Village of Babylon building Inspector which stated that he needed a permit for the treehouse.

Lepper says he applied for the permit after receiving the letter but since then has still received multiple building code violations for the structure. As a result he was charged with $475 worth of fines according to a report in Newsday.

The code stated that "a building permit shall be required when an outdoor playground or gym (or any combination) exceeds a lot area of 90 square feet."

Lepper is claiming that the treehouse is under 90 square feet and has since been to court five times to try to fight the violations.

Last week, Lepper even started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help pay for the legal fees and any future violations

"We have pleaded with the village to try and resolve this matter so that our kids can use their treehouse," he wrote on the page. "We had to hire an attorney to protect us from our own village representative."

The page is looking to raise a total of $10,000. As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe has raised $800.

Earlier this week, he announced on his Facebook page that a federal judge ordered the village to stop the issuing of daily summons until the next court date scheduled for January 17 at 12 p.m.

Gerard Glass, Village of Babylon attorney, told Newsday another local resident who built a treehouse in his home filed and received a building permit.

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