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Family Fights City Hall Over Illegal Treehouse

CHINO HILLS (CBSLA) — Zoe Adomeit, 3, loves the treehouse her dad's building for her. But she's not allowed to play there very often.

Not only because it's still under construction and safety rails haven't been put in yet, but because according to the city of Chino Hills the treehouse is illegal.

"They keep telling me I can't build, and I have to stop and they're going to issue penalties if I continue to build," said Zoe's father Robert Adomeit.

That's because the treehouse isn't on the same property as Robert Adomeit's house. It's on a piece of land that he bought across the street.

"The residential yard that I live on is quite small," said Adomeit. "There's not a whole lot of playground for my daughter to play. So we purchased the property, the vacant land across the street for her to play on."

He says when he bought the land in Carbon Canyon, no one told him about the city code, which says if there's no house on a property, you can't build anything else.

"It was a huge surprise to me," said Adomeit.

After being fined several hundred dollars, he asked the city if they could make an exception. The planning commission is now discussing a possible code amendment. They hope to have a public hearing on the issue in June.

Robert is trying to be patient, but he says it's not easy for Zoe.

"We were testing out the little slide and stuff, and now I have to tell her that we're waiting," said Adomeit.

He hopes the city will make a decision before his daughter outgrows the treehouse.

"Six months ongoing, I don't know why the city is fighting it so hard," said Adomeit. "I just want what's safe and best for my daughter. I just want my daughter to have a safe place to play."

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