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It began as a father’s promise to his sons: He would build them a treehouse when he returned from fighting a war in Iraq. But it all soon devolved into a months-long legal battle over zoning regulations and the little red tree fort in the front yard of Mark Grapin’s Fairfax County home. Now, eight months after Grapin hammered home the first nail, his boys – Sean, 9, and Eric, 11 – will finally be able to play in their treehouse without worrying that the county will come and force them to tear it down. The county Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday granted Grapin a zoning variance that allows him to keep the treehouse, and his promise to his sons.
“I’m not looking for 15 minutes of fame,” Grapin said. “I’m just trying to do the right thing by my boys.”
Grapin’s treehouse travails began last February when the Army National Guard chief warrant officer returned from Iraq and called the Fairfax building department to make sure it was OK to build the treehouse on his property. He was told he didn’t need a permit and in mid-March he began work. Weeks later, though, Grapin received a notice from the county saying his treehouse violated the zoning law.
Grapin built the treehouse on a portion of his property that the county considers his front yard and Fairfax County expressly forbids any front yard structures beyond basketball hoops, statues or flagpoles. A resident called the county to complain.
Grapin, who was still building the treehouse, tried to comply. He spent nearly $2,000 in application fees trying to appease the county. After his first variance application was rejected, Grapin got a pro bono lawyer and 1,500 signatures on an online petition – some from as far away as New Zealand – urging the county to save the boys’ treehouse.
His latest variance request was approved unanimously Wednesday by the zoning board, though it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing for Grapin.
The board at times fixated on the minutest details of the treehouse, going so far as to question why Grapin built it out of redwood and debating briefly whether he should be required to paint it a more subdued shade of gray or hunter green. The board ultimately dropped demands for a color change.
Still, the variance was granted on the grounds that the treehouse be removed in five years or when Grapin moves. It also must be maintained in good condition so it doesn’t become an eyesore.
Grapin said he’s just happy his sons, who attended the zoning board meeting clad in matching Boy Scout uniforms, won’t lose their treehouse.
“I was sort of worried. I didn’t know what would happen,” Sean told a horde of reporters after the meeting. “I’m relieved that it’s over because there will be no more long hearings.”
