Tax $ At Work - Stopping A 5 Year Old's Treehouse
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

The bureaucrats in Tigard Oregon stopped giant construction project this week. Citing the lack of a building permit city officials stopped construction on a treehouse being built for a 5 year old cancer patient.

On Sunday, 5-year-old cancer patient Josh Brenneman took a first look at the mostly constructed dream treehouse that neighbors and friends built for him.

Late Tuesday, the city of Tigard ordered builders to stop construction of the three-story, 518-square-foot structure, saying that it lacked necessary permits.

And who is this going to affect?

Josh has been fighting cancer since October, when doctors found a tumor in one of his vertebrae. He has undergone 14 rounds of chemotherapy in Oregon and traveled to California for 31 radiation treatments.

People from across the southwest metro area have helped, including a group of inmates in an addiction recovery program at Oregon State Penitentiary, who raised about $2,250 to help with costs.

Don't you love government. They can't keep track of level three sex offenders but they can sure as hell dash the dreams of a little boy.

I sure love the way government protects us.

Tigard stops construction on treehouse for 5-year-old with cancer

Building department officials says they are processing permits quickly

TIGARD - On Sunday, 5-year-old cancer patient Josh Brenneman took a first look at the mostly constructed dream treehouse that neighbors and friends built for him.

Late Tuesday, the city of Tigard ordered builders to stop construction of the three-story, 518-square-foot structure, saying that it lacked necessary permits.

The city learned just how big the treehouse is this week, when a neighbor called with concerns about the safety of the tall, narrow structure, said Hap Watkins, inspection supervisor for the city's building department.

The city doesn't usually regulate treehouses -- most are made with nails and a few planks of wood -- but a free-standing structure such as Josh's requires a permit.

"We want it to be successful, too. We just want to make sure that the end result is safe" for Josh, said Gary Lampella, a Tigard building official.

The architect of the structure, Gregg Creighton of Lake Oswego, said a misunderstanding with a city building official two months ago was to blame for the stop-order. Creighton said he was glad that the city planned to move swiftly through the permit process.

"I told (the city) this treehouse was not going to be like other treehouses," he said, "but they said, 'If it's a play structure, we don't want to see it.' "

However, Creighton was "happy with how (the city is) handling it. Once I got down there with the pictures and the picture of little Josh standing there in front of it, they wanted to help."

Josh has been fighting cancer since October, when doctors found a tumor in one of his vertebrae. He has undergone 14 rounds of chemotherapy in Oregon and traveled to California for 31 radiation treatments.

People from across the southwest metro area have helped, including a group of inmates in an addiction recovery program at Oregon State Penitentiary, who raised about $2,250 to help with costs.

"We won't put it in line with the regular building permits," Lampella said. The city has asked for more information about the plans, but building could start up again in a few days, he said.

Joshua's father, Don Brenneman, said he was relieved to learn that the city was trying to be cooperative.

"There may be some hoops to jump through, but we'll make it through them," he said Wednesday. "We're doing all right, and Josh's house is going to be A-OK."

To read about Josh's treehouse, click here and scroll to "A dream under construction"

The Oregonian ~ Kate Taylor and Luciana Lopez ** Tigard stops construction on treehouse for 5-year-old with cancer