Dear Santa: Please Don

Unless something changes, three year-old Layla has only until the end of January to enjoy the playhouse her father built for her in their backyard. Despite her parents' diligent efforts to ensure that the structure would conform with all county zoning rules before they built it–and being assured at all turns that it would–the family will begin being fined $100 a day starting February 1, unless they take it down.

Jayson and Lauren Przbyla wanted to have everything in order before Jayson would build a sturdy and sound playhouse on their land in Ellenton. Not many people seek a permit before building a playhouse for their child. However, Lauren, a Sarasota-based attorney, knew the value of ensuring that every undertaking on the property conformed to the letter of the law, especially since they live in a flood zone, where special rules often apply.

During the planning phase, the Przbylas had a half dozen phone conversations and meetings with county officials to make sure they were dotting all of their I’s and crossing all of their T’s. The couple ultimately submitted plans for the playhouse that included the floodplain-required minimum one-foot raised elevation. They say that representatives from the various departments within building and development services, including the floodplain management and planning and zoning departments, all assured them that such a playhouse is allowed and that no permit would be required.

With their project green-lit, the Przbylas spent more than $5,000 on building materials, and Jayson set about building a beautiful playhouse that the couple hoped would help teach their young daughter to engage with the outside world in an age where so many children end up spending their time consumed by digital distractions.

The finished product is a child’s dream: a fully enclosed playhouse, complete with a small deck, a slide, a chute and a tire swing. Jayson didn't cut any corners, even going so far as using Simpson strong tie connectors and following other building industry standards to ensure that the structure was as safe and sturdy as possible. The fact that it survived Hurricane Irma completely unscathed is a testament to such craftsmanship.

That would have likely been the end of a beautiful story, had a former neighbor not complained to code enforcement. Responding to the since-relocated neighbor’s complaint, officials from the county code enforcement department issued a citation and told the couple that a permit was in fact needed to put such a structure in a floodplain.

Despite having been assured by the county that was not the case prior to building, they decided to go through the permitting process and even engaged an engineer who certified that the playhouse complied with the building codes and was ready for a certificate of completion. That’s where things got complicated.

The Przbyla’s home is on what appears to be a double lot in a small development of houses on the Manatee River, across U.S. 301 from the Gamble Plantation. However, because the lots were never joined, their home technically sits on one lot, while the playhouse sits on their "vacant" adjacent lot, which they own outright.

During the permitting process, the county now informed them that the playhouse cannot be located on a vacant lot, and that no permit would be issued unless they either relocated the structure to the other side of the property that makes up the occupied lot, or joined the two lots to make the "vacant" side part of one larger parcel.

However, the property backs up to a canal, and they have a pool. With what is taken up by the home and the driveway, there simply isn’t a feasible way to locate the playhouse and comply with the required setbacks–not to mention that it was designed to be built around a palm tree that grows through the middle of its deck.

Joining the lots would also be problematic. The second lot is also "buildable," so it wouldn’t be advisable to give up the considerable value of such a lot by joining it to the other one. That process would also require a new floodplain elevation to be done, which their flood insurance broker told them would result in approximately $2,000 a year in additional premiums, not to mention the property tax consequences.

Through the course of the whole ordeal, Lauren says that despite their best efforts to keep it from her, Layla has become aware of the possibility that the playhouse will soon come down.

"Three year olds are smarter than most people think, and they hear everything," said Lauren, "so she eventually asked us about someone coming to take her playhouse."

Unfamiliar with the ins and outs of code enforcement, when her mother asked who the young girl thought was coming to take it, Layla told her "monsters." As cute as the faux pas may seem, it demonstrates the gravity of the potential unintended consequences of even the most well-intentioned rules and regulations.

The Przbylas attended the Manatee County Commission meeting on December 12 and asked the board to inject some common sense to the case. They received many sympathetic overtures and promises to look into it right away, but the couple says that no movement has occurred since.

It’s fairly obvious why the county wouldn’t want certain things built on vacant lots. It’s also obvious to any reasonable person that the Przbyla’s property is not what the person who crafted the language of the building codes had in mind. Clearly, nothing would change in terms of the safety or danger of the structure if they were to join the lots. The playhouse would remain exactly as is, in the exact same location, while the couple would be out a considerable chunk of change.

It seems that this is one of the instances in which government could seek to make itself more practical, rather than asking the very people who empower it to be unnecessarily burdened by the unintended effects of its regulations. Perhaps providing that a lot that is owned by an adjacent homeowner and used for no other purpose than an extension of their property is to be considered as such, even if it hasn’t been joined, might provide one possible solution?

Lauren said that she can find no evidence that the county has ever permitted a playhouse. Indeed, one can only imagine that both in and out of the floodplain, our community is littered with playhouses that range from plastic Fisher Price numbers to high-end DIY projects like this one and all points between, that run afoul of various codes and were put up by citizens who never gave a moment’s thought to conforming with them, let alone made the Herculean efforts that were undertaken in this case. This is a story of a family who did everything in their power to do the right thing and were told by the eventual arbitrators that they had, only to be facing impossible choices after it was determined that those very same authorities gave them bad intel.

Meanwhile, a little girl is hoping that she and her dog, Adi, will be able to continue their fair weather adventures in the magical little playhouse, where they often host tea parties and other toddler rite of passage events. Perhaps the Christmas spirit mingled with a bit of common sense and good government will conspire to grant Layla and Adi a holiday reprieve.