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| This treehouse extends 20 inches into an alley and it’s dividing the neighborhood | This treehouse extends 20 inches into an alley and it’s dividing the neighborhood |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A blue and gray treehouse above a small street in Capitol Hill is causing finger-pointing and the old silent treatment among neighbors. | A blue and gray treehouse above a small street in Capitol Hill is causing finger-pointing and the old silent treatment among neighbors. |
| The treehouse’s supporters and opponents have the smarts and know-how to navigate public offices, redacted emails, stop-work orders and city permits. Ah, classic Washington. | The treehouse’s supporters and opponents have the smarts and know-how to navigate public offices, redacted emails, stop-work orders and city permits. Ah, classic Washington. |
| And it’s all over a treehouse that looks like a castle. | And it’s all over a treehouse that looks like a castle. |
| “When people go into opposition on something, they’ll pull out every possible way to get at something,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B chairwoman Kirsten Oldenburg. “People on Capitol Hill, they know how to get information. They are professionals.” | “When people go into opposition on something, they’ll pull out every possible way to get at something,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B chairwoman Kirsten Oldenburg. “People on Capitol Hill, they know how to get information. They are professionals.” |
| At issue is that the 8-foot-high treehouse juts into the public space by about 20 inches. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28, when city officials could determine whether the treehouse will need to come down. | At issue is that the 8-foot-high treehouse juts into the public space by about 20 inches. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28, when city officials could determine whether the treehouse will need to come down. |
| The treehouse sits in a 100-year-old elm tree on a U-shaped alley called Archibald Walk. The narrow street, near G and 6th streets in Southeast, is lined with a half-dozen homes. | |
| Many of the homes on Archibald Walk don’t have traditional front or back yards and neighbors say the alley has become a public, shared space once lined with flower pots, benches and even a wedding in the spot beneath the now-controversial treehouse. The story was first reported by neighborhood blog Capitol Hill Corner, where residents are divided. | |
| One commenter, Brian C., wrote on the blog: “People who oppose tree houses never had, nor ever will have, any quality of life.” Another, identified as RD, wrote: “It’s a treehouse. Relax people.” | |
| To hear homeowners Ellen Psychas and Bing Yee tell it, it started out simply enough. Psychas, who counsels high school kids about college, and Yee, a Department of Homeland Security lawyer, wanted to build a princess-like treehouse for their two daughters, ages 3 and 5. | To hear homeowners Ellen Psychas and Bing Yee tell it, it started out simply enough. Psychas, who counsels high school kids about college, and Yee, a Department of Homeland Security lawyer, wanted to build a princess-like treehouse for their two daughters, ages 3 and 5. |
| They said they checked with city transportation officials and the District’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and found there were no specific regulations regarding the building of small treehouses. | They said they checked with city transportation officials and the District’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and found there were no specific regulations regarding the building of small treehouses. |
| The couple said they passed out fliers alerting neighbors that they were building the treehouse and got no response. They also hired an arborist to help them avoid harming the tree, then bought $300 worth of “eco-friendly tree-building hardware.” | The couple said they passed out fliers alerting neighbors that they were building the treehouse and got no response. They also hired an arborist to help them avoid harming the tree, then bought $300 worth of “eco-friendly tree-building hardware.” |
| [Father battles Fairfax zoning laws for sons’ treehouse] | [Father battles Fairfax zoning laws for sons’ treehouse] |
| They built the nearly 30-square-foot treehouse, but now city officials say they didn’t have the proper permitting. | They built the nearly 30-square-foot treehouse, but now city officials say they didn’t have the proper permitting. |
| Some of their neighbors aren’t too happy. | Some of their neighbors aren’t too happy. |
| Loraine Heckenberg, who lives nearby, said the homeowners occasionally played with her rescue dog, but they no longer speak. | Loraine Heckenberg, who lives nearby, said the homeowners occasionally played with her rescue dog, but they no longer speak. |
| Heckenberg said she and other neighbors on the street think the treehouse “overwhelms the public space.” She is also concerned about the lack of enforcement on the building of the treehouse. | Heckenberg said she and other neighbors on the street think the treehouse “overwhelms the public space.” She is also concerned about the lack of enforcement on the building of the treehouse. |
| Heckenberg said she has spent as many as 20 hours a week in an effort to have the treehouse removed from the public portion of the alley. She has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with city agencies to learn more about the permitting process. | |
| “I don’t feel a need to necessarily upset anyone,” Heckenberg said.“But the rules are the rules.” | “I don’t feel a need to necessarily upset anyone,” Heckenberg said.“But the rules are the rules.” |
| For the couple who built the treehouse, it’s gotten a bit too much. | For the couple who built the treehouse, it’s gotten a bit too much. |
| “I don’t like the way this has escalated,” Psychas said. “We’re surrounded by grumpy, old, retired people. People don’t have kids.” | |
| But she noted, “it’s Washington.” She and her husband, combined, have been in the D.C. area for 35 years and have owned the house since 2011. | But she noted, “it’s Washington.” She and her husband, combined, have been in the D.C. area for 35 years and have owned the house since 2011. |
| “We’re not new to the area,” Psychas said. “We’re just concerned about this level of spitefulness.” | “We’re not new to the area,” Psychas said. “We’re just concerned about this level of spitefulness.” |
| ANC commissioner Jim Loots called Archibald Walk a “treasured, historic enclave.” | ANC commissioner Jim Loots called Archibald Walk a “treasured, historic enclave.” |
| “Had the property owners built their structure on private property, we would not be having this discussion,” Loots said. “This is public space in the truest sense of that term and a private treehouse is simply not an appropriate use of that public resource.” | “Had the property owners built their structure on private property, we would not be having this discussion,” Loots said. “This is public space in the truest sense of that term and a private treehouse is simply not an appropriate use of that public resource.” |
| Still, some say the treehouse is charming. | Still, some say the treehouse is charming. |
| “In my personal opinion, it’s rather cute,” said Oldenburg, the ANC chairwoman. “I understand that the people who live there have different views of what their alley should be.” | “In my personal opinion, it’s rather cute,” said Oldenburg, the ANC chairwoman. “I understand that the people who live there have different views of what their alley should be.” |
| She said she believes the owners did “due diligence” in researching the permitting process for the structure but “got caught up in a mess of bureaucracies.” | She said she believes the owners did “due diligence” in researching the permitting process for the structure but “got caught up in a mess of bureaucracies.” |
| Matthew Marcou, an associate director for public space regulation administration at the District Department of Transportation, said the couple should have obtained permits, and a review should have been done before the city’s public space committee before the treehouse was built. | Matthew Marcou, an associate director for public space regulation administration at the District Department of Transportation, said the couple should have obtained permits, and a review should have been done before the city’s public space committee before the treehouse was built. |
| Yee, the homeowner, said, “I agree in principle with that and we did, in fact, try to obtain permits.” Yee and Psychas complained that the city had no rules on treehouses to guide them through the process. | |
| The city issued a balcony permit in November after an inspector looked at the property — several months after it was built — but instead, city officials now say a review was needed for a permit to allow the structure into public space. | |
| Will the treehouse be torn down? That could depend on the outcome of a public hearing this month. | Will the treehouse be torn down? That could depend on the outcome of a public hearing this month. |
| Heckenberg, who said she has spent months dealing with the issue, said she hopes for a resolution soon. | Heckenberg, who said she has spent months dealing with the issue, said she hopes for a resolution soon. |
| “I hope it gets taken down and we can go back to healing,” she said. | “I hope it gets taken down and we can go back to healing,” she said. |
| Staff researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report. | Staff researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report. |