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originaly published by the Courier Sept. 9, 2011:

County takes Treesort to court

By Stacy D. Stumbo of the Daily Courier

Josephine County is seeking an injunction to remove unpermitted tree houses and structures from Out 'n' About Tree House Treesort in Takilma and to prevent future development.

In a Josephine Circuit Court filing, the county alleges that although the resort is allowed to have only five tree houses, the facility has gone through an extensive expansion in the past decade without obtaining permits. On its website, Out 'n' About touts 18 tree houses, rope bridges, zip-lines and rope swings. It also operates a recreational vehicle park, basketball court, volleyball court and horseshoe pits.

The county recently settled a $1.2 million personal injury case with a Kirkland, Wash., couple who fell from a suspension bridge at the resort in 2008. In that case, plaintiffs Michelle M. Buswinka and Maurice L. Breslin claimed the county failed to inspect and issue permits for construction of the bridge; failed to require the design to meet applicable standards; and failed to stop the resort from building structures without inspections and permits.

County Legal Counsel Steve Rich said, "We had to file this lawsuit to prevent further harm caused by the defendants' continued violation of codes."

No court date has been set pending a response from resort owners Michael Garnier and Peggy Malone.

Garnier said the resort settled with Buswinka and Breslin for $500,000 and has been working with the county Planning Department trying to find a solution to permit problems at the facility. He said Out 'n' About is at a disadvantage because planning regulations are not designed for development of tree houses.

Rich said the county's history with the resort at 300 Page Creek Road is decades long and has involved multiple legal actions, including cease-and-desist orders and previous threats to tear down the tree houses. Ultimately, the county allowed Out 'n' About to continue operating under a permit designed for bed and breakfast establishments, with the tree houses used as bedrooms. Under that designation, the resort can host only 10 guests at a time, but according to the complaint, on July 4 this year, the owners held an organized gathering with more than 100 people in attendance

"I'm a bit older now and I'm not trying to be adversarial toward the county and the county isn't trying to be adversarial toward me," Garnier said. "Our goal is to get everything in order."
The county is seeking about $14,000 in fines for code violations, a cease-and-desist order preventing outdoor mass gatherings without permits and inspections, immediate removal of all structures without required permits from the county's Planning and Building Safety departments, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and permanently prohibiting new construction, repair, alteration or changes to the facility without permits. The county also wants resort owners to pay for court costs and any other relief the court decides is appropriate.

Rich said, "Whether we recover $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000, what we really want is to avoid potential liability."