Capitola family builds treehouse for kids during pandemic, but a complaint could take it down

CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION) A Capitola couple decided to build a treehouse in their front yard for their seven and two-year-old girls. The father spent several weeks in July putting up the sturdy treehouse.

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic. This is a very challenging time for kids to be at home so we just thought this would be a great idea to keep the kids outside,” Katie Bramlett said.

“My dad built the whole floor, and it was amazing,” Ellie Bramlett said.

However, about a week ago the city flagged the treehouse. The city told the Bramlett family another resident had complained.

Since the treehouse is technically in the Bramlett family's front yard, it does require a permit to build. After the complaint, the family put up a sign that read, “to the person who called the city about this treehouse...thank you for stealing the most joy my children have had during the pandemic."

At least one person didn’t take kindly to the sign and left a message on their porch that said, 'whiners aren't allowed here'.

Katie decided to take down the sign to avoid anymore attention, but at the same time, neighbors starting showing their support for the Bramlett’s and several posts from strangers on social media led to even more calls to keep the treehouse.

“The neighbors said 'what happened? What happened?'. We loved it, and there was a lot of positive feedback, but I didn’t know it would become anything like this,” Tyler Bramlett said.

The family's chalked it up to an honest mistake.

“We were under the impression children’s playhouses didn’t require a permit," Katie said. "That’s our bad. We should have definitely checked in.”

The family said the mayor is meeting with them later this week to discuss what can be done to keep the treehouse.