SALINE, Mich. – The COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to get creative. Parents found new ways to keep their children entertained.
Greg Hohenberger built a treehouse for his children, which was a big hit in his neighborhood until it wasn’t.
It was built over the pandemic as a place for his children to play outside when they had to be stuck inside. A getaway without getting away.
“Last year with the pandemic was the first year I didn’t have to work Father’s Day weekend,” Hohenberger said. “So me and my four kids got out here with a pile of lumber and over three days built this from the bottom up.”
Board by board and nail by nail, they spent the day with their father building the treehouse together -- it was a big hit.
Five months after it was built, there was a complaint that led to an order from the HOA to tear the treehouse down.
“It’s kind of sad to see that it’s looking like it’s going to have to go,” Hohenberger said. “I don’t have a lot of options. The latest I’ve heard is that I have until July 6 to have this removed or they, or their lawyer are going to file a suit against me.”
The neighborhood is littered with things that appear to be against the HOA rules -- fences, treelines, run down playsets. It’s all left neighbors confused too.
Local 4 tried to speak to the chair of the HOA, but no one answered. Without an easy end to this fight, it looks like what went up one holiday will have to come down another.
“At this point, unfortunately, my plan is to spend Fourth of July weekend dismantling this treehouse,” Hohenberger said.