TIGARD – A controversial treehouse in Tigard is coming down.

It took Ribar Construction all day to take the treehouse apart and move it. Now, it’s one step closer to winding up with deserving children at an Oregon youth camp.

Wendy Tait owns it. She said the play structure was already there when her family bought the property. Now, the Taits are moving. And the playhouse must move too.

KGW photo

“It’s going to do somebody some good,” said Rick Lipinski, who owns Ribar Construction. “I’m not exactly sure who at this point.”

The Dundee company offered to disassemble it for free after learning that the structure was in danger of demolition.

“It’s just too nice of a little house to destroy,” Lipinski said. “It just doesn’t make sense, so hopefully we’ll be able to save it.”

It’s the ultimate treehouse, complete with two stories, a rope swing and a rock climbing wall.

The controversy began when Tait’s neighbor complained to the city that the roof of the treehouse was causing a runoff into his property. He said it was rotting his fence and eroding his yard.

Tigard City officials inspected the treehouse and discovered it was actually too close to the neighbor’s property line, and therefore in violation of city code.

“It's over the 5 foot line by 9 or 10 inches,” said Tigard City Manager Craig Prosser. “So, it's really close.”

The city gave Tait two weeks to move the playhouse or destroy it. If she didn’t comply, she’d face fines of $250 per day.

“It is totally ridiculous,” Tait said Thursday. “It's a beautiful structure it's not hurting anybody”

Moving the treehouse is no easy task. Tait said it would cost $2,000 to disassemble and rebuild it.

“The first owners told me it would withstand an earthquake. They built it to last,” she said.

Tigard City officials recognized Tait’s dilemma and waived the fines. Tait said she was grateful when the city gave her time to find the playhouse a new backyard.

Now, she’s on her way. Wednesday, Ribar Construction took the structure apart. They’re storing it for now. But it should be in the hands of a youth camp soon.

“The whole goal behind this was to make sure this structure did not end up in a dumpster,” Tait said. “That it ended up with some deserving children somewhere where a lot of them could enjoy it.”