Clinton aldermen deny treehouse appeal

By Heath A. Smith
Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer

Scott and Mary Welch lost their treehouse battle with the city of Clinton on Tuesday, but the war may be far from over.

The Clinton Board of Aldermen voted to deny the Welches' appeal of Clinton Zoning Administrator Gary Ward's ruling of their treehouse as an accessory building, which, according to city zoning ordinances, is restricted from being built in the front or side yard of a home.

The board also denied a request for a conditional use permit, a special exemption or a nonconforming use permit.

Both motions passed 6-1, with Ward 5 Alderman Herb Touchton dissenting.

The Welches' attorney, Steven Smith, said they plan to appeal both decisions in Hinds County Circuit Court.

"The appeal will be filed within 10 days," Smith said. "I think the board's decisions and views on this case are inaccurate, unsupported and improper."

Mary Welch said five years ago she sought a permit to build the treehouse but was told one was not needed. She said she also explained that the treehouse would be located in front of the house.

She said on two occasions, once in 1999 and again in 2000, building inspectors from the city came to her house for a separate issue and walked past the treehouse. No one said the structure was in violation of an ordinance, she said. She said one of the inspectors commented on how nice the treehouse looked.

The treehouse fight has gained national attention. A CBS Evening News crew in Clinton to cover the WorldCom scandal plans to interview the Welches.

Scott Welch said he is prepared to fight for his treehouse all the way to the state Supreme Court.

"What the board has done now is basically passed the buck to the courts," Welch said. "They were given every legal way to allow me to keep our treehouse. I think this decision was made by the board several months ago."

Alderman-at-large Jehu Brabham said he has nothing against the treehouse but could not ignore his duty to uphold the city's ordinances.

In a pre-motion speech, Brabham compared ignoring his duty to WorldCom executives ignoring the company's shady accounting figures and former President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal.

"It's not just about the treehouse on Kitchings Drive," Brabham said. "It will be very hard to enforce our zoning ordinances in the future if we willfully disregard them now."

Touchton said he voted against the first motion because he disagreed with Ward's definition of an accessory building. Smith said he was confident a judge will disagree as well, along with other legal points the city has raised.

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