The ruling came at the board's regular meeting. Members upheld zoning Commissioner Gary Ward's decision that the tree house violates the city's accessory building ordinance.

A lawyer for the Welch family, who built the tree house, then asked the board to grant them permission to keep the house based a state ordinance for conditional use and non-conforming use. Again, the board denied their request.

The Welch family says they don't understand why the board ruled against them.

Filled with emotion, Scot Welch said, "It's hard to explain it to the adults. I've had trouble explaining it to everybody in the city, people in Madison and the surrounding areas, the CBS Evening News. People from all over the country are calling us now because of the story that ran this morning. We cannot explain it."

The Welch's have ten days to file an appeal or to come into compliance. Their attorney says they will submit their appeal to the state circuit court within that time.

Scot and Mary Welch built the tree house five years ago for their children and their entire neighborhood.

The Welch's say before they ever built the structure, they checked with city officials to see if it met the city's zoning code and they were assured it did. Shortly after approval that code changed but the Welch's weren't informed.

In April, zoning officials told the Welch's they would have to tear their tree house down, because it was in violation of Clinton's building code. Neighbors and residents have been petitioning to keep the tree house.