Tree House Sparks Town and Country Neighborhood Debate

Dr. Mike Orgel and James Crowley went head-to-head Monday at the Town and Country Board of Aldermen meeting. The issue is a tree house Orgel wants to build on the side yard of his house off Ridgemoor Lake Court in the Windmoor South subdivision.

The Windmoor South subdivision is small by anyone's standards, with only 13 houses. One of them is vacant after the homeowner died. They only have two homeowners’ association trustees and Jim Crowley is one of the two.

I know both Crowely and Orgel.

Orgel, an internist, served with me on the Public Works Committee. I found him one of the better members. He was able to grasp complicated issues quickly and could also find possible issues that might pop up at a later date hidden in certain public works and storm water plans.

Crowley, who works as a federal government rep for a Fortune 500 company is the chairman of the Town and Country Board of Adjustment. I have attended a number of Board of Adjustment meetings and have testified on occasion when I was an Alderman. I was always impressed with the fairness of the board, where local politics have not seemed to seep into members' decision making process.

In January, Orgel came to the Town and Country Board of Aldermen meeting to get a conditional use permit for the tree house. He mentioned how no neighbors in the subdivision had told him they were against him building the tree house.

However, he failed to mention that on Aug. 9 his two subdivision trustees had voted to deny his request to build the tree house and that on Dec. 29 the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously against the tree house. He also failed to mention that he had started construction on the tree house without permission, and that a large portion of it is already built.

“I take no joy in being in opposition to this,” said Crowley, who spoke after Orgel at the January meeting. Crowley explained that he and the other trustee, Robert Fitzgerald, voted against it because they feel it is a structure that violates the subdivision indentures.

It was only a first reading in January, so the matter was continued to the Feb. 14 meeting. That is when things got interesting.

“I was hoping this would be the last episode of As the World Turns Windmoor South," Orgel said at the meeting. He also again stated that no one has contacted him about being upset over the tree house.

Neighbor Peggy Brown spoke in favor of the tree house at Monday's meeting.

“I have sentimental feelings about tree houses and swimming pools,” said Brown.

Another neighbor, John Powers, spoke against the tree house.

“No one wants to personalize this,” he said. He explained that he found the tree house to be a visual nuisance, an attractive nuisance for children and in violation of the subdivision indentures.

When Crowley spoke, he was upset about a letter sent to the board by Orgel and his wife claiming Crowley and other neighbors, while at a party across the street from Orgel's home in May of 2010, went and looked at the tree house under construction and everyone liked it.

Crowley said the statement was a lie, that he never left the party and has never been on Orgel’s property. He added that as a trustee he did his job and now is being defamed by untrue statements. He demanded an apology. He got it, but not from Orgel.

It turns out Orgel remarried three years ago after his first wife died of a brain tumor. He and his new wife, Cathy, have eight grandchildren combined. They decided it would be fun for the grandkids when they visited if there was a tree house.

After Jim Crowley spoke and demanded an apology, Cathy Orgel spoke for a second time. She apologized to Crowley and said she was new to the neighborhood at the time of the party and thought Crowley came to see the tree house. She said she was wrong and was so sorry for saying and writing anything to the contrary that upset her neighbors.

Orgel was building the tree house himself, thinking he did not need permission.  He was very wrong.

At this point, Orgel has stopped construction, but has spent $250 for a building permit and $3,000 for an engineering report.

On a night with a number of voters in attendance, the board of aldermen refused to vote. I've seen this happen before. Members voted to continue the matter and allowed the pot down at Windmoor South to simmer.