Craning in Grandma Mary's Douglas Fir Stair Tree
Today was pretty exciting at the build site. We hired a crane to come in and help us bring Grandma Mary's big Douglas Fir tree to it's final resting place. This impressive fir will serve as the main center support for our spiral staircase that John Colliander from Treeworks (West Glacier) is custom building for us in conjunction with the Treehouse Guys build team from the DIY Network.
The build was held up until this point as the tree is serving as a centrifugal point to which the builders need to add support beams off of to start the decking and initial subfloor of the treehouse. The amount of work and man hours to even get to this point have been huge but we are reaping the benefits now, as it's SO WORTH IT!
How majestic it looks standing up right in the treehouse build site. We only wish Grandma Mary could see it. Can't wait to see how it takes shape and is eventually the main entrance into the treehouse. What a grand site that will be.
Harvesting Grandma Mary's Tree
Darin Robison, the owner of the Montana Treehouse Retreat, always had a very special connection with his Grandma Mary who has passed within the past few years. When we thought about our initial idea of getting into the trees, we wanted to make sure it was a grand entrance.
One thing to know about Darin, is that he doesn't just do things the easy way. He approaches each building project as an individual work of art. When he remembered that the huge douglas fir tree from Grandma Mary's house (which is now cousin Curt's) needed to be removed, he jumped at the challenge to take his excavator down to Echo Lake and dig up the tree from the roots up.
He had a vision of wrapping a spiral staircase entrance around this tree which he'll set on a concrete foundation. It was important for Darin to get the root footprint of the tree so as to be a more dramatic effect. Thus, more work involved.
He has spent hours and hours harvesting, trucking the tree from Echo Lake, power washing, peeling and cleaning this tree so we could start the build.
We have also brought in our good friend John Colliander of Treeworks out of West Glacier to help with the build and to help transform this tree into the most badass staircase one could imagine! Can't wait to see it come together.
More soon!
Conditional Use Permit...check!
We took one of the first steps of many towards the Montana Treehouse Retreat today! The Flathead County Board approved our plans to develop our 7 acres outside of Whitefish into The Montana Treehouse Retreat and have granted us a Conditional Use Permit. We are so excited to see this plan come into action!
Treehouse retreat OK’d near Whitefish
Posted: Thursday, September 3, 2015 9:00 pm
By LYNNETTE HINTZE The Daily Inter Lake
A treehouse retreat planned near Whitefish drew some neighborhood opposition but won approval Tuesday from the Flathead County Board of Adjustment.
The board granted Darin Robison and Kati O’Toole a conditional-use permit to develop seven wooded acres off Dillon Road with up to three high-end treehouses open to the public for nightly rental. The treehouses will be no larger than 1,000 square feet in size and no more than 35 feet high.
Several conditions were added to the project to address concerns about noise and neighborhood disruption. Guests will be required to stay a minimum of one week at the camp and retreat center, the board decided. The facility also must obtain a public accommodation license from the state and submit a soil disturbance and weed management plan to the county prior to construction.
The board added language to a condition about quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., stipulating noise from the retreat center “shall not be unreasonably disturbing to the neighborhood.”
The treehouses must be built in such a manner as to prohibit guests from peering into neighboring homes.
Ron Buentemeier, who lives next door to the retreat property, said he supported the proposal.
Neighbors David and Kristin Eberhart voiced concerns that the proposed use would be invasive and that it would be difficult for the county to enforce the conditions placed on the project. Increased traffic was another concern.
The conditional-use permit will be good for the duration of the use as a retreat center, but the county planning staff indicated there would be an inspection after a year to ensure permit compliance.
Nature trails that could be used for cross-country skiing in the winter are planned throughout the property. Other amenities include a tepee lounge and meditation room and a rock sauna.
Treehouse retreat proposed near Whitefish
Posted: Saturday, August 29, 2015 9:00 pm
By LYNNETTE HINTZE/The Daily Inter Lake |
A plan to build a camp and retreat center near Whitefish featuring high-end rustic treehouses goes before the Flathead County Board of Adjustment on Tuesday.
Darin Robison and Kati O’Toole are asking for a conditional-use permit to develop seven wooded acres off Dillon Road with up to three treehouses open to the public for nightly rental. The treehouses would be no larger than 1,000 square feet and no more than 35 feet high, according to the permit application.
The property is located in the Southeast Rural Whitefish Zoning District and is zoned suburban agricultural with a 10-acre minimum lot size. It is bordered by the North 40 Resort to the east, Rick’s Welding to the south and an evergreen tree farm to the north.
A naturally wooded common area in the center of the retreat would be used as a gathering space for nightly campfires and sing-a-longs led by O’Toole, a local music producer and singer/songwriter.
Nature trails that could be used for cross-country skiing in the winter are planned throughout the property. Other amenities include a tepee lounge and meditation room and a rock sauna, according to the application.
The applicants propose a 10 p.m. noise curfew “out of respect of our neighbors.
“Since the idea of the retreat is a quiet, calm getaway setting in a natural environment, we don’t foresee a lot of loud noise or vibration,” they noted in the application.
Robison and O’Toole also stated it’s their intention to “maintain the utmost privacy for our neighboring properties as well as the privacy of the units created at the treehouse retreat.”
The Board of Adjustment will hold a public hearing on the proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.
Board of Adjustment decisions are considered final actions and do not go to the county commissioners for further review and consideration.
Written comments on the treehouse retreat may be sent to the Flathead County Planning Office and must be received by 5 p.m. on Sept. 1.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.