The Simpsons' animator is forced to take down three-story treehouse

An animation producer for The Simpsons will be forced to dismantle his three-story treehouse Boney Island in California after disputes with neighbors and local authorities.

Rick Polizzi has been accused of cashing in on the treehouse, which he had built 20 years ago for his two young daughters, after he turned it into a Halloween haunted house attraction.

But he denied any financial gain from the treehouse, which boasted dazzling light effects, glowing pumpkins, and dancing skeleton marionettes.

Polizzi claimed that he had spent over $40,000 to modify the house over the past seven years but has not yet obtained the building permit required by the Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety.

He has now been served with a court summons in May by the City Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for ‘non-compliance’.

‘We ‘ll have to take it down next month due to an upcoming court date with the City Attorney,’ Polizzi wrote on his Facebook page.

An animation producer for The Simpsons will be forced to dismantle his three-story treehouse Boney Island in California after disputes with neighbors and local authorities

The treehouse boasted dazzling light effects, glowing pumpkins, and dancing skeleton marionettes, drawing thousands of visitors every Halloween season

Rick Polizzi has been accused of cashing in on the treehouse, which he had built 20 years ago for his two young daughters, after he turned it into a Halloween haunted house attraction

Polizzi built the treehouse in 2001 between a triangle of sweet gum trees planted in the 1940s in his front yard.

The three-story treehouse, known as Boney Island, has since become the focal point of the neighborhood, drawing thousands of visitors to the town each Halloween season.

That’s also when a few neighbors complained to the city officials about the growing crowds.

‘The city came out and said, ‘No, you’re not running a business – but do you have a permit for that?’ Polizzi said in an interview with NBC.

Polizzi said that there’s only one person who has kept pushing the issue and he had to shut down the Boney Island in his front yard.

He relocated all the decorations and special effects to the LA Museum of Natural History in Exposition Park in 2017, but the treehouse remained.

‘The city shut us down in 2017,’ he said, ‘The treehouse stayed. I didn’t think there was any reason to take it down.’

Various city departments have informed him, ‘You’re going to need a lot more drawings; you’re going to need this and this…’ he recounted.

‘They gave me a list,’ he said.

The three-story treehouse, known as Boney Island, has since become the focal point of the neighborhood, drawing thousands of visitors to the town each Halloween season

Polizzi relocated all the decorations and special effects to the LA Museum of Natural History in Exposition Park in 2017, but the treehouse remained

The three-time Emmy winning producer was granted zoning administration approval for his treehouse in December 2023, but has not yet obtained a permit.

‘The LA Dept. of Building & Safety (LADBS) is making it nearly impossible to obtain the required building permit to keep the structure in place,’ he wrote in a Facebook post.

Although the structure is a 110-square-foot treehouse, LADBS requires him to follow guidelines for a single-family dwelling, he said.

‘They are also requiring architectural & structural plans, geological reports, etc. which could cost us another $30K to $40K,’ he wrote.

The family is now on the cusp of giving up.

‘The best thing I would hope (for) is that the City Attorney could drop the case. It’s over a tree house,’ he said.

Polizzi built the treehouse in 2001 between a triangle of sweet gum trees planted in the 1940s in his front yard

Despite a few neighbors filing complaints with the city, others have rallied behind the treehouse, offering their support on social media.

Friends and neighbors started a petition called Save the Sherman Oaks Boney Island Treehouse, which has gathered more than 800 signatures.

‘The treehouse has been nothing but a positive icon in the neighborhood and a beacon of goodwill for over 20 years,’ wrote Laura Crompton, who started the petition on behalf of Polizzi.

The structure has been featured on multiple television shows including America’s Got Talent and Treehouse Masters, and in a commercial by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Casey Abrams, who competed and finished in sixth place on American Idol, made a stop at the treehouse on Thursday to help save the structure.

Read more