Board approves treehouse at 2600 Slate Run with conditions; applicant reduced height

The Upper Arlington Board of Zoning and Planning on Feb. 19 approved variance application 0225 for 2600 Slate Run Road, allowing a roughly 100‑square‑foot treehouse, reduced in height to 11 feet 11‑1/4 inches, to be installed up to 7 feet 4 inches above grade, together with about 460 square feet of elevated decking sited up to 13 feet 9 inches above grade (the code limit for recreational structures is 12 feet above grade).

Planning staff said the applicant reduced the treehouse height from 12 feet 9 inches to 11 feet 11‑1/4 inches as a good‑faith effort and offered additional landscaping after neighbor meetings. Staff noted past board precedents from the 1980s and the enforcement difficulties of time‑limited conditions tied to property transfers; staff recommended routine maintenance conditions and that a structural engineer be involved through building permits.

Applicant Nick Berger of Hidden Creek Landscaping described materials that will weather naturally (cedar cladding) and said the site sits down in a ravine so the structure is largely out of sight. Homeowner Scott White said neighbors met on site and that lighting will be low‑grade and manually switched. The board approved the variance with conditions requiring arborist‑recommended tree care and monitoring of ravine grading, a minimum 2‑inch layer of wood chips where construction equipment will be staged, prohibition of heating, cooling, electric and sleeping in the treehouse, and additional tree planting to mitigate views. The board acknowledged structural limitations for lowering deck platforms and noted a structural engineer already is part of the building permit process.