Are Treehouses OK on Agricultural Land?

Are Treehouses OK on Agricultural Land?

An article from the Fort Frances Times describes a developer's efforts to build a treehouse hotel in an agricultural zone.

The province of Quebec denied the rezoning application in Natalie Laberge's proposal to build luxury tree house suites in a stand of 200-year-old maple trees in Covey Hill, Quebec, near the US border.

"Laberge said she supports the preservation of agricultural land, and thinks her project adds to—rather than subtracts from—the cause of environmental preservation".

The article states that the proposed development is supported by "nearby municipalities, the county government, the regional economic development body, the area's tourism agency, the local member of the national assembly, and the local MP" and that Laberge will appeal the Province's decision.

The question raised is an interesting one: Can land that is designated agricultural be developed in exceptional circumstances -- and does a tree house qualify as such a circumstance? Agricultural zoning is intended to preserve land for the purpose of food production. Conventional development projects are not typically compatible with food production as they have a dominating footprint on the soil that renders the surface for other uses such as roads, parking lots, building foundations, and similar structures.

A tree house, one can argue, does not have such a foot print; therefore, does not contravene the intention of Agricultural Zoning. One could theoretically design and build a tree house in a way that does not touch the ground at all and co-exists with the existing food production capacity of the surrounding land. I can't say if Laberge's proposal is such a project; however, I am confident that such a complimentary use is possible.

On the opposite side of the argument is the idea that the old growth Maple trees are themselves the primary agricultural land use and that building a structure in them changes this preservation dynamic. It's true -- any building that takes place in a tree will change them and even do some harm. This is something that can be minimized, through careful design and construction, but never eliminated. Also, trees are mortal and older ones do rot and eventually fall. There would be a tendency to modify the existing forest in order to prevent this as long as a suite was dependent upon the tree. For better or for worse, these efforts also change the natural state of things.

But, the pristine preservation of nature argument for zoning can only go so far. Especially if the locals are tapping the trees for maple syrup. If they're already modified for human purposes then allowing some environmentally sensitive and well designed structures to be built in them is not a big difference. I hope they work it out -- I'd love to see it happen.

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