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A Toronto father says he is in “shock and disbelief” after losing a zoning battle to keep his family’s elaborate, ship-shaped tree house.

A committee of adjustment decided Thursday that the structure John Alpeza built for his children violated city bylaws.

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Alpeza, who lives in Toronto’s Swansea neighbourhood, said he spent two years and $30,000 building the playhouse for his boys, Kristian, 10, and Matheas, 8. Shaped like a pirate ship, the cedar-planked structure features ropes and ladders, and a cabin complete with windows and a doors. Alpeza said he had submitted drawings and a request for permits to the city last fall — well after he started building the structure — but he didn’t hear anything back until received a voice mail in April.

The city told the family to remove the play house in a week or face a court order.

A spokesperson for the city said any structure more than 10 square metres requires a permit. Following a complaint from a neighbour about the tree house in 2014, a follow-up investigation found the structure violated zoning bylaws for height and set-back.

After a media frenzy and even public comments from Mayor John Tory, the city allowed Alepeza to submit an application to the York committee of adjustment to keep the treehouse in its current state.