A Bloor West Village resident says the city has ordered him to tear down a unique and expensive treehouse he built in his backyard for his children years ago.

John Alpeza says he built an elaborate boat-inspired treehouse in his backyard three years ago.

“Our main goal is to get away from TVs and the Internet and video games, and for them to socialize with their friends – spend time with real kids,” Alpeza told CTV Toronto.

Alpeza says he received no complaints from his neighbours until he decided to do a few upgrades on the structure, which is complete with swing ropes, a hull, a ship’s wheel and a hammock.

“Only after I changed the walls from pressure-treated to cedar and made it a lot nicer, a lot more expensive, that’s when the complaint was filed,” he said.

Alpeza said he then proceeded to work with the city to get the structure approved.

“They asked me to submit the paperwork so we submitted drawings about five months ago, there is a whole process involved,” he said.

Despite his efforts, he said he received a voicemail from a city official on Friday ordering him to tear down the structure.

“It’s just shocking that we’re being denied the due process of going through a proper committee of adjustment for our story to be heard and to defend our rights,” he told CTV Toronto.

“City officials are bureaucrats and don’t really understand a structure like this,” he told CP24 Wednesday. “There is no policy in place to support parents or dads like me that want to do something for their kids.”

Alpeza’s young children are just as upset by the news.

“My dad put a lot of hard work into it,” one the kids told CTV Toronto. “He’s going to get a refrigerator and books and like, you can sleep up there.”

"My heart is broken."

“To me this is not just a battle about a treehouse,” Alpeza told CP24. “This is a battle of a right of a family to be able to live freely in your own backyard, to be able to live in peace and in privacy and to have our time to try to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Mayor John Tory said he has asked city staff to look into the matter.

"I think what we should do is make sure what is not going on here is kind of overly zealous bureaucrats simply sort of responding because somebody phoned them," Tory told reporters at city hall Wednesday.

"As much as I admire the immense creativity, because I’ve seen a picture of the treehouse, we also do have to make sure we are mindful of safety considerations and also neighbourhood considerations. There are neighbours who live next door to that and down the street from that treehouse so I’ve certainly just asked this morning that our people have another look at it. "

He added that licensing staff are having discussions with the homeowner about how he could bring the treehouse into compliance.

"On the one hand, we have a job to do to make sure we protect public safety and to make sure we protect the overall character of the neighbourhoods but on the other hand, I hope we can do that in a way that does reflect discussion with the homeowner to accommodate those goals as opposed to sort of looking like we’re soreheads or party poopers."

Many of Alpeza's neighbours say that they have no problem with the treehouse.

"This is one of the nicest treehouses I've ever seen," said one neighbour.

Others aren't so pleased with the treehouse and say the size of the structure is too abrasive.

"Of course I mind, it's an eyesore," said another neighbour. "It's like a Berlin Wall."

With files from Janice Golding.