David Csaky started building the treehouse in the 3100 block of Eastlake Avenue East two years ago.

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SEATTLE - A man who is being evicted from the tree house he calls home under Interstate 5 near Lake Union is getting a brief reprieve.

The elaborate house, with stunning views of the lake, was built by its sole resident, David Csaky. 

Csaky started building the treehouse in the 3100 block of Eastlake Avenue East two years ago. It has separate rooms, and he gets up and down on ladders that are counterweighted with sandbags.

People passing by call it something to behold.

"I think it's pretty impressive," said passer-by Craig Downing. "It's a pretty elaborate system he's got."

Csaky, who has a pet rat named Lucky, a ferret named Rainbow, and a squirrel named Tilt, says all of this was prompted by the desire for a place to call home.

"I was in some briers for a while," he says. "And they'd break off and I'd roll over and get stabbed and it's not a good feeling, so I just wanted to get off the ground."

But his house is illegal. He says city workers talked to him several months ago, and turned their heads from his house.

But now workers are not turning their heads. They've posted a sign on the tree house, ordering Csaky to be out by Wednesday morning.

City officials call it a health and safety issue, and the tree house must come down.

But on Tuesday afternoon Seattle City Light, which owns the property with the Seattle Department of Transportation, announced it will grand Csaky a ten day extension to make other arrangements.

Csaky just wants to be left alone.

"I don't think I'm going anywhere," he says.

A spokesperson for City Light says they plan on enlisting the help of Health and Human Services to try to find Csaky another place to stay.

"You hate to be the bad person, but it is a health and safety issue," said City Light spokeswoman Susan Hartman.