A Kirkland family’s front lawn Halloween maze, that has haunted trick-or-treaters in the Juanita neighborhood for 15 years, might have been permanently scared off by city ordinances if it wasn’t for one generous person.

David Morris, a Kirkland resident since 1980, said the haunted maze his family constructs on their front lawn on the 11000 block of 108th Ave NE every Halloween has become a neighborhood tradition. However, city code enforcement officers told him that the maze violates several sections of the municipal code.

“Halloween is really great fun,” he said. “I decided to do something to create a memory for kids. That’s all it is. Over the years, it’s kind of taking on a life of its own, and it’s gotten bigger and bigger.”

City of Kirkland Communications Manager Marie Jensen released a statement late Friday afternoon stating that the city had confirmed that a rental tent will be delivered to the Halloween House in Kirkland on Monday.

“The individual who is paying the rental fee wishes to remain anonymous,” Jensen wrote. “Kirkland building and fire officials have authorized the placement of a 400-square-foot, structurally stable, and non-flammable tent.”

The donation will allow the decade-and-a-half tradition to continue this year.

Morris had previously stated that he would have to call the maze off for good, disappointing neighbors and kids in the area. He said they will still have other Halloween displays. Morris’s only other possibility was to hope the city would reverse its decision.

Morris became aware of the situation when he returned to his home one day to find the cease and desist letter stating structures over 200 square feet require a permit, which he hadn’t applied for or received.

The trouble, Morris said, is that the city wont give him a permit even if he applied for one because the maze isn’t constructed according to code.

Jensen wrote in an email that the building official determined “the structure is unsafe because it is not structurally stable and it is covered with a flammable tarp. The structure would not withstand a windstorm. The current covering poses a fire hazard.”

Additionally, the maze is located in a setback area, which is a specific area between a building or other structure and the street or road, something which is also prohibited by city code.

“The City recognizes that the homeowner’s long-standing Halloween tradition is appreciated by those who visit it but it is the City’s responsibility to ensure structures to be used by the public are safe for occupancy,” she wrote.

Morris said after meeting with city officials, he was offered several alternative options that would have the maze conform to code. One would be to reduce the 400-square-foot maze to less than 200, which would not require a permit. However, Morris would also have to use fire retardant material for the maze’s covering, which would still require a city evaluation, according to Jensen.

Morris said none of the options are feasible for the maze he’s envisioned.

Morris had been trying to getting the word out to people who were planning on the maze so they knew won’t be there this year.

“I want to apologize to everybody, because we sometimes get 400 people at our place,” he told the Reporter prior to the donation of the tent. “There are kids who have grown up and come back with their own kids to go through it.”

Prior to the recent city letter, Morris said he has never received a complaint from them, or anyone else, about the maze. The only complaint he’s ever received, he joked, is from his neighbors about having to buy more candy to accommodate the extra kids who visit their street.

The area was annexed by the city of Kirkland in 2011 and city code officers were unaware of the tradition until recently.

Originally, Morris said his family had small Halloween displays in the front yard, but in 2000 he finally decided to offer something more memorable.

At first, building the maze himself, Morris said they have neighbors who volunteer help out, while friends are invited to dress up as monsters in the maze. The motifs for the maze vary from year to year to offer variety, all featured in a photo scrapbook Morris’ wife has put together. This year’s theme was meant to be a fear farm, featuring corn stalks and a corn field and the appropriate spooky music. Though he said the cornfields will be there, it won’t be the same without the maze.