STONINGTON, Conn. -- A girl's playhouse has led to a shoreline family being slapped with a $54,000 fine.

The town of Stonington gave the Slater family the ultimatum of tearing down their daughter's playhouse or pay $150 per day to the Zoning Department.

Martha and Alex Slater bought the $2,200 wooden playhouse for their daughter, Chloe, in the summer of 2005. Martha Slater said Zoning Enforcement Officer Joe Larkin told her she didn't need a permit. But he said that he envisioned the type of plastic playhouse sold at department stores.

The town now says that the furnished 48-square-foot playhouse, which has windows with screens, flower boxes and a small, fenced-in deck, is actually an illegal shed. The town denied the Slaters a variance even though the structure contains games and toys and no tools.

"I tried to explain to the town that through the laws that they have, that this is considered play equipment," Martha Slater said.

According to zoning officials, because the lot sizes in the Slater's neighborhood are so small, the playhouse is too large for the lot.

The Slaters claim that the property would be big enough if the town hadn't taken two strips of land for a right-of-way in 1926.

Martha Slater claims that her next-door neighbor, Thomasine O'Boyle, the former chairwoman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, got a variance for her shed.

"Sometimes I feel there is unequal protection of the laws down there. Some things apply to some people and they don't apply to others," Martha Slater said.

If the Slaters comply with the town's ultimatum, the fine would be rescinded, said Director of Planning Jason Vincent.

"The site is an area neighborhood that people pay attention to the floor-area regulations and it would be unfair to treat this property any differently," Vincent said.

The Slaters have a hearing scheduled for Feb. 8 on the $54,000 fine that would continue to escalate at a rate of $150 per day until the playhouse is removed.

Click here to e-mail newstips to Eyewitness News, or dial toll-free: 866-289-0333. Be sure to stay with WFSB.com and Channel 3 Eyewitness News for the latest news updates.