Fans of the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip understand how important a tree house can be to a kid. For one thing, it's the place where young Calvin and his imaginary tiger pal hatch plans to drop water bombs on poor, unsuspecting Susie.

From literature to Hollywood movies, any self-respecting kid with a tree seems to build some sort of shelter in its branches.

But, as well as the idea of kids and treehouses seem to go together, Orange County neighborhoods seem to have an abundance of kids and very few treehouses.

At least part of the lack can be laid to a shortage of decent-sized trees worthy of house building. Much of the county is made up of new communities where there were few trees to begin with or where they were razed to make way for housing developments.

Zoning laws and regulations adopted by home associations also work to keep tree dwellings to a minimum. Many new neighborhoods in the county have restrictions about everything from house color to jungle-gym size. These are not places that usually tolerate treehouses.

Still, there are treehouses perched here and there. They range from a weathered model in a Costa Mesa back yard to the concrete-rooted one at Disneyland, from a controversially placed one in Laguna Beach to one comfortably tucked into in a back-yard pine in Anaheim that's a favorite of children in the neighborhood.

Zoning departments in many Orange County cities have a pretty relaxed attitude about treehouses.

"We don't really regulate them at all," said Roger Garry, code enforcement officer for Brea. "As long as it's under 120 square feet. If it's out in the front-yard area, we check to see if it's compatible with zoning aspects, but we've never really had a problem with them."

Anaheim, Placentia, Irvine, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa have similar policies regarding treehouses: As long as they are less than one story high (anywhere from six to eight feet, depending on the city) and under 120 square feet and comply with the city's setback laws, they are not required to have building permits.

"We don't really get very involved with treehouses," said Mary Beth Ormsby, an associate planner for Huntington Beach. "The only time we'd get involved is if there was a complaint, and then we'd check it out."

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For the person considering building a treehouse, consultation with neighbors and a check with the city zoning department are advised before construction. It can prevent problems later.