Jobs gets OK to bulldoze dump
The story of the mansion that Steve Jobs wants to tear down and rebuild has been winding its way through the press, not to mentioned the Woodside, CA approval process for about five years. Now, unless the people who want to preserve the heritage of a copper baron who reduced a huge swath of nature to an open pit eyesore and built a residential monument to that excess decide to appeal, it appears Apple’s CEO has finally won approval to raze the structure and construct a modern, greener dwelling on the property.
Fortune reports that on Tuesday evening the Woodside, CA town council voted 6-to-1 to approve a demolition permit for a run down, formal rental property—with 14 bedrooms no less—owned by Steve Jobs.
“I love old Spanish revival homes — I have a couple of them myself, and I’ve restored them,” council member Dave Tanner said at the meeting. “I didn’t see any reason to try to restore or maintain this house.”
“It’s an unfortunate thing that Mr. Jobs doesn’t like the house,” said Mayor Peter Mason, who cast the sole vote opposing demolition. “It’s really sad that we’re going to continue to tear down historic resources in this town because they’re old.”
Over the last five years, a group ironically named “Uphold Our Heritage” has used the courts to block and delay Jobs’ permit to remove the 17,250-square-foot structure built by an early 20th Century robber baron. The Apple co-founder and chief executive reportedly wants to build a smaller, more environmentally conscious home on the land.
When asked if the group planned to further tie Jobs’ home building plans up in court, a Heritage spokesperson gave a vague, non-committal answer, “We already sued, and we won. I wish (the council) had paid attention to the law.”
Another fine case where the only people who win are the lawyers…
What’s your take?
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