Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to tear down and rebuild four neighboring homes adjacent to his property were rejected by the City of Palo Alto for zoning code violations after he spent $30 million on the surrounding homes.
Palo Alto’s architectural review board decided Thursday that Zuckerberg’s plans to create a giant compound and rebuild the homes into smaller properties would violate zoning codes and ideal land use, The Mercury News reported.
Zuckerberg, 32, spent $30 million on the four adjacent properties to protect his privacy after a local real estate developer threatened to build a home with direct views into his bedroom.
Zuckerberg planned to tear down the four homes and rebuild them as smaller homes without a clear view into his dwelling, according to applications he filed with city planners in May.
He also planned to keep the four homes as part of a compound where family and friends could stay.
The board, however, took issue with these plans, saying that a single family using all four properties goes against the single-family purpose for the neighborhood.
The Zuckerbergs currently have friends living in some of the homes while they use the other homes for extended living, cooking, and entertaining quarters, Kathy Scott of the Walker-Warner Architects firm told The Daily Mail.
Board members said the homes are not single family homes, but operate as a compound.
Zuckerberg is reportedly going to adjust his plans according to the board’s concerns, The Daily Mail reported.
Palo Alto city planning director Hillary Gitelman told CNN Money that once those adjustments are made, Zuckerberg’s team will request that the board reconsider its recommendation.
Gitelman hopes to schedule the meeting for mid-November.