A state agency in California has told Google to move its mystery barge that is being built on an island situated in the middle of San Francisco Bay for lack of permits, The Associated Press reported.
According to San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Executive Director Larry Goldzband, they conducted an investigation after complaints emerged about the floating, four-story building. The probe revealed that the Treasure Island Development Authority or the City of San Francisco did not file applications for the necessary permits so that construction could commence at the site and thus gave the notice to the search giant, the report said.
According to Goldzband, the solution is for Google to transfer the barge to any of the construction facilities in the San Francisco Bay that have obtained the necessary permits. Google had planned the barge to be an interactive space where visitors can learn more about technology, preliminary planning documents given to the port showed, AP reported.
Goldzband said the agency did not authorize the building of the barge. He added that fines and enforcement proceedings could be faced by the Treasure Island Development Authority which gave the go-signal for the construction to move forward, the report said.
This is the second time that the Google barge project had faced obstacles stemming from permits. Work was stopped late in 2013 after the Coast Guard required more permits, the report said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the search giant told TechCrunch that they just got the letter from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and that they are "reviewing it."
Before the preliminary planning documents were submitted, the barge has been the subject of intense speculation as people surmised that it would be a party boat, data storage center or an outlet for the search giant to sell Google glasses, the report said.
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