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August 28, 2007
Six Months in Jail For Making Home Improvements
Posted by Dave Blount at August 28, 2007 8:00 AM
Francisco Linares is facing six months in jail for violating the building code of Rolling Hills Estates, California, with a few modest home improvements:
When Linares asked the city to repair the white three-railed fence behind his house, he was told it was on his property and his responsibility. So he replaced the termite-infested planks. Then the city reversed itself and said Linares had illegally built the fence on city property.
In October 2004, the city charged Linares with three misdemeanors: for not taking down the fence, having a retaining wall built higher than a 2-foot restriction and for erecting stone columns without a neighborhood compatibility analysis. Later inspections found eight other violations, including a lack of permits for plumbing and grading.
He was eventually given six months to either acquire a pile of permits or tear down his work. When he did neither, Torrance Superior Court Judge Sandra Thompson threw the book at him.
Gasps Linares' lawyer:
We're talking about fixing a fence that was on city property. He didn't build a Las Vegas casino. You put a guy in jail for six months because he repaired the city fence?
Maybe Linares will learn that if you just sit on your tail and let everything go to seed, you can avoid attracting the attention of bureauweenies and stay out of jail.
