Palo Alto: An advisory board recommended a California city refuse Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plans to demolish and rebuild four homes around his property because of privacy concerns, saying it won't support the building of a "compound."
Zuckerberg bought the Palo Alto homes in 2013 for $30 million after learning that a developer planned to build a neighbouring house tall enough to have a view of his master bedroom, the Mercury News reported.
He planned to replace those structures with much smaller two-story and single-story homes that would be used as an extension of the family's living, cooking, dining and entertaining quarters, said Kathy Scott, of the Walker-Warner Architects firm working with Zuckerberg on the project.
"The idea is just to expand our client's capacity to enjoy the property," Scott said.Also Read: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg Snaps 4 Houses in Neighbourhood
Palo Alto's Architectural Review Board members said plans for all four homes meet architecture standards, but a single family using all four properties would create a compound and ruin the single-family home feel of the neighbourhood.
The homes "are part of a larger compound," board member Peter Baltay said. "This is something you might find in Atherton (Calif.): A large estate, a series of guest houses, recreational facilities, movie theatres surrounding a house."
Atherton, which neighbours Palo Alto, is one of the wealthiest cities in the United States and home to sprawling mansions.
The board voted Thursday 3-1 to recommend the city doesn't approve Zuckerberg's plan.
The project will return to the city's planning director, who will decide whether to advance it.
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