Couple sues Bay Area city over $254,000 home remodeling fine

A Belvedere couple has sued the city challenging its excessive fines and arbitrary deadlines alleging that their home remodeling project was put through the wringer of bureaucracy Laurent and Marguerite Lefouet argued in their federal lawsuit that the construction delays that led to a fine and a lien on their property endangering their ownership of their own home were caused by city functionaries The home is at Eucalyptus Road Related Articles Redwood City man arrested on suspicion of stabbing family members Woman killed in hit-and-run collision in Palo Alto Jury convicts man of attempted murder for injuring child in East Bay shooting Cab driver arrested for alleged sex crimes against women distributed from East Bay jail Body uncovered in East Bay surrounded by paperwork for different people Police still don t know who he is We believe the sheer size of the penalties imposed on Laurent and Marguerite Lefouet over a quarter of a million dollars for a simple construction delay is draconian and inherently unfair Greg Walston the attorney for the couple stated in an email In fact there is compelling evidence they did everything they could to get this project done on time only to be delayed over and over again by the City s own red tape Walston mentioned that the city has no legal authority to impose fines for delays that it caused The suit says that the couple have inevitably longed to live in Belvedere and grow old together there and they spent their life savings to purchase the house which they consider their dream home According to city documents the home renovation included a -square-foot addition and a -square-foot accessory dwelling unit The project included a complete interior renovation retaining walls stairways fencing new decks a new swimming pool and landscape plantings The couple obtained a building permit for the project on June the suit says They were given an -month deadline pursuant to city code because of an anticipated cost exceeding The suit says the delays caused by city bureaucracy began in October following demolition It took days for the city to approve a project revision after contractors uncovered problems with the foundation It then took days for the city to process and approve a second revision for additional piers under a deck and for a retaining wall the suit says The residents applied for and obtained a six-month extension from the city moving the construction deadline to July the suit says The delays continued It took the city days to approve a revision for building code compliance issues the suit says Then in July the residents received notice they had exceeded the construction time limit and that after a one-month grace period daily penalties would begin to accrue the suit says At that point the suit says Belvedere s inactions and delays in processing required permit revisions totaled days The couple hit another bump when seeking to retain a landscaper The city took more than days to approve a landscape revision but work was delayed because the rainy season began the suit says In all the suit says that Belvedere s inactions led to days of delay and inclement weather added several months more Last May the residents were notified they had incurred a penalty They appealed to the City Council In August the council rejected the appeal saying the couple should have been aware of the feasible challenges in proceeding with the project in these circumstances the suit says The city then filed a lien on the property thus restricting Plaintiff s title to their own home thus preventing Plaintiffs from obtaining financing for the penalties the suit says Because the penalties and concomitant lien were increasing by ten percent interest Plaintiffs thereafter went to great lengths to pay off the lien and did so the suit says In an email City Manager Robert Zadnik disclosed the city s construction time limit framework was implemented to limit the construction impacts on the region from traffic road closures noise dust etc The city diligently processed this project as with any construction project I ll also clarify that the Lefouets received an additional -month extension and a -day grace period before the penalties started to accrue and thus had over two years to complete the renovation of their single-family home he revealed Records show the home was purchased in April for million It listed for sale last April for million It appears to be off the territory The Lefouets filed the lawsuit in U S District Court in San Francisco on April An initial scenario management conference is set for July