Silicon Valley suburb looks to crack down on billionaire tech titans compounds | Latest Tech News
Palo Alto is finally pushing back against Silicon Valley’s billionaire sprawl.
City leaders in the ultra-wealthy tech enclave are weighing sweeping new restrictions aimed squarely at Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marissa Mayer and other billionaires who have quietly turned residential neighborhoods into personal compounds.
Tech billionaires have drawn the ire of local lawmakers, neighbors and housing advocates by shopping for up a number of properties, working yearslong construction initiatives, deploying personal security and pulling homes off the market in the center of a housing disaster.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his spouse Priscilla Chan have angered neighbors in their hometown of Palo Alto, Calif. AP
The image above reveals a home in Palo Alto owned by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. / SplashNews.com
Zuckerberg has purchased up a number of adjoining properties in Palo Alto to create a compound. Bloomberg via Getty Images
A new proposal spearheaded by City Councilman Greer Stone would restrict nonstop construction, curb long-term emptiness, regulate personal security practices and rein in the takeover of complete blocks by single house owners, according to the New York Times.
Stone, a high faculty trainer who rents a one-bedroom house in the town, said the laws is about restoring basic livability in a city where median home costs hover between $3.5 million and $4 million and middle-class residents are more and more pressured out.
“To see other people take housing out of the housing stock in such a flippant way is frustrating,” Stone told the Times.
The push gained momentum after a string of high-profile instances involving some of the world’s richest tech figures.
Zuckerberg’s Crescent Park compound has turn out to be a key flashpoint.
The Meta founder and his spouse, Priscilla Chan, have spent more than $110 million assembling roughly 11 houses in the neighborhood, often paying double or triple market worth to buy out neighbors.
Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of the late Apple govt Steve Jobs, reportedly employs personal security at her Palo Alto compound. Getty Images for TIME
The properties are wrapped in tall hedges and function visitor homes, gardens and a pool with a movable ground.
Neighbors have complained for years about relentless construction, supply vehicles clogging streets and a heavy personal security presence.
The backlash intensified after experiences that an unlicensed personal faculty that served 14 youngsters was operated on the property. The faculty was later relocated.
Earlier this 12 months, it was reported that Zuckerberg gifted his neighbors noise-canceling headphones, glowing wine and Krispy Kreme donuts as a goodwill gesture that was not significantly well-received.
“Mark, Priscilla and their children have made Palo Alto their home for more than a decade,” a spokesperson for the couple told The Post.
“They value being members of the community and have taken a number of steps above and beyond local requirements to avoid disruption in the neighborhood.”
Google co-founder Larry Page was cited by the town for utilizing his personal residence for business functions. Kimberly White
The rep for the couple said that the Zuckerbergs’ “home improvements have been thoroughly reviewed and approved by the appropriate city agencies, including the Palo Alto Building and Planning Departments, and they will continue to follow applicable laws.”
Just blocks away in Old Palo Alto, Larry Page’s compound has drawn related scrutiny. The Google co-founder, value an estimated $256 billion, owns a number of houses through LLCs tied to his household workplace.
In 2021, one Page-associated home caught fire and was later cited by metropolis inspectors after complaints that it was getting used for business functions in a single-family zone.
Neighbors reported daily flows of workers, including maids and nannies, along with fixed security presence. The broken home was later demolished and is now being rebuilt into two new homes.
Requests for remark from Page weren’t acknowledged.
Marissa Mayer, the previous Yahoo chief govt, has reportedly pursued one of the most aggressive redevelopment campaigns in Palo Alto. Getty Images
Laurene Powell Jobs, the philanthropist and widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who is value a reported $12 billion, also owns a number of houses in Old Palo Alto. She still owns the home she shared with her late husband, along with further properties on close by blocks.
The Times reported that a photographer for the newspaper was approached by two males on the sidewalk her main residence. The males told the photographer they weren’t needed in the realm, according to the report.
A spokesperson for Powell Jobs declined remark.
Marissa Mayer, the previous Yahoo chief govt, has reportedly pursued one of the most aggressive redevelopment campaigns.
She has bought and demolished three Palo Alto townhomes, changing them with a pool and accent dwelling unit.
Mayer is also reportedly searching for approval to knock down a fourth to construct a 4,600-square-foot home with a “grand hall,” elevator and large basement.
Mayer also purchased a close by mortuary in 2013 for $11.2 million and explored changing it into a personal girls’s membership before neighbors objected.
The metropolis has said it’s conscious of occasional occasions hosted there under particular permits. Mayer declined remark when reached by The Post.
Stone’s proposal would apply to house owners who buy three or more houses within 500 toes. Construction initiatives lasting more than 180 days would require detailed schedules to forestall avenue blockages.
A local lawmaker is trying to enact restrictions on personal security, prolonged construction initiatives and vacant houses. Sundry Photography – stock.adobe.com
After finishing one major project, house owners would need to wait three years before beginning another, according to Stone’s proposal.
Homes couldn’t be left vacant for more than six months in a 12 months.
The plan would also clamp down on personal security, requiring marked automobiles, metropolis permits and identification on request, while barring guards from harassing people on public sidewalks.
Enforcement would largely fall to neighbors, who might deliver lawsuits — a function critics say is unrealistic when billionaires are concerned.
“Who would sue Mark Zuckerberg?” one neighbor who is surrounded on three sides by Zuckerberg-owned properties requested the Times.
The full City Council is anticipated to take up the proposal early next 12 months. Stone said it might take six months or longer to attain a last vote.
Stay informed with the latest in tech! Our web site is your trusted source for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, gadget launches, software program updates, cybersecurity, and digital innovation.
For recent insights, knowledgeable coverage, and trending tech updates, go to us recurrently by clicking right here.
