Posted on 03/18/2010 1:07:33 PM PDT by SmithL
BERKELEY — A city official who sits on Berkeley's Zoning Adjustments Board resigned from the panel Wednesday evening amid criticism over work he did at his home without permits.
Ryan Lau, who also is an aide to Berkeley City Councilman Darryl Moore and was appointed by Moore to the zoning board in January, sent Moore an e-mail explaining his decision, which was effective immediately.
"I apologize for any embarrassment that I may have caused to you and the city," Lau said. "I am in the process of working with the city's planning department to resolve this matter." Lau said he has stopped work on his Carleton Street home and is seeking the necessary zoning and building permits.
Lau said he tore down a crumbling garage at the house he bought in April and built a new one and added a room to it.
Moore last week said Lau is a good person who did the wrong thing.
"When I heard about this I was flabbergasted and disappointed," Moore said last week. "But I know Ryan is a good person and he'll do the right thing and make the situation right. I hope as a young man it's a hard lesson learned." Moore said the city permitting department has a policy of charging double for permits for already-completed construction.
Permits in Berkeley can cost 10 percent of the total construction value , "... and that's for people who don't get caught skirting the rules," Moore said.
Lau's lack of permits was first reported in the Berkeley Daily Planet by Berkeley resident Fred Dodsworth. Dodsworth said he was angry that he and his son have been issued notices of violations by the city at their homes.
This is a tax.
This is what happens when you have people operating on the principle that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission
Liberals and communists believe in regulations; FOR EVERYONE ELSE! Not them.
Go to the poorest village in a communist nation and see the hard working people living in sqallor, while the “party” leaders live in luxury....hey! That is how it is in America with the Democrats in charge, isn’t it?!
Hey ever see the difference between the house of a union member, and the head of the union?
But laws aren’t SUPPOSED to apply to our “betters!”
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Should have deemed that the work was permitted.
Wow - friggin lefty’s always want to boss everyone around but they never obey their own onerous rules. You couldn’t even do that in NH, he must be up for jailtime in Berkeley.
“Moore last week said Lau is a good person who did the wrong thing.”
Prisons are full of such people.
I’m disgusted by the hypocrisy, but I really can’t blame the guy.
Berkeley has the most horrific permitting requirements you can imagine. You have to get a permit to change a lightswitch—and guess what, you can’t get a permit to change a lightswitch unless you’re a licensed contractor (so don’t you dare try to do any of the work yourself, unless you’re licensed of course).
He should have to tear down the building(s) and start over. That’s what the powers-that-be did to a neighbor of ours years ago. He built a small storage building without getting the proper permits.
That’d be like appointing a tax dodger as Secretary of the Treasury.
When liberals get caught being unethical or illegal, they’re always “good people who had a mere lapse”.
He sits on the zoning board? Well maybe he just didn’t KNOW about the fees, taxes and miscellaneous city theft. After all, Tim Geithner didn’t know about federal taxes!!!
TRANSLATION: "He's one of US. LEAVE RYAN LAU ALONE."
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