Following a series of complaints lodged against Google’s “mystery barge,” a state agency has ordered the tech titan to relocate the project.

San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Executive Director Larry Goldzband told the Associated Press on Monday that the company did not obtain the proper permits for the project.

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Because the project was unauthorized, the Treasure Island Development Authority, which leased the warehouse where the barge was constructed, could also face fines and penalties, Goldzband said.


For more than year, Google has been quietly assembling a series of rectangular shipping containers into some kind of floating showroom. The secretive project sparked a guessing game last year when it was first discovered by a CNET reporter.

Eventually, Google disclosed the project’s basic purpose. But at the same time, its progress seems to have stalled since last summer as it has faced inspections from both the U.S. Coast Guard and state agencies.

Although construction of the project is not allowed at the Treasure Island site, Goldzband said Google could move the barge to another location in San Francisco Bay where such work is permitted.

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