Sunroad Enterprises says it had a proper permit to build the Centrum tower. But San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders says that permit did not allow Sunroad to go beyond FAA safety standards.
Sanders recently ordered Sunroad to chop off the top 20 feet of the building. The company refused but now says it will comply, quote, “under protest.”
Sanders also demands Sunroad finish the job by August. But the company says that's impossible.
Are the mayor's demands unreasonable? Is it really possible to shorten a building?
Mike Stepner says he has seen this problem in New York City. Developers there have built skyscrapers that violate zoning laws.
In other words, it may actually be cheaper to tear down the building and start over. Sunroad is threatening to sue the city and recoup its losses.
Mayor Sanders says the lesson in all of this is for developers to obey the law from the get-go. But Sunroad may not have disobeyed the law in this case. An FAA spokesman says the agency has no authority to enforce building rules.
Of course, that's in the past now. The Sunroad building is useless until they find a way to make it shorter.
