The big house

Francisco Linares, a South Bay resident who built "a fence, a retaining wall, a patio and a few concrete columns" is going to county jail for six months for doing the work without a permit, Megan Bagdonas reports in the Daily Breeze. The story, linked by the Drudge Report, is generating lots of web traffic.

The 51-year-old bought the nearly 1-acre property in the 4600 block of Palos Verdes Drive North in 1998. After tearing down an adobe house on the site and building a 3,000-square-foot French-style home, he began landscaping.

When Linares asked the city to repair the white three-railed fence behind his house, he was told it was on his property and his responsibility. So he replaced the termite-infested planks. Then the city reversed itself and said Linares had illegally built the fence on city property.

In October 2004, the city charged Linares with three misdemeanors: for not taking down the fence, having a retaining wall built higher than a 2-foot restriction and for erecting stone columns without a neighborhood compatibility analysis. Later inspections found eight other violations, including a lack of permits for plumbing and grading.

Wonder if Nicole "82 minutes" Richie's lawyer is available...