It’s been many months since news of Google’s mysterious barge first surfaced, and despite the vessel floating in full view in San Francisco Bay for some time now, it seems it will be a while longer before the company is ready to open it up to the public.
The barge is expected to eventually become a floating showroom for some of Google’s newest technologies, including its wearable Glass device, but a report in December claimed that the company’s plans for the vessel had been put “on hiatus”. Now, Google has been ordered to move the barge from San Francisco Bay by local authorities.
Larry Goldzband, executive director of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), told the Associated Press that his agency had not authorised the construction of the barge in the Bay. As we reported previously, Goldzband explained in December: “The law is crystal clear in this case. The Bay is not to be used for something that can be built on land.”
An ongoing investigation by the BCDC was looking into whether or not Google would need a permit to allow it to continue construction on the barge at its current location, adjacent to Treasure Island in the Bay. The BCDC had reportedly received “numerous complaints” related to the vessel and its location. As The Guardian reports, Goldzband’s summary of the findings of that investigation were short and sweet: “It needs to move,” he said.
Exactly where the vessel will be moved to remains unclear. Google has not commented on the matter, except to acknowledge receipt of a letter from the BCDC, which the company says it is “reviewing”.
Source: The Guardian | image via KPIX
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