Permit problems hang up Google barge construction in bay

Search engine giant Google does not have the proper permits to build its floating showroom at Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay, officials said. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission this week notified the Treasure Island Development Authority that it didn't have the necessary permits to build and lodge any ships at the pier where the Google barge is moored, CNN reported Tuesday. "We are asking TIDA to work with us so that the necessary permits can be applied for and completed to enable lawful activities to be undertaken at the site in the future," said commission Executive Director Larry Goldzband. For now, however, the Google ship must move to another shipbuilding facility to comply with state law. Google also will have to get proper permits from the commission to moor its marketing vessel in an approved area in San Francisco Bay already permitted to do the type of construction needed. "We just received the letter from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and we are reviewing it," a Google representative told CNN in an in an e-mail. The barge made a splash last year as mystery surrounded the reason it was in the bay, and eventually earned the moniker, Google Mystery Barge. Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., eventually announced the vessel would be an "interactive space where people can learn about new technology." CNET, which first reported sighting the vessel last year, said construction on the Google barge already had been delayed after U.S. Coast Guard inspected the structure and the bay commission announced it was meeting with Google about the matter in December.