San Francisco Builder Left Path of Complaints for Years

The association emphasized that Nguyen's planned changes deviated from the area's historic architectural rules.

The neighborhood association took him to task at the Planning Commission when he tried to enforce his altered building plans, which had resulted in the house being nearly two feet taller than approved, and to have an unauthorized garage extension approved.

At the 2007 hearing, Nguyen and his wife defended themselves and admitted no wrongdoing.

“Our house is smaller than our neighbors’,” Kim Nguyen told the Planning Commission. “I think they have a grudge against us.”

Pat Daly, a neighbor, told the commission that she had no objection to the Nguyens' addition to their home but just wanted them to follow the law.

“He just has to follow the rules like the rest of us,” Daly said.

The next year, Nguyen began construction as a builder, which allowed him to do the work without a contractor's license.

Over the next few years, the city discovered that Nguyen continued to violate numerous rules and regulations, city records show. He worked without a permit, trespassed on a neighbor's property, built his home nearly two feet above the permitted area and built a chimney far larger than permitted, planning board records show.