Millbrae couple says city manager stopped construction of their backyard ‘granny unit’

MILLBRAE — A couple in Millbrae is accusing City Manager Tom Williams of abusing his authority after they say he intervened and shut down construction on a so-called “granny unit” they were building in their backyard.

Further complicating City Manager Williams’s involvement in the case is the fact that he is neighbors with Lisa and Joel Timpano, living in a diagonally behind their home.

“The fact that he is involved makes me feels so helpless because I cannot get anyone to listen to me,” said Lisa Timpano.

Lisa explained that she began planning the granny unit for her mother shortly after her father’s death from cancer last fall.

The couple got approval for the project from the city and broke ground in late April. However, the work came to a standstill in late May after the city manager — in an email obtained by KPIX 5 — told a building inspector to “issue a stop-work order.”

Millbrae Mayor Anne Oliva told KPIX 5 that “the homeowner is in violation of the permit.” According to the city, a crawl and storage space under the unit is too tall by about a foot. 

However, the city acknowledges that the total structure — the granny unit and the storage space beneath — does not exceed the maximum allowable height of 16 feet.

The Millbrae City Council instructed City Manager Williams to have no further involvement in the case because of the potential of a conflict of interest. The city council’s directions also barred Williams from making any public comments about the case.

The Timpanos dispute the city’s claim that their crawl space is too high and say the only reason the project has been stopped is because the city manager lives across the fence line. 

“I truly believe there is no way this would have ever happened if he was not the city manager. I 100% believe that with all my heart,” said Joel Timpano.