LAGUNITAS, Calif. - Four decades ago, Hoffman started some home improvements on his house in the wooded hills of the Marin County town of Lagunitas. He harbored ideas and theories of how people could live more sustainably. He started building. “I guess you could say I had a vision,” said Hoffman. “I had a dream.”

But Hoffman’s vision had one very fatal flaw. He never got permits for any of his projects. His fines have run up to over $200,000, and he’s been ordered to tear down all 30 of his illegal structures by Aug. 1.