June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Steve Jobs, Apple Inc.’s co-founder, faces a further delay in his eight-year campaign to tear down his historic mansion in Woodside, California, after a state judge ordered him and preservationists back to court.

The town council of Woodside, 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of San Francisco, is scheduled June 23 to take a final vote on the proposed demolition of the 30-room home built about 1925. Howard Ellman, a lawyer for Jobs, has said preserving the house would cost more than the Apple chief’s plan to replace it with a smaller, modern home.

A group seeking to preserve the Spanish Colonial Revival- style mansion has fought Jobs in state court and town hearings. The group, Uphold our Heritage, claimed in court papers filed May 22 that Jobs and the town still haven’t complied with a judge’s 2006 order that they explain the benefits of the demolition and show that they have researched alternatives.

The court “retains continuing jurisdiction to make any order necessary” to enforce its original directive, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner wrote in a May 29 ruling. Weiner told Jobs or his lawyers and attorneys for the preservationists to appear at a hearing later this month to discuss the case.

‘Impossible to Tell’

Ellman said yesterday in an interview that it is “impossible to tell at this time” if the preservationists’ filing will delay the permit. He declined to comment further.

Woodside’s town council postponed until June 23 a vote on the demolition because the permit paperwork wasn’t ready, Woodside Town Manager Susan George said in an interview. The town’s lawyers advised the council to vote on the permit regardless of Uphold Our Heritage’s court filing, George said.

Proceeding with the vote and the permit before Weiner has heard arguments is a “risk,” said a lawyer for Uphold Our Heritage lawyer, Doug Carstens, in an interview. “The proper thing to do is to make sure the judge is satisfied before they think of demolishing anything.”

The architect of the Jackling House -- named after its original owner, copper magnate Daniel C. Jackling -- was George Washington Smith, who was famed for Andalusian-inspired homes he designed in Montecito, near Santa Barbara. The two-story stucco home has exposed-beam ceilings, built-in cabinets, ornate ironwork, including balconies and railings, and a pipe organ.

Jobs filed his application to demolish the home in 2001, and since then has pursued a “demolition by neglect” as he has lost a series of court rulings favoring preservationists, Carstens said.

Letting a historic property deteriorate is “a concept that’s recognized by the preservation community and condemned,” Carstens said. “It’s been there since 1926 so I think it’s always possible to refurbish it. If only we could turn the clock back, at this point you still try to preserve what you can.”

The case is Uphold Our Heritage v. Woodside, Steven Jobs, 444270, San Mateo County Superior Court (Redwood City, California).

To contact the reporters on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net; Joseph Galante in San Francisco at Jgalante3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 9, 2009 00:01 EDT