Here’s the background: In 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh, and Jobs bought a 17,000-square foot mansion in Woodside, Calif. The mansion—built in the 1920s by San Francisco copper magnate Daniel C. Jackling—somehow never really impressed Apple’s CEO, who called it . The home includes 14 bedrooms and 13.5 bathrooms, and sits on a 6 acre lot.

Jobs has long wanted to tear down the giant house, building a smaller one in its place. He first applied for back in 2001. But the Woodside Town Council considered the property a “historic resource,” and it took until 2004 for Jobs to first receive the permit he sought. That permit, however, was subject to legal challenges—again, because of the property’s historical significance. Four years later, Jobs re-applied for the demolition permit.

A hearing on that permit request was held in April 2009. . A month later, the Town Council relented, and Jobs .

Of course, that wasn’t how the story ended. In June of 2009, Jobs struck a deal with investor Gordon Smythe , at a cost to the Apple executive of $600,000. That deal apparently fell through.

Which brings us to today. that a judge has given approval for Steve to tear down the home, confirming the Town Council’s decision that restoring the mansion—the mold-ridden, bird-infested, and rot-besieged mansion, that is—would be hugely expensive. The judge’s ruling lets Steve do something he’s plenty good at: apply for another damn demolition permit.