A judge that a private landowner near California鈥檚 Half Moon Bay must allow the public to cross his property to access a beach and surfing waves.
Martin鈥檚 Beach, about five miles south of Half Moon Bay, has been at the center of a legal battle between surfers and billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who purchased the property in 2008. In 2010, Khosla closed a public access gate to the beach, citing the expense of maintenance and liability insurance. In 2012, five surfers were arrested for trespassing when they crossed Khosla鈥檚 property to get to the waves.
The nonprofit organization 聽filed suit against Khosla in March 2013, claiming his actions violated state laws guaranteeing public access to the coast. Khosla argued that while the beach may be public, the road鈥攚hich provides the only land access to the beach鈥攊s private land.
According to Surfrider, surfers have been crossing the property to ride waves off Martin鈥檚 Beach for decades.
鈥淭he beach has been the fabric of the community for generations, and previous landowners allowed beachgoers to access the coast,鈥 said Angela Howe, Surfrider鈥檚 legal director. 鈥淎ll of a sudden, the access was gone.鈥
On Wednesday, San Mateo County Superior Court judge Barbara Mallach ruled that Khosla had failed to get the necessary development permit required to deny public access to the beach.
Howe said the gates of Khosla鈥檚 property have not been opened yet, but people are now free to walk across the property to get to the beach without being accused of trespassing.
鈥淭his very strong ruling is setting the tone for future cases to let property owners know that they can鈥檛 lock the public out,鈥 said Howe.