Who owns martins beach

Reasonableness is all I ask for. Since the Supreme Court declined to hear his case, the gate has been open during daylight hours. An attendant operates a small parking lot, guiding visitors down a winding ramp to a secluded crescent-shaped stretch of sand and bluffs. It also asks the court to require Khosla to remove all existing gates and any signs on or near the road that might discourage the public from entering or using the beach. There is also an important difference, officials say, between charging for parking and charging for access to the beach itself.

In the past, beachgoers could be dropped off, and surfers would walk or bike in. The state has been preparing to support public uses of this beach. An account was recently created to gather donations to appraise, acquire and maintain a public accessway at the beach. The Lands Commission in the past has suggested a public route operated like a park — with daily dawn-to-dusk hours of operation, trash bins and portable toilets.

The Surfrider Foundation, in addition to winning their own lawsuit against Khosla, has been gathering stories from beachgoers that could be used by officials as supporting evidence. Rosanna Xia is an environment reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She covers the coast and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in for explanatory reporting.

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Ultimately, after this litigation, the Coastal Commission will likely have a greater role in permanently guaranteeing beach access at Martin's Beach. Howe, Esq. To become a member or support Surfrider's work to protect the ocean, wave and beaches, visit Surfrider. In , he was sued for limiting access without a permit. Since then, he has kept the gate open from 9 a.

Now, the California Coastal Commission wants him to remove the no trespassing signs and take the gate out altogether.

An early morning drive from San Francisco to Martins Beach is nothing short of epic. You drive along the massive cliffs that tower above Grey Whale Cove, then you pass Montara Beach, where the highway winds through a grove of tall trees and shoots you out into sprawling farmland and open fields.

The turn off for Martins Beach comes abruptly. I park on the dirt lot next to the paved road that leads a little less than half a mile down to the beach. The foundation sued Vinod Khosla back in for limiting public access to Martins Beach without applying for a permit. Khosla locked the gate. And the reason that's important is because if you spend time to drive here you won't be able to come here and have a guarantee that the gate is going to be open. Khosla bought these 89 acres surrounding Martins Beach in He often keeps the gate to the only road to the beach closed, but that hasn't stopped folks like Larenas from enjoying this piece of the coast.