Martins Beach in California has been at the center of a battle over private ownership and public access. Credit Jim Wilson/The New York Times
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (DIYA TV) — Vinod Khosla, the billionaire co-founder of Sun Microsystems, said in a letter to the State Lands Commission that an easement leading over his property—the picturesque setting of Martins Beach—would cost California $30 million. That price does not include the additional expense of road repairs, annual operations and maintenance.
Khosla’s lawyer, Dori Yob, presented the price in a letter which was submitted before the state Court of Appeal on Feb. 3, the governing body which is overseeing one of several lawsuits regarding access to the 89-acre property. Khosla purchased two parcels of land, including the beach, for $32.5 million in 2008. His proposed price was not well received.
“The $30 million figure is rather amusing,” said Gary Redenbacher, a lawyer for Friends of Martins Beach, which says the state Constitution makes all beaches public property. “I don’t know if anybody would really take it seriously. He bought 89 acres for $32 million and is asking for $30 million for an easement over a road that is 2,500 feet long. That’s approximately 1 acre.”
Jennifer Lucchesi, executive officer of the State Lands Commission, said she was just as shocked as Redenbacher when she received the letter. She has since submitted it to the court as evidence in the pending case. The commission has proclaimed the tidelands Khosla claims are his are in fact owned by the state. Further, Lucchesi contents the commission has completed its own price evaluation of the easement, and the figure is far less.
Vinod Khosla, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, bought the beach land in 2008 and cut it off from the public. Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times
“We have not seen any documentation or analysis supporting that $30 million value,” Lucchesi said. “Our own appraisal and other research indicates that the value of that easement is significantly less than that.”
The fights began after Khosla closed the only gate which provided public access to the beach, citing the costs of high maintenance and liability. There are 45 leased cabins on the property. The Friends of Martins Beach sued Khosla in San Mateo Superior Court, where Judge Gerald Buchwald ruled in Khosla’s favor — the judge said the beach was subject to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War and required the United States to recognize Mexican land grants. In layman’s, Buchwald ruled that the beach had been under private control long before laws were passed requiring public access to its coast.
The decision was ultimately appealed, and with the help of the Surfrider Foundation, Superior Court Judge Barbara Mallach ruled in 2014 that Khosla’s failure to obtain a coastal development permit before closing the gate was illegal, and ordered the gate be reopened.
That same year, the California Senate passed legislation which ordered the State Lands Commission to negotiate for a period of one year in an effort to come to terms with Khosla on finding a solution. The legislation said if a deal could not be struck within the one-year timeframe, that the commission would be permitted to acquire all or a portion of the property by eminent domain.
That year expired on Dec. 31, Lucchesi said. She added the commission will spend extra time in trying to come to terms, but “at some point the State Lands Commission will have to decide whether to proceed with eminent domain.”
