Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has once again lost, in his 15-year fight to keep the public away from Martin’s Beach in Half Moon Bay, California.
San Mateo Superior Court Judge Raymond Swope May 10 ruled against Khosla’s attempt to throw out a case filed in 2020 by the California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission. The state sued Khosla demanding that he take down “No Trespassing” signs and remove the lock on the gate to a small asphalt road that provides the only access to the picturesque beach.
Martin’s Beach, formerly owned by the Deeney family, has long been favored by picnickers, surfers, and fishermen. Swope allowed the state agencies to proceed with their lawsuit, which will be heard next April.
Goliath vs. David
Khosla is the founder of Khosla Ventures, which focuses on green technology. He is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Despite profiting from green-tech, Khosla has said he is not an environmentalist.
In brief encounters at public events over the years, Khosla has repeatedly declined to discuss the case with this reporter.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Khosla said the battle was about property rights and a group of people trying to “coerce him” into giving up his private property.
California Beaches Are Public
In 2008, Khosla and his wife Neeru bought an 89-acre property that sits atop Martin’s Beach. Shortly after buying the parcel, “No Trespassing” signs came up, and the gate was locked. Security guards roamed the beach, and issued citations to those who violated the “No Trespassing” signs. San Mateo County intervened in 2012, citing Khosla $15,000 for every day he did not remove the lock.
The California Coastal Act of 1976 mandates that all beaches are public. “There are no private beaches in California,” Linda Locklin, a spokeswoman for the Coastal Access Program of the California Coastal Commission told this reporter in an earlier interview. She added that the California public owns all beaches to their “mean high tideline” level, the area at which waves crash the shoreline. Any restriction of beach access requires a permit from the Commission, but neither Khosla nor Martin’s Beach LLC have applied for a permit.
‘Hostile Injunction’
In 2013, the Surfrider Foundation also filed against Khosla, asking him to open the gate that leads down to Martin’s Beach. After numerous judgments and appeals, that case was finally settled in favor of the Surfrider Foundation, when the US Supreme Court declined to hear Khosla’s appeal. A permanent injunction now bars Khosla from locking the gate or putting up no trespassing signs.
Attorney Mark Massara, a surfer who has represented the Surfrider Foundation during the long litigation process, quipped to Ethnic Media Services: “The injunction is somewhat hostile. If you asked Vinod, he would say: ‘well, I don’t agree with it.’”
Massara said he’s had conversations with Khosla, urging him to sell the property, and gain tax credits. “He says he doesn’t want to. He’s having fun doing battle with the state.” The attorney alleged that Khosla has been to his property just once since he acquired it.
‘Property Rights’
At one point, Khosla offered to sell the access road to the state for $32 million, the value of his entire property. The state declined.
Khosla’s attorney Jeffrey Essner had not returned calls to this publication by press time May 15.
