California suing billionaire Vinod Khosla over access to Martins Beach

A sign warns of limited parking at Martin's Beach in Half Moon Bay, California on September 19, 2018. A sign warns of limited parking at Martin's Beach in Half Moon Bay, California on September 19, 2018. Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP Via Getty Images Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP Via Getty Images Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close California suing billionaire Vinod Khosla over access to Martins Beach 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

The latest installment in the saga that will not end: The California State Lands Commission and California Coastal Commission are now suing billionaire Vinod Khosla to ensure the public has access to Martins Beach, a stretch of coastline Khosla has argued for over a decade is his personal property.

On Monday, the state commissions filed suit in San Mateo County Superior Court seeking to prohibit Khosla from erecting no trespassing signs and blocking the road down to the beach with a gate. Martins Beach, popular with surfers and picnicking families, is south of Half Moon Bay.

In 2008, the Sun Microsystems co-founder paid $32.5 million for an 89-acre property that includes Martins Beach Road. He then gated off the road, cutting off access to the public. The move has prompted continued legal action to get the road reopened, and in 2018 it seemed the case had finally been resolved in the public's favor when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up Khosla's case.

But the case got new life in Nov. 2019 when the San Francisco-based 1st District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Khosla.

The crux of the case centers around "public dedication." In property law, this dedication can either be explicit (a land grant by the owner, for example) or implied. The Martins Beach case is one of implied public dedication; supporters of keeping it open have argued because previous owners allowed beach-goers to use the single road down to Martins Beach, that constituted public dedication of the road.

The appeals court ruled that this was not the case, as previous owners charged a parking fee to use the beach.

"Because the public’s use of the road and beach was thus permissive, it did not ripen into a public dedication that would give the public a permanent right to use the property," the ruling read.

Monday's lawsuit alleges that because the public has used Martins Beach for generations — an assertion the commissions plan on backing up with photos and witness testimony — permanent public access has been established.

“Our goal here is to make sure that any public rights that exist are properly protected,” Seth Blackmon, chief counsel for the State Lands Commission, told the Mercury News. “And that folks aren’t blocked off from beaches in California.”

When asked by the New York Times in 2018 why Khosla continues to fight in court, he said he was doing it on principle.

"If I were to ever win in the Supreme Court, I’d be depressed about it," Khosla said. "I support the Coastal Act; I don’t want to weaken it by winning. But property rights are even more important."

Katie Dowd is an SFGATE Senior Digital Editor. Email: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd