Martins Beach is a beach located in

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Dal ...

, California. The beach is accessible only through Martins Beach Road, which runs from

Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...

through privately held land. Named after local landowner and farmer Nicholas Martin, the beach is best known for billionaire

Vinod Khosla Vinod Khosla (born 28 January 1955) is an Indian-American businessman and venture capitalist. He is a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and the founder of Khosla Ventures. Khosla made his wealth from early venture capital investments in areas such ...

's efforts to close access to the public.

Background

Martins Beach is made up of two shallow coves surrounded by sheer and overhanging cliffs. The coves are divided by "Pelican Rock", a tall and sharply pointed rock cone surrounded by a narrow spit of tidepools. Once part of the

Rancho Cañada de Verde y Arroyo de la Purisima Rancho Cañada de Verde y Arroyo de la Purísima was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California given in 1838 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José María Alviso. The name roughly translates to ''ranch of the green glen and ...

, the beach and the land around it were purchased in the 1850s by Nicholas Martin. Martins Beach has historically been a popular family beach and surf spot. Since the early 1900s, the Deeney family, the land owners, allowed the public free access to the beach, but charged to park vehicles. In the early 1920s, the Deeneys leased the beach to the Watts family. They managed the beach and visitor amenities, including the popular “Watts Inn” on the beach, which still stands. Also included was paid parking by the highway. In the early 1990s, the Deeneys took over management of the beach. They allowed use of the beach in exchange for a parking fee. Khosla purchased the property adjacent to the beach for $53 million in 2008 and blocked access. The only way to the beach is on a single road through the surrounding private property. Since 2008, there has been an ongoing legal battle to reopen the beach to the public under the legal theory of

implied dedication An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a property ...

. Khosla's blocking access to the beach is said to be violating the

California Coastal Act The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is ...

yet Khosla is said to be supported by the

Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fifth Amendment (Amendment V) to the United States Constitution addresses criminal procedure and other aspects of the Constitution. It was ratified, along with nine other articles, in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amend ...

which states "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." In 2016 Khosla offered to sell a small slice of the property for a public beach path for $30 million, about as much as Khosla spent on the entire property ($32 million) in 2008."A billionaire is willing to bring back public access to Martins Beach—for a price"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', 24 April 2016

References

External links

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Martins Beach
{{authority control Beaches of San Mateo County, California Land disputes San Francisco Bay Area beaches Tourist attractions in San Mateo County, California

Background

References

Further reading

External links