In the face of $4.8 million fine, Rio Del Mar HOA doubles down and erects a new coastal fence

When a beachfront homeowners association in Aptos received a nearly $5 million fine from the California Coastal Commission in December for blocking public access and turning a walkway into private patios, the financial penalty came with a clear mandate: Tear down the existing barricades and allow pedestrians to enjoy the coastal path. 

That barricade, which was a Frankensteined wall of orange traffic medians, chain-link fencing, wooden two-by-fours and netting, is gone. However, instead of allowing public access, the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Homeowners Association this week erected a new, sturdier fence to maintain the privacy of the patios, thumbing its collective nose at the Coastal Commission and its Dec. 14 ruling.

Although the fence is new, the HOA’s rejection of the Coastal Commission’s decision and fines dates back to December. Less than a week after the Coastal Commission ruling, the HOA filed a lawsuit challenging the decision and the fine in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. The court granted a stay of the commission’s ruling on Dec. 22, effectively delaying it from going into effect until a court rules on its merit. Lawyers for the HOA contend that the court’s stay opened the door for the homeowners to rebuild the beachfront fence.

The lawsuit is but one piece of the thorny legal circumstances wrapped around the HOA property. The county and the HOA were embroiled in a lawsuit over whether the cement path between Seacliff State Beach and the 29 townhomes along Beach Drive was meant for use as private patios or an extension of the Rio Del Mar coastal esplanade. 

The court issued a preliminary ruling in October 2022 that the path was private, a ruling that became permanent on Dec. 14, 2023 — the same day the 12-member Coastal Commission unanimously voted to fine the HOA $4.8 million and mandate the path be opened up to the public. 

The HOA’s attorneys, Patrick Richard and John Erskine of Irvine-based firm Nossaman LLP, argue that the Coastal Commission, a quasi-judicial body appointed by elected officials, cannot overrule a Superior Court judge’s decision. 

The attorneys filed a lawsuit against the Coastal Commission on Dec. 20, both challenging the agency’s decision and seeking guidance from the court on how to proceed given the conflicting decisions from conflicting jurisdictions. Richard argued that the Coastal Commission decision was ultimately political and should not supersede the legal and judicial process the county and HOA underwent in 2022.

“We live in an age of zealotry,” Richard told Lookout. “It’s about beliefs versus evidence. The Coastal Commission didn’t even read what we submitted to them. You’re entitled to your own beliefs but you’re not entitled to your own facts. The Coastal Commission’s decision was based on belief. The facts will get sorted out in a court of law.”  

So, there are parallel legal questions here to be answered in separate processes: 1. Can the Coastal Commission override a Superior Court ruling? The HOA’s lawsuit against the state agency could help figure that out. 2. Was the Superior Court correct in saying the HOA could use the path privately and block public access? An answer to that could come if the county appeals the court’s ruling, which Erskine and Richard expect will happen “in the next couple weeks.” 

The fence erected Monday and Tuesday represents the HOA’s belief that a Superior Court ruling carries more weight than a decision by the Coastal Commission. But the likelihood of an appeal from the county is why the fence remains only a temporary structure. If, in the appeal, the court reaffirms its decision in favor of the HOA, the attorneys said the HOA plans to build a more permanent structure to privatize the patios. If the county is successful in its appeal, the fence will come down.

The move by the HOA has incensed locals. A photo of the fence posted to the private Facebook group Aptosia garnered 174 comments in less than a day, largely deriding the latest push to block public access to the walkway. 

Lookout could not reach the county or the Coastal Commission staff before publication. District 3 Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings, a voting member of the Coastal Commission who supported the fine and public access in December, said he and the commission expected this kind of legal challenge from the HOA. 

“They are exercising all their rights,” Cummings said.

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