The California Supreme Court has declined to review a challenge by a Rio Del Mar homeowners association, effectively upholding lower-court rulings that an 800-foot walkway along Seacliff State Beach in Aptos is public property. Santa Cruz County officials say the decision leaves no further avenue for appeal and moves the case closer to resolution, including the removal of fences that currently block public access.
Rio Del Mar Beach Island
Posted inAptos
Appeals court rules against Aptos HOA’s privatization of beachfront walkway
The highly publicized battle over an 800-foot stretch of concrete behind a row of homes in Rio Del Mar has been settled, for now.
Posted inAptos
Rio Del Mar HOA’s fence spar over public walkway expected to go to trial later this year
A long-running dispute over public coastal access in Aptos nears a courtroom resolution, after the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Homeowners Association doubled down in the face of a historic, multimillion-dollar fine from the state for fencing off a public walkway.
Posted inAptos
On the fence: What homeowners, renters and neighbors are saying about Rio Del Mar HOA’s new coastal barrier
Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud caught up with beachfront homeowners, renters and nearby residents to chat about a Rio Del Mar homeowners association’s decision to put up a large fence blocking access to a walkway along Seacliff State Beach.
Posted inLatest News
In the face of $4.8 million fine, Rio Del Mar HOA doubles down and erects a new coastal fence
What’s in a fence? For a Rio Del Mar homeowners association, state regulators and local residents, a brand-new barrier blocking the public from a beachside walkway represents the latest turn in a winding, yearslong battle around public access and private property rights.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Aptos HOA fined $4.8 million by state, ordered to open blocked coastal path
The California Coastal Commission unanimously voted to fine an Aptos homeowners association nearly $5 million for blocking access to a pedestrian path along Seacliff State Beach that the state had ordered to be public. The penalty is the largest fine issued by the Coastal Commission in Santa Cruz County.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Coastal Commission weighs $4.7M fine for Rio Del Mar homeowners
Meeting at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, the California Coastal Commission could vote Thursday to sanction the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Homeowners Association in a long-running dispute over public access.