Martin's Beach

Martin's Beach is a beach located in San Mateo County, California. The beach is accessible only through Martins Beach Road, which runs from Highway 1 through privately held land. Named after local landowner and farmer, Nicholas Martin, the beach is best known for billionaire Vinod Khosla efforts to close access to the public.

Martin's Beach
Pelican Rock at Martin's Beach
LocationSan Mateo County, California, USA[1]
Coordinates37.37494°N 122.40803°W / 37.37494; -122.40803
Elevation0 m

Background

Martin's 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.[2] Once part of the Rancho Cañada de Verde y Arroyo de la Purisima, the beach and the land around it were purchased in the 1850's by Nicholas Martin.[3] Martin's 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, who managed the beach and visitor amenities. This included 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.[4]

Khosla purchased the 53 acres (21 ha) property adjacent to the beach for $53 million in 2008 and blocked access.[2] The only way to the beach is on a single road through the surrounding private property.[5] Since 2008, there has been an on-going legal battle to reopen the beach to the public under the legal theory of implied dedication.[6] Khosla's blocking access to the beach is said to be violating the California Coastal Act.[7]

Further reading
  • "Some Facts About Public Prescriptive Rights" (PDF). Coastal Public Access Program. California Coastal Commission. 2001.

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Martins Beach
  2. Erskine, Ron (July 14, 2017). "Battle of the beach -". South Valley Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  3. Clifford, Jim (October 22, 2018). "Who was the Martin in Martins Beach?". Daily Journal.
  4. "Martin's Beach". Surfrider Foundation.
  5. "The Never-ending Battle Over Martins Beach Explained". KQED. January 13, 2020.
  6. Kaur, Harmeet (January 7, 2020). "California is suing a Silicon Valley billionaire for blocking public access to a beach". CNN. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  7. Fimrite, Peter (May 13, 2014). "Martins Beach billionaire evades questions on stand". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
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