indica News Bureau-
A year after the U S Supreme Court denied to hear the petition filed by the founder of Khosla Ventures and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla , the 1st District Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in favor of the billionaire, supporting him in keeping the beachfront property near Half Moon Bay private by closing off a private road leading to the beach, reported Bloomberg.
The plaintiff in the case, Friends of Martin’s beach, claimed that the public had a right to use the road because it was a ‘public dedication’ and the meaning was implied. Previous owners of the property, allowed beach goers and public to use the road.
The court, however ruled that albeit the previous owners allowed the public to use the road, they charged a parking fee, ascertaining that it was in fact not a ‘public dedication’.
“Payment of a fee to access or use property implies that such use is not a matter of right but instead is a permitted use,” the court wrote. “A party who pays for a privilege and is granted the privilege in exchange for the payment is not acting as though he or she had an unfettered right to exercise the privilege.”
Bloomberg further added that the ruling would strengthen Khosla’s position if he chose to obtain a permit from the California Coastal Commission to restrict when the access gate is open.
Earlier in 2017, the 1st District Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that Khosla violated the California Coastal Act, which ensures that all beaches in the state are public, and had to reopen public access to the beach.
