The California Coastal Commission has used its muscle to issue heavy fines against two Malibu property owners for denying beachgoers access at public easements on their land. The commission came down hard on the Malibu Beach Inn, but especially hard on beach homeowners Dr. Warren M. and Henny Lent — fining the couple a whopping $4.185 million.
The Lents own a property on Las Flores Beach, one of the most sought-after real estate areas in the city — and a stretch of beach that offers no public access. That is something the Coastal Commission took notice of.
“If you didn’t have that kind of money or you didn’t live there, you couldn’t have access to that beach,” according to CCC spokesperson Noaki Schwartz. “The public was completely shut out.”
The couple was apparently resistant to opening up access on the property located at 20802 Pacific Coast Highway. When the Lents bought the beachfront home in 2002, the barriers were already in place — a fence, gate and a private deck and stairway apparently constructed without permits by the previous owner. When the original builder was issued a coastal permit to build a two-story home in 1979, it required a public easement to access a three-mile stretch of beach but, according to commission records, access was blocked. The commission claims the Lents bought the property knowing about the obstacles and refused to remove them as required by the agency. In fact, Schwartz said the couple dragged their feet in complying. After nine years of negotiations with the couple and dozens of letters sent to their attorneys trying to work out a solution, the coastal agency decided to use its authority in leveling the fines.
In 2014, the state granted the Coastal Commission the authority to issue fines to property owners because, years before, the agency had no enforcement plan to make sure permit recipients complied with easement conditions. The is the first time the commission has used its new authority in leveling fines in hopes it will be a deterrent to others, especially since more than half of Malibu’s public beach access ways are blocked — 19 of 29. Some beachfront residents have used tricks such as painting curbs red, installing phony “No Parking” signs and hiring private security guards to keep the public away from the beaches near their homes.
Initially, commissioners expressed a wish to levy a fine of $600,000 against the Lents, who themselves suggested a more modest $100,000. Eventually the amount of the suggested fine grew to over $6 million, though at the California Coastal Commission meeting in Ventura last month it was settled at just over $4 million.
The Lents’ attorney, Alan Block, called the penalty against the couple “unconscionable” in a phone conversation and email with The Malibu Times. He described the couple as “good faith purchasers” and added that any alleged violations of the Coastal Act occurred without their knowledge. He said his clients were not even assured it would be possible to create the public accessway.
“The Lents were advised repeatedly by the holder of the easement, the California Coastal Conservancy, that the Conservancy, in conjunction with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, was undertaking a study to determine whether it was even feasible — physically and economically — to construct the improvements necessary to open the vertical easement for public use,” Block said. “That study is not complete.”
Block also said a 2010 agreement meant the Lents’ fence and gate could remain in place for safety reasons.
“Both the Commission and Conservancy staff agreed in 2010 that the fence and gate along the eastern-most five feet of the property (which makes up the vertical easement), could remain in place for safety reasons until the easement was ready to be opened for public use because of the drop in elevation on the property seaward of PCH,” Block described. “This agreement was confirmed in writing by the Lents in 2011 and never contested and/or objected to by coastal staff until now.”
The Malibu Beach Inn was also purchased with public accessways blocked. In 1988, when a development permit was issued for the 47-room hotel, it required two public stairways to the beach be built adjacent to the state beach parking lot. That never happened with the original owners, Marlin Miser and Martin Cooper, or with the next owners, Hollywood bigwigs David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who purchased the property in 2005. They received a violation notice in 2007 and did not comply. The hotel then changed hands in 2015 for $80 million when the Mani Brothers Real Estate Group purchased it.
Current administrators expressed enthusiasm about opening the accessways.
“This issue predates our ownership. We knew about it and have been actively working with the CCC,” the company’s President of Hospitality, Gregory Day, told The Malibu Times. “We’re delighted and ready to improve our beach access. When the two stairwells are completed, they’ll provide more access than there is now. We plan to be a long-term partner to the city and its residents and look forward to seeing these long-postponed improvements take place along Carbon Beach.”
The $925,000 fine and settlement with the Malibu Beach Inn also calls for the installation of a crosswalk to be built in front of the hotel. Schwartz said, “We are grateful they are so willing to make it happen. Now people can park and walk to the beach. This is a huge win for everybody.”