I have not been following the litigation over the issuing of building permits, but it seems to me the buyers who purchased the Lechuza Beach property did so at their own risk. If the Coastal Commission has legitimate reasons for not issuing a building permit, then the property has very little value and the speculators lose. However, the Coastal Commission agreed to pay $10 million and the state agreed to pay $12.5 million for this property. Based on the speculators purchase price in 1991, that is an approximate 500 percent return. Not bad, considering they purchased the property at the peak of the market and since then, the market has dropped approximately 30 percent with only recent upturns.
Can you imagine anyone paying $10 to $12.5 million of their own money for this property?
Thank God for us stupid taxpayers!
Fred Alexander