A Silicon Valley billionaire is fighting to make a beloved beach near his $37 million estate off-limits to the public — and he's taking his case to the Supreme Court

The battle between tech titan Vinod Khosla and California activists is heating up.

This week, Khosla filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court to overturn a 2017 ruling that forced him to open public access to a California beach that surrounds his shorefront property.

In 2008, Khosla — who made his fortune as an investor and one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems  — paid a reported $37 million for an 89-acre parcel near Half Moon Bay, about an hour south of San Francisco. For many decades, surfers and families had enjoyed the beach, which is known for its stunning geological formations, picnic areas, and ideal surfing waves.

When Khosla closed the gate to Martins Beach in 2010, locals revolted. A California appeals court later ruled that Khosla violated state law when he blocked the public from accessing the beach and forced him to reopen it. Now he's taking his case to the nation's highest court.

Here's what we know about Martins Beach.

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The path to Martins Beach has long been gated. The previous owners of the shorefront property kept the gate opened and charged between $2 and $10 for parking nearby.

Surfers and sunbathers came from all over the Bay Area to visit this short stretch of the coastline. It once had a restaurant and a convenience store that catered to visitors.

"It's a family beach that was open to the community for generations," Angela Howe, legal director for the Surfrider Foundation, told Business Insider in 2014.

Source: Business Insider

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Contributer : Tech Insider http://ift.tt/2Cf2VR3

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