Daily Journal publishes PLF op-ed on Martin's Beach decision

The San Francisco Daily Journal published my op-ed today on last week’s California Court of Appeal decision in the Friends of Martin’s Beach case. As I have written before, in this case an advocacy group sued property owner Vinod Khosla claiming that the public is entitled to cross his property to reach the beach.  The group relied mostly on Article X, Section 4 of the California Constitution, which codifies the state’s public trust doctrine.  But the Court of Appeal held that constitutional provision doesn’t extend far enough to grant access to private property.  The decision is a win for California property owners because it recognizes the importance of the right to exclude and rejects an invitation to place an easement across many coastal properties.