Judge Rules In Favor Of Half Moon Bay Landowner Blocking Access To Public Beach

HALF MOON BAY (CBS/AP) -- A judge says an oceanfront property owner may continue to block public access to a Northern California beach.

The San Mateo County Superior Court judge ruled this week that billionaire Vinod Khosla may block the only road to Martins Beach south of Half Moon Bay.

According to the ruling, beachgoers will still technically have access to the 200-acre beach if they can get there from the water.

The decision is the latest blow in a years-long battle between beach lovers and Khosla, who bought the property for $37.5 million in 2008.

A lawyer who filed a lawsuit on behalf of the group Friends of Martins Beach plans to appeal the ruling, arguing that it violates beach access rights under the California Constitution.

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