In 2014, California Senate Bill 968 was passed into law, which required the California State Lands Commission to enter into negotations with landowner Vinod Khosla with the aim of reaching an agreement that would establish an easement across his property to facilitate access to Martin's Beach in coastal San Mateo County. The bill provided that if no agreement has been reached by January 1, 2016, the Commission may acquire a right-of-way or easement.
Over this past year that terms of the bill have been in effect, the State Lands Commission has been working in earnest to uphold its responsibilities as enumerated. The Commission has been in contact with Mr. Khosla to begin negotiations, worked to engage the public by attending and presenting at a public workshop held by the Surfrider Foundation San Mateo County Chapter that aimed to collect input from stakeholders about their preferences regarding future access to Martin's Beach, and received the summary report aggregating input received from the workshop to inform negotiations.
The year term has nearly come to a close, and the State Lands Commission will be reporting on the status of negotiations (Item #124) at its meeting on Friday, December 18, which will be held at 1:30pm at the Capitol Event Center (1020 11th St, 2nd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814). View the agenda here.
Let the State Lands Commission know you are counting on their leadership to establish permanent access to Martin's Beach. Send your comments to CSLC.CommissionMeetings@slc.ca.gov and include Item #124 - Martin's Beach in the subject line.
