Coastal Commission asks $2.4 million in penalties for Carlsbad violations

John Levy finished construction on his two-story, custom-built house in 2000. It stands alone near the beach on a flat spot at the edge of the Buena Vista Lagoon in Carlsbad, just south of the Oceanside border.

He lived there a few years as a bachelor, then married and moved to New Zealand. He later rented his Carlsbad property for a while as a destination wedding venue called Levyland, and lately it’s been mostly vacant.

But locked gates, a pickleball court and other features of the property have Levy and the California Coastal Commission embroiled in a dispute that could cost the Carlsbad homeowner more than $2.4 million.

Next Thursday, the commission is meeting to decide whether to hit Levy with those penalties for what its staff contends are violations of multiple coastal access and habitat protection requirements.

The list of the Coastal Commission’s concerns is long and tangled. They include a locked gate at the property’s driveway entrance, a locked pedestrian gate for a trail along the lagoon, the unpermitted construction of a pickleball court, brush cleared for parking, outdoor lighting and more.

Levy has disputed the Coastal Commission’s allegations for years. He said Wednesday that most of his actions have been approved by the city and that the state agency is trying to “weaponize” its enforcement process against him.

“The central issue today is the (Coastal Commission) staff’s disregard for the local authority that issued the (coastal development permit) in the first place: the city of Carlsbad,” Levy said.

Part of the problem is that there are two coastal development permits for the property.

One permit was issued by the Coastal Commission in 1983 for the subdivision of a piece of land that included the adjacent bluff-top condominium development and an area filled in along the lagoon that Levy purchased a few years later. That permit includes the requirement for the property to maintain public access to the beach.

The other coastal development permit was issued by the city in 1998 for Levy to build his house along the lagoon. That permit has different requirements than the one from the commission.

The Coastal Commission gives coastal cities like Carlsbad the authority to grant permits for developments such as Levy’s house. However, the state agency retains control and the final word over the city permits through an appeal or in other ways. Sometimes the local agency is more lenient or policies change, in which case the state may step in.

“This entire process is about the Coastal Commission attempting to erode private property rights, and I will not allow it to happen on my watch,” Levy said. “If the commission ignores the city’s findings and continues to pursue this politically charged enforcement, we will be heading to Superior Court.”

Levy’s main gate to the property from Mountain View Drive is the biggest point of contention. Levy built and maintains the gate on property owned by the homeowners association of the neighboring condominium complex.

Levy, 73, is retired after years of running a successful pet-supply business. He returned to Carlsbad earlier this year and stayed for a while in the house, but now he’s back at his home in New Zealand.

Coastal Commission officials said the conditions on the permit for the gate require it to be open to the public for access to the beach and lagoon. That position is supported by local environmental groups such as the Surfrider Foundation, Preserve Calavera and others.

“Commission enforcement staff have built a very strong case against Levy, and Surfrider supports their findings,” said Mitch Silverstein, California policy senior coordinator for Surfrider. “I am hopeful that the commissioners will support the enforcement action. Financial penalties aside, we just want to see public access restored.”

Levy said the gate is on the HOA’s property, not his, so he doesn’t control who has access to it. But he does allow Carlsbad lifeguards to use the gate so their vehicles can patrol the one mile of beach that is the city’s responsibility. Also, according to Levy and the commission staff, the HOA has refused responsibility for Levy’s gate.

Carlsbad Community Development Director Jeff Murphy, in an Aug. 1 letter to the Coastal Commission, states that “the city does not agree that the Mountain View Drive gate is in violation” of the development permit issued for the property.

“However,” Murphy states, “we defer to the Coastal Commission’s retained jurisdiction to contemplate, analyze, and approve future development proposals and/or conduct enforcement proceedings for any Coastal Act violations associated with the development of 2401 Mountain View Drive.”

The Coastal Commission is scheduled to consider the matter at its meeting Thursday in Redondo Beach.

The commission’s staff is proposing Levy pay a $1,428,750 penalty for a set of access-related violations that include “using lagoon habitat as an unpermitted parking lot, clearing vegetation for use as a wedding venue, constructing an unpermitted pickleball court and paved area, and installing unpermitted fencing on state land and in the lagoon.”

The agency also proposes a separate penalty of $1,071,562 for refusing to open the main gate for public access to the beach. However, it offers to waive the second penalty if Levy will open the gate.

“Today, if opened, the beach access easement would provide the only public access for persons with disabilities to access the wide North Beach at the mouth of Buena Vista Lagoon, but Mr. Levy has refused to open his gate,” states a commission staff report.

The Coastal Commission was established in 1972 when the state’s voters approved the Coastal Act to protect public access to beaches and coastal resources. The commission gained the power to assess administrative penalties for the first time through a Coastal Act amendment in 2014.

Most Coastal Commission violations are eventually resolved without a financial penalty, said the commission’s enforcement counsel, Rob Moddelmog. But this could be an exception.

“The Coastal Commission is proud of its record of amicably resolving nearly all Coastal Act violations and spent years trying to reach a consensual resolution with Mr. Levy,” Moddelmog said in an email Thursday. “However, he has continued to block public access and has yet to address the lagoon habitat that he was required to protect.”