“CARLSBAD, Calif. -- John Levy Jr. built his dream home by a lagoon overlooking the Pacific Ocean and turned it into a private retreat he christened "Levyland," complete with his own pickleball court.
Then, the California Coastal Commission came for him. In October, the state agency hit the 74-year-old and his associated trust with up to $2.5 million in penalties, alleging he locked a gate to a beach and blocked a trail to a lagoon, among other things. Levy says the gate isn't on his land and the trail is private.
"I'm quite frankly troubled by what I see as a brazen disregard," Commissioner Ray Jackson remarked about Levy during a public hearing, characterizing the situation as "a direct affront to the people of California."
Levy joined the hearing via Zoom from a second home in New Zealand and could barely contain his anger. He accused the agency of spreading falsehoods and siccing activist groups on him, including one represented by a former reality star known as "Mitch the Bitch."
"Now everyone knows where the rich dude that blocks public access lives," Levy told commissioners, as the sun rose behind him.
While disputes over California beach access aren't uncommon, Levy's battle is being watched nationally for challenging the Coastal Commission's most potent tool: its authority to impose significant fines. Levy is suing the agency, arguing that its power to level "ruinous financial penalties" without proving allegations in court violates his constitutional right to due process.
"They're the investigator, they're the prosecutor, they're the judge, and they're the jury," said Levy.
Few state agencies wield more muscle than the Coastal Commission, which was established in 1972 to safeguard public shoreline access and has tangled with luminaries including Hollywood powerhouse David Geffen, who was forced to open access to the beach in front of his then-home in Malibu.
In 2014, California's legislature gave the agency even more power, permitting it to impose fines up to $11,250 per violation a day.
Two years later, the commission used that authority for the first time by dropping a $4.2 million penalty on a homeowner.
Proponents say the commission is all that keeps California's coastline open to the public. Critics argue it stifles development and inflates costs with heavy-handed unchecked regulations.
Levy grew up surfing in San Diego County, then made his money selling dog collars and other pet products. In 1996, he spotted the land that would become his home in upscale Carlsbad.
He built the quintessential bachelor pad: 3,700 square feet with 30-foot ceilings, but just one bedroom. He later married, had two children and in 2006 moved the family to New Zealand, renting Levyland to guests, some of whom used it for weddings.
Neighbor complaints about noise at a wedding led to a wider investigation by the Coastal Commission, said Chandra Slaven, a land-use consultant for Levy. It sparked the continuing, nearly decadelong fight that centers on two gates.
The first: a locked electric gate on Mountain View Drive, at the top of Levy's driveway. Though Levy upgraded the gate with local approval when he moved in, it actually sits on land owned by a nearby townhome homeowners' association -- not Levy. He argues he can't control a gate that isn't on his property.
Commission staff disagree -- they say Levy controls the gate and that the current HOA board claimed they weren't even aware they owned the land. The HOA declined to comment.
The second gate raises a different question: whether a footpath on Levy's land, on the lagoon's edge, is public or private. When Levy built his home, he offered a public-access easement as a condition of his permit. But the city of Carlsbad, he argues, never accepted it.
Commission staffers counter that an updated city trails map included the easement and that city staff at the time said the pathway was accepted.
But current Carlsbad officials have sided with Levy -- and have hired outside counsel to challenge the commission's claims.
In 2017, the commission ordered Levy to open the gates or face daily penalties of up to $11,250. When threats didn't work, the commission in 2024 slapped Levy with a cease-and-desist order, which started the process of full-blown enforcement.
Advocates rallied on both sides. The Pacific Legal Foundation, a national public-interest law firm, is supporting Levy. Through public-records requests, Levy's team discovered the commission had alerted environmentalists and others.
Commission officials said they waged no such campaign.
Levy has agreed under protest to open the electronic gate in return for the commission's reducing his fine by $1.1 million, to $1.4 million, secured by a lien on his home. "This is straight-up extortion, what they're doing to me," Levy said later. His lawsuit continues.
Lisa Haage, the enforcement chief, said "90% of the time" the commission is able to settle such cases without fines. "We don't care about the money," she said. "It's a deterrent to try and protect public access."” [1]
1. U.S. News: Beach Access Penalties Turn Into Epic Battle. Carlton, Jim. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 18 May 2026: A3.
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