Beachgoers may be the big winners in a high-profile dispute between the California Coastal Commission and Mark Attanasio, the billionaire businessman who owns the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.
In 2024, Attanasio’s construction team was accused of using excavators to dig up sand from Broad Beach and carry it back to his property as part of a beachfront development. The construction work kicked off a lawsuit, followed by an investigation by the Coastal Commission.
The investigation found that the unpermitted excavation degraded sensitive habitats, according to a commission fact sheet. It also concluded that Attanasio’s project partially blocked public beach access.
But the proposed resolution is a bit unorthodox: instead of paying a fine or a fee, the billionaire has agreed to donate a $2-million oceanfront parcel to be preserved for the public, according to the Coastal Commission.
The agreement awaits an approval vote from the Coastal Commission, which is set for Sept. 10. Kenneth Ehrlich, an attorney representing Attanasio, said he won’t have a statement regarding the deal until it’s approved.
“We’re very excited because we rarely have the opportunity to dedicate a whole parcel to the public,” said Lisa Haage, the Coastal Commission’s Chief of Enforcement, adding that opening public pathways to Malibu’s prized beaches, where houses crowd shoulder to shoulder, is always a challenge.
Property donations aren’t unheard of in settlement agreements, but Haage said this is the first she can remember in Malibu, where land is prized and residents consistently get fined for blocking public access.
“This is a better way to resolve the situation than settlement money sitting in a pot somewhere,” Haage said.
Attanasio’s beachfront mansion is in Broad Beach, but the property he’s donating sits about 14 miles east near Big Rock Beach. He doesn’t own it yet; he’s currently under contract to buy the property and will donate it to a public agency once the sale closes.
The property spans 5,135 square feet with 70 feet of beach frontage. It previously held a three-unit building that burned in the Palisades fire. The parcel will be preserved for recreational use, but specific plans won’t be decided until it’s donated to a public agency, according to Robert Moddelmog, who serves as Enforcement Counsel for the Coastal Commission.
“For decades, people have been asking why public agencies can’t buy some of these lots in eastern Malibu, but historically, it’s been a wall of houses,” Moddelmog said. “It’s rare that new acquisitions like this can happen.”
As part of the resolution agreement, Attanasio has also agreed to return the sand and restore the beach. Moddelmog said the excavator left a large hole in the rocky intertidal zone, where fish, sea stars and other species linger.
Over the last decade, preservation has become a focal point in Broad Beach, a hyper-exclusive enclave where celebrities and business tycoons spend tens of millions of dollars for homes right on the water.
Over the years, the beach has been battered by violent storms and high tides, leading to significant sand depletion. In 2015, high-profile residents including Dustin Hoffman, Ray Romano and Pierce Brosnan committed to a $31-million restoration project to bolster the beach’s sand.
The post A billionaire was accused of stealing Malibu sand. Now he’s donating a new beach to the public appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
