Judge cuts off public access to popular California beach

A California beach is open to the public but a property owner can block the only land access route, a judge says. Thursday's ruling means the only way surfers, fishermen and others who have long enjoyed Martins Beach can get there is by boat, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The beach is on Half Moon Bay in San Mateo County south of San Francisco. Gary Redenbacher, who challenged the beach closing on behalf of Friends of Martins Beach, said he will appeal. He said the decision in favor of Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist who bought the property that includes access to the beach violates the California Constitution. While Redenbacher said the ruling means anyone who buys property bordering public beaches can effectively cut off access, Thursday's decision appears to deal with an unusual circumstance, the Chronicle reported. The treaty at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848 recognized Mexican land grants, including the one held by Jose Antonio Alviso for Half Moon Bay. Superior Court Judge Gerald Buchwald ruled the Alviso land grant remains effective more than 150 years later and after a number of changes of ownership. The Deeney family, who owned the land for more than a century before selling it to Khosla, welcomed visitors, while charging them for parking and beach access