The Struggle Over Malibu's Beaches Continues

"The city, which joined Mr. Geffen in his lawsuit, is an epicenter for beach conflict, said officials with the California Coastal Commission, which regulates the use and development of the coast. The disputes here, however, tend to involve not drunken brawls and bad volleyball calls, but the tug between the public and the private interest.

Similar tensions are found in wealthy enclaves on both coasts, but in Malibu, which has 13,000 residents, they come with the complications of dense development, expensive real estate and a high celebrity quotient. Where else would you expect to stroll a few yards from Mel Gibson at a gathering with a group of nuns on a beachfront deck, or to bump into Mr. Spielberg walking along the water, as barefoot eyewitnesses claim to have done?"

Thanks to Brenda Meyer