Trouble in paradise as retail tycoon locked in bitter $2.4m fight over gate and pickleball court at his mansion
A California retail tycoon is forcefully challenging a $2.4million fine that was imposed over a pickleball court at his custom-built mansion.
John Levy, 73, has filed a lawsuit against the state's Coastal Commission to fight the massive penalty.
He was accused of blocking public access to the beach with gates, illegally installing the pickleball court and removing the habitat of shorebirds.
Levy has argued that his due process rights were being violated since the commission was acting 'simultaneously as prosecutor, judge, and beneficiary of the penalties it imposes.'
The tension concerns his $2.8million home near Carlsbad - about 35 miles north of San Diego - which sits next to the gorgeous Buena Vista Lagoon and the North Pacific Ocean.
According to the commission, the gates of Levy's mansion prohibited access to the beach and water, while the pickleball court was built without permission.
In response, Levy claimed the state agency was acting with an 'inherent and unconstitutional bias', per his complaint.
He is seeking reimbursement of legal costs and any other relief, as well as a writ of mandate requiring the commission to cancel their orders.
John Levy is suing the California Coastal Commission for allegedly violating his due process rights after they fined him $2.4m for housing infractions
Levy, 73, is accused of blocking off public access to the beach through his $2.8m luxury mansion's gates
Levy's mansion was placed under scrutiny when the California Coastal Commission determined that its gates impeded access to a public beach.
The state agency plans and regulates how land and water are used along California's shoreline.
Levy argued that his pedestrian gate was 'lawfully locked' to avoid strangers from trespassing, while alleging that opening his vehicle gate would actually be unlawful.
In his complaint from November, Levy claimed that only the beach homeowners association could make that entry point accessible.
The commission maintained that Levy 'refused' to address his lack of compliance, which forced them to intervene.
'We've been asking Mr. Levy to comply with the coastal act and his [permit] for years,' the commission's enforcement counsel Rob Moddelmog said, per the East Bay Times.
He added: 'This is why we are forced to bring this order... to compel Mr. Levy to finally address his violations.'
In his complaint, Levy alleged that the commission 'hoped to strong-arm [him] into submitting to its demands, including by threatening crippling daily fines.'
A 1983 easement approved by the commission allegedly requires the land that eventually became Levy's mega-home to allow access to the beach.
Levy's current access - or lack thereof - was not sufficiently accommodating for beachgoers with disabilities, the state agency claimed.
They want Levy to provide access from Mountain View Drive, which he has so far refused to do.
The mansion's pickleball court has also become a flashpoint in the high-stakes legal battle.
Levy alleged that his contractor 'mistakenly believed that no permit was required to construct it,' per his complaint.
He said he was working to obtain an 'after the fact' permit for the court.
'Contrary to the Commission's repeated claims, the pickleball court was not built in any setback or other protected area of the property,' Levy added.
Levy claimed his contractor 'mistakenly believed that no permit was required to construct' a pickleball court that had become a point of contention
Levy previously rented out his Carlsbad residence but has not done so since 2016. He currently lives in New Zealand (Photo of a Yelp review of the property when it was used for a wedding)
Another point of contention was how Levy allegedly caused 'vegetation clearance within a wetland buffer setback area required to be protected for habitat conservation and open space.'
In his suit, Levy shot back that the removal had been 'resolved' since the vegetation eventually grew back.
He claimed that guests in 2013 had parked their cars 'disturbing some vegetation,' but that this happened without Levy knowing.
The mansion was rented from 2009 to about 2016 and occasionally hosted weddings during that stretch, per Levy's complaint.
It has not been rented since, his attorney Jeremy Talcott from the Pacific Legal Foundation told the Daily Mail. Levy currently lives in New Zealand.
He said that Levy's 'enforcement hearing is a prime example of an agency out of control.'
Talcott told the Daily Mail: 'The Commission imposed millions of dollars in penalties on the basis of heavily disputed facts and with virtually none of the procedural protections that would normally be afforded to even the most minimal criminal court hearing."
Levy's California home sits next to the stunning Buena Vista Lagoon, as well as the North Pacific Ocean
Another attorney for Levy, Paul Beard II, told the Daily Mail that nothing was expected to happen in the suit for at least several months while the state agency formally responded.
Levy has called the commission's enforcement 'politically charged' and vowed to keep fighting, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
'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,' he told the outlet.
'If the commission ignores the city's findings and continues to pursue this politically charged enforcement, we will be heading to Superior Court.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to the California Coastal Commission for comment.
