Controversial fence near Rio Del Mar Beach in Aptos torn down

UPDATE 12/18/18 7:59 p.m. Santa Cruz County officials tore down the controversial green fence blocking walkway access near Rio Del Mar Beach on Tuesday morning.

The dispute over who owns the walkway between the homes and Rio Del Mar beach has been going on for years.

Property owners say it’s privately owned space while the county says it’s public property.

The county says they tried to come to a compromise with residents over the past few years, but were met with the threat of a lawsuit from some residents. Supervisor Zach Friend says, “we wanted to negotiate some sort of settlement where we can have not just public access but ensure that the homeowners would have some opportunity to maintain some of the space they have, clearly that wasn’t their interest, clearly their interest was to block all public access. and you know enough is enough sometimes you have to make a statement that this is a community owned asset.”

Friend also says one thing that is clear, “if you really believe this was a privately owned asset, why haven’t you been paying property taxes on it for the past couple of decades? So either you owe the county literally millions of dollars in back taxes or you recognize this was a public asset the whole time.”

Most residents walking by were happy about the opening, “it’s the right thing to do, I know it’s hard for the homeowners, but access is access,” says Bob Johnson.

Aptos resident Christine Matheny agrees, “it’s just so beautiful and you know this is our public access, and you know we live here in Santa Cruz. That’s why we pay high prices to live here, to have access to our own beaches and coast.”

But those living along the walkway were not as happy. KION spoke with several residents with different concerns. Some of the concerns surrounding what people will leave behind including trash and dog poop.

Another residents says he’s concerned for safety reasons. Many of the homes living rooms are right on the pathway and he’s worried about potential break ins. He hopes they can come to a compromise with the county about the possibility of adding lights to the walkway or restricting access after a certain time.

Although the fence and another concrete wall on the other side of the homes has been torn down, home owners have still filed a lawsuit. KION reached out to the home owners attorney, but have not heard back.

PREVIOUS STORY: Santa Cruz County officials tore down the controversial green fence blocking walkway access near Rio Del Mar Beach on Tuesday morning.

They say they tried to come to a compromise with residents over the past few years, but were met with the threat of a lawsuit from some residents.

They said since the land is public property they didn’t want to wait any longer for everyone to be able to enjoy it, so made the decision to tear it down.

KION’s Ashley Keehn will have more at 5 p.m and 6 p.m.