Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has been ordered to dedicate a $2 million Malibu beachfront property for public use after his company allegedly stripped sand and rocks from a protected California shoreline to fortify his mansion.
The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve the settlement targeting Attanasio’s company, 2XMD Partners LLC, over work at his 31000 Broad Beach Road estate. The nearly $30 million property sits along eastern Malibu’s narrow coastline, where investigators said crews deployed heavy machinery in sensitive habitat including an excavator that removed “sand, cobble stones and boulders from a marine protected area.”
Officials said the excavated material was used to backfill a seawall shielding Attanasio’s home. The permits he obtained to repair that seawall explicitly barred heavy equipment in the tidal zone and prohibited removing sand from the public beach — conditions his neighbor James Kohlberg accused the crews of violating outright.
Kohlberg, whose father co-founded investment giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., sued Attanasio two years ago and triggered the commission’s investigation. His lawsuit included photographs of excavators working the wet shoreline and dredging sand into piles, leaving gaping holes along the beach.
“This case is about a private property owner using a public beach as their own personal sandbox and the disturbing conversion of a public natural resource (i.e., sand from Broad Beach) for a nearby homeowner’s personal, private use,” the lawsuit states, according to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
At the time the suit was filed, Attanasio maintained through the Times that he and 2XMD Partners had acted in “100% compliance with all of their permits.”
The commission’s settlement demands more than just the property dedication. Attanasio’s company must also restore the damaged shoreline and tear out a private staircase and rock wall that blocked public access along the coast.
“This is the right resolution,” Coastal Commission Deputy Chief of Enforcement Aaron McLendon said during Thursday’s public hearing.
“The property that would be dedicated to the public is incredibly unique.”
Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge framed the outcome as reclaiming scarce coastline for ordinary Californians. “This is a rare opportunity to secure beach access for the public in Malibu,” she said at the hearing. “I’m grateful to all involved for turning a bad situation into a major win for Californians.”
The commission’s unanimous vote caps a two-year fight that began when Kohlberg, a billionaire in his own right, took his neighbor to court over the shoreline work. The lawsuit’s photographs and allegations spurred the regulatory probe that ultimately forced Attanasio into the public-access concession.
Whether Thursday’s settlement affects Kohlberg’s separate civil lawsuit remains unresolved.