Homeowner Who Built Illegally Must Pay $165,000 for Open Land

The California Coastal Commission, as part of its statewide effort to crack down on illegal developments, is requiring a Calabasas homeowner who built his sprawling home without permits to pay $165,000 for adjoining property to preserve as open space.

The unprecedented action comes after homeowner Arnold Steinberg ignored several stop-work orders from the commission, which is charged with protecting land within the state’s coastal zone that stretches five miles inland.

Commission members said Wednesday that the settlement forces Steinberg to purchase an adjacent 2.3-acre property from a private landowner at a cost nearly 10 times greater than the largest fine ever issued by the state coastal agency. By agreeing to the deal, Steinberg will avoid penalty proceedings by the commission.

Although the land will not be open to the public, conservationists say the rugged hillside area will enhance the natural beauty of surrounding open space, which includes the 650-acre Cold Creek Preserve.

The settlement was reached at the Coastal Commission hearing late Wednesday after a land preservation group, the Mountains Restoration Trust, agreed to help Steinberg buy the land by contributing $50,000 toward the purchase price if Steinberg promised not to build on it. Steinberg got the additional $115,000 from other sources.

“This sets a new high-water mark as far as enforcement actions by the commission are concerned,” said commission spokesman Jack Liebster. “This sends a message out to people who violate the Coastal Act that they have to play by the same rules as everybody else.”

The commission has been struggling to strengthen its enforcement powers recently after discovering dozens of illegal developments along the Southern California coast during the last two years. One developer boldly built a 2 1/2-mile-long road without permits in the Santa Monica Mountains, where most of the unlawful activity has been centered.

Commission enforcement officials said Steinberg purchased his property and a coastal building permit from a previous owner and then sought a permit amendment to expand the size of the house, move it to a new location, and add several new features, including an indoor racquetball court.

Steinberg began building the nearly 6,000-square-foot house before the commission considered his amended request. By the time the state attorney general stepped in and obtained a court order barring Steinberg from continuing, the house was 85% completed.

Steinberg, ironically, has worked as a consultant for numerous environmental initiatives, including the Proposition 70 parks acquisition bond that voters approved last year. He was silent Wednesday while his attorney agreed to the commission’s demands.

“I know Mr. Steinberg did some things you don’t like, but what he has done now . . . has been an honest effort to make things right,” his attorney, Charles Greenberg, told the commission.

Betty Wiechec, executive director of the Mountains Restoration Trust, said the preservation agency agreed to help Steinberg buy the property because of its location near the Cold Creek Preserve. “It’s an important case because it sets an example in an area where there’s been so much illegal development,” she said.