Real Estate and Construction Law Blog has an interesting post on the estimated value of a beach, projected to be lost after the construction of a sea wall in Monterey Bay.

The case, Ocean Harbor House v. California Coastal Commission (opinion here), involves a condominum project seeking a permit from the Commission to build a seawall.  Erosion threatened the structure of the condos and a seawall was necessary to protect it.  Using a lost recreational value model for a 50 year period, the Commission required a mitigation fee of $5.3 million. 

In upholding the fee, the California Court of Appeals discussed the constitutional issues relating to this “exactions” and found the fee to be constitutionally proportional to the property taken:  “It is beyond dispute that California has a legitimate interest in protecting and maintaining its beaches as recreational resources.”