Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio to open $2 million Malibu property to public after beach dispute

Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is being forced to dedicate a $2 million beachfront property in Malibu for public use after his company allegedly used heavy machinery to remove sand, cobble stones and boulders from a protected California beach to reinforce a seawall at his oceanfront property. According to the New York Post, the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a settlement with Attanasio’s company, 2XMD Partners LLC. Under the agreement, the company must restore the damaged shoreline and dedicate the multimillion-dollar beachfront property in eastern Malibu for public use. The company must also remove a private staircase and rock wall that the commission said had blocked public access along the coast.

The California Coastal Commission said 2XMD Partners LLC illegally used heavy machinery in sensitive coastal habitat, including an excavator that removed “sand, cobble stones and boulders from a marine protected area.” Officials said the material was used to backfill a seawall at Attanasio’s property at 31000 Broad Beach Road. The beach controversy erupted after Attanasio’s next-door neighbour, billionaire James Kohlberg, sued him over the construction work. Kohlberg is the son of Jerome Kohlberg, who co-founded global investment giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., better known as KKR. According to the Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit accused Attanasio’s team of using a public beach as a private resource. “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 stated. The lawsuit included photographs that allegedly showed excavators operating along the wet shoreline and removing piles of sand, leaving large holes along the narrow stretch of beach.

Attanasio had obtained permits to repair a damaged section of the seawall at his nearly $30 million Malibu property. However, according to the lawsuit, the permits prohibited the use of heavy machinery in the tidal zone and barred the removal of sand from the public beach. The lawsuit accused Attanasio’s construction team, JILK Heavy Construction, of operating large excavators in tidal areas, allegedly leaking oil and exposing local marine life to potentially hazardous byproducts. It also alleged that the construction work restricted public access to the beach. In an earlier statement reported by the Los Angeles Times, Attanasio’s attorney, Kenneth Ehrlich, maintained that 2XMD Partners LLC had acted in full compliance with its permits. “2XMD is in the midst of a fully-permitted emergency repair of the property to protect it from ocean forces,” Ehrlich said, adding that the company had secured all necessary permits from the City of Malibu and Los Angeles County and had vetted the contractors and subcontractors involved in the project. The lawsuit accused Attanasio of public nuisance, private nuisance and violations of the California Coastal Act. It called for construction to be stopped, the removed sand to be replaced and fines to be imposed.

Under the settlement approved by the California Coastal Commission, Attanasio’s company will dedicate a separate beachfront property valued at approximately $2 million for public use. According to the Los Angeles Times, the property is located about 14 miles east of Attanasio’s Broad Beach home near Big Rock Beach. The 5,135-square-foot parcel has approximately 70 feet of beach frontage and previously contained a three-unit building that was destroyed in the Palisades fire. The property will be preserved for recreational use, although the specific plans for the site will be determined after it is transferred to a public agency. As part of the settlement, Attanasio’s company must also restore the damaged Broad Beach shoreline and return the removed sand. The California Coastal Commission said the excavation had damaged sensitive coastal habitat. The agency said the work left a large hole in the rocky intertidal zone, an area inhabited by marine species including fish and sea stars.

“This is the right resolution,” Coastal Commission Deputy Chief of Enforcement Aaron McLendon said during the public hearing. “The property that would be dedicated to the public is incredibly unique,” he added. Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge also described the agreement as an important opportunity to increase public access to Malibu’s coastline. “This is a rare opportunity to secure beach access for the public in Malibu,” Huckelbridge said. “I’m grateful to all involved for turning a bad situation into a major win for Californians.” The California Coastal Commission said the settlement will provide rare new public access in a stretch of Malibu where oceanfront properties have historically dominated the coastline. It remains unclear how the Coastal Commission settlement will affect James Kohlberg’s separate civil lawsuit.

Attanasio purchased his Broad Beach home for $23 million in 2007. A decade later, he acquired the neighbouring vacant lot for $6.6 million. The disputed stretch of Broad Beach sits just east of Lechuza Point, an exclusive Malibu enclave where celebrities, billionaires and business leaders have paid tens of millions of dollars for oceanfront homes. Broad Beach has faced significant erosion over the years, with storms and high tides contributing to substantial sand depletion. In 2015, prominent residents including Dustin Hoffman, Ray Romano and Pierce Brosnan committed to a $31 million restoration project aimed at replenishing the beach’s sand and protecting the coastline.

The dispute involving Mark Attanasio comes amid a broader debate over private development, environmental protection and public access along Malibu’s coastline. Malibu has become one of the most expensive real estate markets in the United States, attracting wealthy homeowners to its oceanfront properties and rugged hillsides. The Los Angeles Times has previously reported on the extraordinary prices commanded by Malibu homes. Earlier this year, Oakley founder James Jannard sold his Malibu home for $210 million, making it the most expensive home sale in California history.