硅谷大亨買海灘 公衆使用需付錢
A Silicon Valley venture capitalist, locked in a battle with the State of California over access to a prime stretch of beach that was popular with surfers, swimmers and fishermen before he bought it and closed it, has proposed a price to restore public access: $30 million.
硅谷一位風險投資人曾買下一片優質海灘，並將其關閉。在那之前，那片海灘頗受衝浪和游泳愛好者以及漁民的歡迎。這名投資人圍繞這片海灘的使用權與加利福尼亞州陷入了持久的糾紛。如今，這位投資人爲重新向公衆開放海灘開出了價格：3000萬美元。
About eight years ago, Mr. Khosla, a founder of Sun Microsystems, snapped up a prime 53-acre parcel of Martins Beach for $37.5 million. The parcel, about four miles south of Half Moon Bay on the San Francisco Peninsula, includes the beach and the road. And for a century, California’s State Lands Commission said, the land had been a haven for the beachgoing public.
大約八年前，太陽微系統(Sun Microsystems)公司創始人之一維諾德·科斯拉(Vinod Khosla)花3750萬美元，買下了馬丁斯海灘一塊佔地53英畝的優質地。該地塊位於舊金山半島半月灣以南約四英里處，包含海灘和一條路。加州土地委員會(State Lands Commission)稱，一個世紀以來，那裏一直是海灘愛好者的天堂。
At first, Mr. Khosla let people use the beach, but in 2010 locked the gate on Martins Beach Road and posted guards.
起初，科斯拉是允許公衆使用那片海灘的，但2010年，他鎖上了馬丁斯海灘路上的大門，並部署了保安。
Now, for the first time, lawyers for Mr. Khosla have proposed in negotiations with the state to restore public access for almost the amount that Mr. Khosla paid for the land.
在就重新面向公衆開放一事與加州政府開展談判期間，這是科斯拉的代理律師首次提出，用一筆與科斯拉當初買地的價錢幾乎相當的金額解決此事。
But the commission’s executive officer, Jennifer Lucchesi, said in a telephone interview, “We do not agree with that value, and we believe the value is significantly less than that.” Ms. Lucchesi added, “We have not seen any backup documentation to support the $30 million value.”
但州土地委員會行政主管珍妮弗·盧凱西(Jennifer Lucchesi)在接受電話採訪時表示，“我們不贊成這個價錢，我們認爲那塊地遠不值這個價位。”她接着表示，“我們沒看到任何補充性的文件，可以證明那塊地值3000萬美元。”
The commission planned to offer its own assessment, she said.
她說，委員會計劃給出一項自己的估價。
The two sides are actually trying to agree on the value of a right of public use of Martins Beach Road, which leads from the highway to the beach, and access along the shoreline itself, Ms. Lucchesi said.
盧凱西稱，雙方實際上是試圖就馬丁斯海灘路的公共使用權，以及讓公衆使用海灘的價格達成一致。馬丁斯海灘路連接着一條公路和那片海灘。
The talks were initiated under legislation that took effect in January 2015, she said. If the two sides cannot agree, the commission could resort to eminent domain, which allows the state to expropriate private property for public use.
她說，談判是根據2015年1月生效的一項法律進行的。若雙方不能達成一致，該委員會可能會訴諸於國家徵用權。後者允許政府徵收私人地產用於公共用途。
Mr. Khosla’s lawyer, Dori L. Yob, could not be reached for comment by telephone or email. But in her letter to the commission, dated Feb. 3, she said that Mr. Khosla’s limited liability companies, the legal entity that owns the property, closed the beach because demand was low, asserting that more than 10 cars showed up to use it only about 15 days a year.
記者無法通過電話或電子郵件聯繫到科斯拉的律師多裏·L·約布(Dori L. Yob)。但她在2月3日寫給該委員會的一封信中表示，科斯拉名下的有限責任公司（即持有這處房產的法人），之所以關閉海灘是因爲公衆對其需求很低，稱一年中去海灘的汽車超過10輛的時間只有大約15天。
Ms. Yob said that while the current real estate market value of the land was $30 million, the Martins Beach owners previously offered less expensive solutions to meet the “limited demand” for access as a way to avoid lengthy litigation and further expenses.
約布稱，這塊地在當前的房地產市場上的價格是3000萬美元，但馬丁斯海灘的業主過去爲滿足公衆對海灘的“有限需求”而提供的解決方案，成本沒有現在這麼高，這樣做是爲了避免漫長的訴訟和進一步的花銷。
“The cost to acquire the property is significant and should be weighed against the benefits,” she wrote. “There is no vital link to navigable waters at issue. There is not a significant demand for access to the property.”
“買下這塊地的成本較高，應對其效益加以衡量，”她寫道。“我們討論的道路，不是連接通航水域的重要通道。對進入那片地區的需求並不大。”
