If you own a beachfront property but not the beach in front of it, you’ve got to expect that sunseekers may obstruct your view of the ocean. But for one woman caught in a shocking viral video recently, the idea of seeing other people enjoy themselves was just too much.
The woman, a California homeowner who was blasted online for behaving like a raging “Karen,” was seen screaming at a family with small children who were enjoying the public beach, shouting at them to “get outta here!”
Despite having no ownership of the beach the family were enjoying, the woman proceeded to unroll some rope and attempt to section off a corner of the beach outside of her $6 million property. But she had absolutely no right to do it and has since been slapped with a fine.
We’ll talk about the fine and why she had no right, but let’s first take a minute to look at this astounding video. You can watch it here.
The video starts with the woman marching around the beach and screaming, unrolling thick rope and creating a makeshift fence around the beach. The woman insists that the family were “on her property line,” and screams at them until they eventually decide to pack up and leave.
But it just isn’t true. Under California law, the public is allowed to use any part of the beach between the ocean and the mean high tide line – the point at which the tide usually rests at its highest level. If the family remained past that line, they were well within their rights to enjoy the beachfront as much as the woman who lives by it.
In a statement, the Coastal Commission also said that it is illegal to use ropes to section off parts of the beach. The woman in the video was, therefore, ordered to remove the makeshift fence or face a fine of as much as $11,000 per day.
A statement from the City of Laguna Beach also thanked Park Rangers for speaking to local residents and reminding them that, regardless of property boundaries, it is inappropriate to speak to beachgoers in the way she did.
