A California retail magnate must pay more than $1.4 million in fines after  installed a gate at his mansion to block off access to a public beach.

John Levy has been instructed to dismantle the fence following a prolonged dispute with the California Coastal Commission regarding several alleged permit infringements.

The gate restricts access to a dirt road leading to the beautiful Buena Vista Lagoon and the ocean near Carlsbad, California, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

It is located at the beginning of a long, paved driveway leading up to Levy’s $2.8 million custom-built two-story home. 

However, the ruling from the commission stipulates that the gate must be removed  

According to the LA Times, Levy, 73, was the prosperous founder of Reflex Corp, a pet supply company that generated up to $3 million annually in sales before his retirement.

Buena Vista Lagoon is a freshwater lagoon in Southern California 35 miles north of San Diego.

On October 9 commissioners claimed that the gate was on the property line of a nearby condominium complex.

Retail tycoon John Levy is being fined more than $1.4 million over a gate that blocks public beach access among other violations

John Levy has owned a two-story property in Carlsbad for more than 25 years

Laws associated with the land dating back to 1983 required that it remain open to allow access to the beach.

Ongoing contention between Levy and the commission over public beach access, unauthorized construction, and habitat preservation demands has persisted for years.

He argued that the blocked path ‘leads nowhere’ and opening public access to the lagoon would invite trespassing, homelessness, and vandalism.

Levy gave local lifeguards the gate code so that they could patrol the city-owned beach nearby.

The retail tycoon lives in New Zealand most of the year, but addressed the commission via Zoom. 

‘This is a 29-year-old matter,’ he said. ‘I am not blocking public access.’

Nonetheless, the commission disagreed, and he was eventually penalized with a $1,428,750 fine for a series of violations tied to the property’s use as a wedding venue.

Levy offered up the property, called Levyland, to couple’s for use on their big day.

Levy used rented out his property for weddings and events and called it Levyland, which brought in more complaints from neighbors and the city

His home sits near Buena Vista Lagoon, which is a freshwater lagoon 35 miles north of San Diego

However, he wound up the service after a series of noise complaints from neighbors and noise and light violations with the city.

Some of the violations were linked to construction on the wedding venue after Levy was accused of removing native plants to create parking. 

Officials also alleged that he added a pickleball court without a permit and installed a locked pedestrian gate on a public Department of Fish and Wildlife trail.

‘I had no idea my property was being used for unpermitted activities,’ Levy said.

Levy was operating under two competing permits. 

One from the Coastal Commission that stipulated that the land on which his gate sits  maintained public beach access.

The second was issued by the city when he built his home. It held different requirements and stipulated that his gate would not change existing public access, according to The Coast News. 

Reports from the city state that an entrance to the same beach 500 feet away provided adequate, unobstructed access.

The weddings led to noise and light violations so Levy put a stop to them

Levy received complaints from the commission over removing native plants to pave extra parking spaces

Levy accused the California Coastal Commission of ignoring the city’s permits

Levy said that his private property was no longer part of the land in the initial permit and that the California Coastal Commission was ignoring the city’s allowances.

‘This entire process is about the Coastal Commission attempting to erode private property rights, and I will not allow it to happen on my watch,’ he said. 

But the commission disagreed and slapped Levy with the mammoth fine.

The Daily Mail reached out to Levy and the California Costal Commission for comment.