A San Francisco billionaire wants to keep people off the beach near his home. A judge simply said no.

For 15 years, a San Francisco-area billionaire has been fighting to limit beach access near his home — and his fight just took another setback.

A California state judge has ruled against venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, Bloomberg reports. Reported on Saturday. Superior Court Judge Raymond Swope denied Khosla’s attempt to file a lawsuit against him, saying he could not restrict access to Martin’s Beach, a popular surfing spot near Khosla’s ruling by SF Swope. is just the latest setback in a years-long saga.

In 2008, the billionaire bought a house near the beach for $32.5 million, according to the publication. Shortly thereafter, he built a gate on the road leading downstream, ensuring that the public could not use this access point to get to the beach. Khosla’s lawyers say the gate is legal, because he owns the property, but others disagree. The ensuing legal battle made it all the way to the US Supreme Court in 2018, where the justices chose not to accept Khosla’s appeal, setting up a lower verdict.

The decision was in favor of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit organization in California that advocates for the protection of oceans and beaches. And now the State Land Commission, a California government agency, is similarly trying to block Khosla from closing the beach to the public. It contends that the public has “rights of access” to the land under state law and historic use. Bloomberg noted that Soup’s ruling said the agency had provided sufficient support for its claims, and that it could move forward with the lawsuit filed in 2020.

At a hearing on Monday, Khosla may ask the judge to reconsider his decision. (His attorney did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.)

Beach access is a hot-button issue in California, and battles between homeowners and the public have been known for decades. Last year, for example, the public finally gained access to Escondido Beach in Malibu after a 40-year battle. In this case, two homeowners agreed to restore an access point that had been blocked since the 1980s.

While the SF issue doesn’t have as much history behind it, it’s been dragging on for over a decade at this point. And depending on what Khosla decides to do, the public could be waiting longer to get to Martins Beach.