The fort’s time has come to an end. Photo: Spencer v. Lunada Lawsuit Exhibit
As part of a legal settlement between the City of Palos Verdes Estates and California surfers who were victims of localism at Lunada Bay, cleanup operations are underway to remove the infamous fort built by the “Bay Boys” surf gang.
On Monday, March 31, a helicopter was deployed as part of the operation to hoist heavy items from the bottom of the cliff. According to Palos Verdes Estates City Manager Kerry Kallman, surfboards, kayaks, barbecues, chairs, and 10 bundles of Arundo grass – a tall type of reed that had been planted around the fort – were removed and placed in a dumpster atop the cliff.
The settlement, reached in September of last year, was the culmination of a years-long legal battle to restore access to Lunada Bay, a surf spot where locals had long been implementing aggressive, threatening tactics to deter others from coming to the wave. Several of the surfers involved in the lawsuit had already agreed to settlements in the years prior that required them to pay fines ranging from $30,000 to $90,000 or to stay away from Lunada Bay for one year. After the lawsuit was filed in 2016, the case jumped around federal, state, and appellate courts before the final holdouts reached an agreement in 2024.
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Aside from demolishing the illegally built fort, the settlement terms require the City to make Lunada Bay more welcoming to visitors, adding amenities like trail markers, benches, landscaping, and a drinking fountain. The City says they approved the conceptual design for these enhancements at its March 11 meeting. The City must implement the amenities by September 2026.
The City was also ordered to pay between $1 million and $4 million in lawyer fees stemming from the eight-year legal battle.
