Sean Parker has reached a $2.5 million settlement with the California Coastal Commission over his big, splashy, $10 million Big Sur wedding, for which the web entrepreneur did not obtain proper permits to build such structures as “fake ruins” in an ecologically sensitive area.
According to The Associated Press, the commission had been alerted via a county investigation to the construction of cottage, waterfalls, staircases and a dance floor — not to mention those Medieval-esque ruins — upon a closed campground surrounded by redwood trees. The site is owned by Ventana Inn & Spa, where Parker married singer Alexandra Lenas on Saturday night.
While the Ventana is in settlement talks for greenlighting Parker’s use of the venue, the Napster co-founder and Spotify investor has agreed to pay $2.5 million toward coastal conservation programs and also offered his tech expertise in producing an educational video or making a mobile app to pinpoint areas where visitors can access the coast.
“Mr. Parker has been extremely cooperative and actively involved in working with Coastal Commission staff to reach this resolution which both addresses our Coastal Act concerns and will result in greater coastal access and conservation in the Big Sur and Monterey Peninsula areas,” said Charles Lester, the commission’s executive director, in a statement on Monday.
For his part, Parker, calling Big Sur “one of the most magical places on earth,” said in a statement that he and his wife were “excited to support these important conservation? related projects for and with the local community.”
