Few things in Malibu are as coveted as possessing a key that grants access to the secluded cove known as Little Dume — a beach that anchors an A-list enclave that’s home to stars, power players and billionaires.
Area residents include Kamala Harris, Sean Penn, Chris Martin, Gerard Butler and Julia Roberts. Last summer, it wasn’t uncommon to spot Jeff Bezos and venture capital titan Marc Andreessen simultaneously on the sand. (The Amazon billionaire even had security.)
To local surfers it’s the holy grail due to its famed point break. To the lucky residents who have a key, it’s as close to a private beach as you can find in California. Some folks even buy homes just to get the key, and leave the places empty.
Kamala Harris is among the famous area residents. Getty Images
This is due to a unique arrangement homeowners in Point Dume struck with the state decades ago, which established several easements resulting in three gated points of entry.
In recent months, however, several residents — including Academy Award-winning director Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”) — have allegedly upset neighbors by breaching certain rules governing beach access, and the state is now threatening to intervene.
Two of the gates protecting the beach require fobs and have cameras with facial recognition technology, sources say. But a third gate, according to residents, that lacks such security measures is the source of the problems.
Chazelle and his wife, actress Olivia Hamilton, have long owned a condo in Point Dume. Several sources have noted an unusual number of people gained access to Little Dume through their connection to that condo.
A surfer stands on the beach of Paradise Cove, just south of Little Dume beach. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“I have no idea how they have been able to get away with this,” said one source. Representatives for Chazelle did not respond to requests for comment. But Chazelle and his wife aren’t the only ones who may have played fast and loose with the rules.
This week a massive south swell rolled through Southern California which highlighted the growing crowds regularly congregating at Little Dume.
“It’s been like Burning Man down there,” said one longtime resident who heads to the beach almost every day. “It was like, ‘Who are you and how did you get in?’ It feels like it’s at a fever pitch.”
Sean Penn. WireImage
Multiple residents told Page Six Hollywood that the California Coastal Commission has communicated to various stakeholders that unless residents do a better job of protecting and policing the private easements, the state could remove those easements and turn the beach public.
“It’s an ongoing issue,” said one longtime resident who noted it was unlikely that the Coastal Commission would take any drastic action before giving residents a chance to improve the situation.
Chris Martin. Samir Hussein/WireImage
Point Dume, the neighborhood on the 63-acre promontory above the beach has long been one of the more desirable and expensive zip codes due to its large lots and privacy, attracting a parade of A-list actors over the years.
We previously broke the news that former Vice President Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff recently dropped a little over $8 million ($8.15 million) for a home there.