If you were an invitee to Facebook billionaire Sean Parker’s $10 million weekend wedding and planned on covering your plate, you may need to fork over a second check.
Parker will pay an additional $2.5 million to the California Coastal Commission after officials realized that he had built a temporary cottage, fake ruins, waterfalls, staircases and a huge dance floor near redwood trees and a stream with threatened steelhead trout. Or as they say in the preservation biz: it is an “ecologically sensitive area.’
“We always dreamed of getting married in Big Sur, one of the most magical places on earth,” Parker said in a statement. “In continuing my foundation's mission, we are excited to support these important conservation‐related projects for and with the local community.”
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The construction was done without permits, but neighbors tipped off the commission. Parker and single-songwriter Alexandra Lenas’ wedding was allowed to proceed, along with the financial negotiations.
The money may be used to purchase public easements and hiking trails in the Big Sur area and to provide grants for nonprofit organizations' conservation projects. The Napster founder also offered to produce and distribute a public education video or create a mobile app to identify areas where the public 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,” California Coastal Commission Executive Director Charles Lester said in a statement.
No major damage has been done to the local environment as a result of the construction as of yet.