The California Coastal Commission has stopped a Cayucos family from building a motel in the seaside town of 3,000, and the family is fighting back, launching a case that has captured attention across the Golden State.

The DeCicco family spent 10 years dreaming up plans for an inn and four townhomes on their Highway 1 property. Now, after the project received two OKs from the county, the California Coastal Commission is claiming jurisdiction, and the DeCiccos are suing.

In 1999, the family bought almost three-quarters of an acre at Ocean Boulevard and Old Creek Road in Cayucos. The property is vacant at the moment, but owner Franco DeCicco has submitted plans for an 18-unit motel, an underground parking garage and four townhomes for his children. The county gave DeCicco’s project a green light — twice. In June 2008, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission gave DeCicco a permit to build the motel and townhomes, and four months later, the county Board of Supervisors approved the permit on appeal.

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