Mitt Romney and his family can breathe a bit easier.
The California Coastal Commission ruled Friday against an appeal to stop the building of the Romneys' new 11,000-square-foot mansion in La Jolla, Calif., KGTV-TV reported.
According to the Associated Press, a panel voted 7-4 in favor of the Romney redevelopment plan, which will first demolish a 3,000-square-foot home that was purchased in 2008 for $12 million.
"It's not going to be intrusive or blocking the views that people have right now," Commissioner Greg Fox told KGTV-TV. “These people have played by the rules."
La Jolla (Calif.) Patch relayed background Thursday on Anthony Ciani, the man behind the appeal against the Romneys. A longtime local and former neighbor, Ciani led opposition claiming the new house would intrude upon public beach space.
“If developers and wealthy property owners can hire a surveyor that shows they own the public beach and get a permit to capitalize on that land to build a bigger house than you normally would, it’s going to become, ‘Oh, Mitt Romney did it,’” Ciani told the Los Angeles Times. “It becomes a precedent. It’s not just La Jolla. It’s all of California’s beaches that have private property next to them.”
According to the KGTV-TV report, the Romney family has not directly commented on the case. But their attorney, Matthew Peterson, dismissed any issues.
"We're not sure what his motivations are," said Peterson of Ciani.