Seaside Dream Home Besieged

About the Book

Captivated by the spectacular natural beauty of northern California’s Mendocino coast, the author and his wife, Margie, residents of Virginia, purchase a magnificent eleven-acre promontory high above the Pacific Ocean near the remote village of Elk. On retiring years later, they decide to build their dream home there. Seeking no more than what’s sanctioned by law, they nevertheless encounter fierce opposition from County and State Parks officials, a hostile faction of Elk citizens, and the local media. In a six-year battle that ignites civil war in the little village, Margie and TG fight back. Well into the conflict they discover the hidden and improper motivation behind much of the opposition. That paves the way for a settlement with the County. But opponents promptly appeal the case to the California Coastal Commission, and there the final showdown takes place. Seaside Dream Home Besieged makes a clear and compelling case for land-use reforms designed to achieve a more-just and more-harmonious relationship between scenic preservation and property rights. Included are extensive contending quotes from both sides of the conflict, providing insight into the legal and ethical points at issue, as well as into local coastal culture and obstructive human behavior. With its mystery, sleuthing, assorted (non-lethal) casualties, and colorful real-life scoundrels, Seaside Dream Home Besieged provides suspenseful and entertaining reading. Moreover, it’s an indispensable guidebook for those who dare to enter the land-use minefields in pursuit of a building permit.

About the Author

A veteran of Patton’s Army in World War II and holder of bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Case Western Reserve and Yale respectively, T.G. Berlincourt had a long and varied scientific career in industry, academe, and government, serving finally as Director, Research and Laboratory Management, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. His early research collaboration with R.R. Hake led to discovery of the superior superconducting properties of niobium-titanium alloys, which account for their revolutionary application in tens of thousands of giant supermagnets in medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and colossal high-energy particle accelerators. Today Margie and TG live on that promontory high above the Pacific. On occasion their daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons can be found in the adjoining guesthouse.