Residents of an idyllic Californiacoastal town have banded together to fight off a Monaco billionaire's attempts to reshape their community.
Patrice Pastor, dubbed the 'octopus billionaire' for his property acquisitions, has been buying up real estate in Carmel-by-the-Sea for nine years. But now, the town has had enough.
The billionaire's grand plans for a 13,428-square-foot mixed-use development were unanimously shot down by the town's Planning Commission.
Planning Commissioner Robert Delves accused Pastor of showing 'no respect for the neighbor behind you' with his massive building plans.
The Monaco tycoon, who attended the heated meeting via Zoom, was told to go back to the drawing board - a first in his nine-year property buying spree in Carmel.
Patrice Pastor, dubbed the 'octopus billionaire' for his property acquisitions, has been buying up Carmel real estate for nine years. But now, the town has had enough
He paid $4.2m in 2018 for the Der Ling Building on Ocean Ave between Dolores and Lincoln
Earlier this year, the Monaco real estate titan bought up at least 15 iconic properties in the seaside village of Carmel, leaving locals 'terrified they are handing over our town to one person who's doing what he wants to do.'
Long-time resident Kristi Reimers, whose family home would be overshadowed by Pastor's latest project, told SFGate: 'Ever since the flagging went up last week, I have felt incredible anxiety and, to be honest, grief at the notion of having the home I've lived in for almost two decades turn into a cave.'
'This project as it stands will cause a substantial adverse change in two historic resources: one actual and one eligible,' she added.
'Because two of the three lots are deemed historic, additionally, this needs to be reviewed in the context of the Reimers' Stonehouse Terrace.'
His $7.5million purchase of the La Rambla building earlier this year was one in the series of deals landed by the 51-year-old since he and his company Esperanza Carmel set their sights on the village ten years ago.
The billionaire's grand plans for a 13,428-square-foot mixed-use development were unanimously shot down by the town's Planning Commission
His $7.5million purchase of the La Rambla building last month is the latest in a series of deals landed by the 51-year-old
Police were called after a fist-fight broke out between a small business owner and a village administrator in October after Pastor demanded permission to override planning laws so he could move a historic wall.
And locals fear that soaring prices will drive them out of a village where the population has already fallen from 3,700 to 3,200 since 2010.
'What's going to happen as he spends so much money on the building, the property tax goes up and the rents go up and the only people who can afford it are chain stores?' one business owner told SFGATE at the time.
'What's going to happen to our mom-and-pop shops? What's going to happen to our local feel?'
Pastor's relationship with the town worsened further after he made a controversial statement in March, threatening to maintain a historic home 'only to continue to bother those jealous people who will never have access to it.'
Earlier this year, the Monaco real estate titan bought up at least 15 iconic properties in the seaside village of Carmel
Locals were left 'terrified they are handing over our town to one person who's doing what he wants to do'
Pastor who is a fourth-generation property magnate is notorious for his feud with Monaco's crown prince which has been raging since 2021.
In 2021, an email from Prince Albert II's press advisor to one of the Prince's close friends was shared on an anonymous website, LesDossiersDuRocher.com, which published incriminating evidence about Monaco's royal family.
The email said: 'That octopus Pastor is everywhere! He has gotten his hooks into Monaco. He has gone mad, he has no limits!'
Le Monde reported at the time: 'This supposed 'octopus' appears to be multi-billionaire Patrice Pastor, a 49-year-old who for decades constructed and rented buildings and apartments for small fortunes.
'Proud and with no frills, he is an unmistakable character in Monaco. 'I'm not a nice guy,' he said. 'I'm free, independent and I have money, so... Everything in the 'Dossiers du Rocher' is true, and everyone knows it! The truth is that I irritate them.''
The Rocky Point projecton Highway 1 between Carmel and Big Sur
He bought renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright's only ocean front home for $22 million
The $9 million Ulrika Plaza project will create 9,000 square feet of retail space
But some supporters warn of potential lawsuits if Pastor's project is treated differently from others in town.
'... I'm hoping that there's not a decision that this particular project requires an EIR when the Hofsas House does not because that is called discrimination and would be evidence for a lawsuit,' Karyl Hall, who supports the project told SFGate.
But Carmel residents are standing firm in their fight to preserve their town's unique character against the billionaire's deep pockets.
'There's a finite number of parking spaces in town, and if we keep crowding up this town and buying our way out of parking spaces, it's really not going to be fun to live here much anymore,' Carmel restaurateur Rich Pèpe told the outlet.
