Sean Parker's infamous wedding appears to have had a fairytale ending.
Sixteen months ago, the Napster co-founder and former Facebook president made national headlines for his lavish Big Sur wedding, which violated the California Coastal Act. Now, he and his wife, Alexandra Parker, have donated nearly $1.4 million of the Coastal Commission's $2.5 million settlement to conservation and environmental education projects in the Big Sur region.
The Parkers were married on June 1, 2013, at the wooded campground of the Ventana Inn & Spa. They formed an LLC to manage the wedding and spent millions of dollars transforming the redwood grove into a medieval-style fantasy set.
But their team overlooked a key detail: a coastal development permit for construction. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Parkers, the Ventana Inn had been in violation of the Coastal Code for six years by closing public campgrounds without permission.
In a settlement with the Coastal Commission, Mr. Parker agreed to pay $2.5 million for Big Sur conservation and coastal access projects. Ventana Inn settled separately, agreeing to a series of improvements to public access.
On Oct. 2, the Coastal Commission announced its first Parker grant.
• $345,000 for Save the Redwoods League restoration of Pfeiffer Falls Trail damaged in the 2008 Basin Complex Fire.
• $250,000 for Ventana Wildlife Society outdoor programs for underserved youth.
• $200,000 for a California State University initiative to connect marginalized children, youth and their families with the Monterey County coast.
• $185,000 for trail restoration and maintenance for the Ventana Conservation Alliance at Silver Peak Nature Preserve.
• $184,000 for Rancho Cielo quarterly camping trips for at-risk youth.
• $75,000 for Big Sur Charter School's Coastal Education Program.
• $75,000 to CoastWalk California, a collaborative mapping platform for the planned Coastal Trail.and
• $75,000 for trail improvements at Garrapata State Park by the California Coastal Conservation Association.
Parker's grant will allow VWS to hire new staff, purchase a new van, and reach 300 underserved youth each year, said Alena Porte, education coordinator for the Ventana Wildlife Society. He said the educational program could be expanded for four years.
“It’s great that we were able to benefit from this,” she says. “These kids can't afford to access these programs.”
Parker spokesman Michael Holland said Parker and commission staff will decide how to allocate the remaining $111,000 in available grant funding.
Another $1 million from the settlement will go into a separate restoration account managed by the California Coastal Conservation Association for other conservation projects in Monterey County, according to Coastal Commission Enforcement Analyst John Del Arros. It is said to have been kept.
Rep. Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley and a former coast commissioner, says the Parker grant is a positive outcome of a bad situation.
“When these fines occur, the money often doesn't go back into the community,” he says. “Being able to put money back into the same communities that value our coastal resources so much is a very positive thing.”
