APTOS — A California appellate court has tossed out a pair of lower court rulings and affirmed Santa Cruz County’s right to designate a walkway along the beach in Aptos for public usage.

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In 39-page decision handed down Thursday by the state’s Sixth Appellate District, the justices recognized the county’s right-of-way easement and the public’s interest in a 37-foot concrete walkway along the backside of a row of homes next to Seacliff State Beach in Rio Del Mar. For years, the nearly quarter milelong stretch of coastal land along Beach Drive has been at the center of a dispute between the county and 27 homeowners with units along the path that claim the walkway as patio space.

Conversely, the county has argued that it is a safe and accessible sidewalk for beachgoers and

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