The County of Santa Cruz took significant action Tuesday to reinstate public access at Rio Del Mar Beach in Aptos.County crews tore down a gated fence and a 6-foot wall along Beach Drive despite a lawsuit filed in November by the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Home Owners Association who have houses along Beach Dr. The lawsuit claims the County never recorded an easement nor did they do any work on the property or show interest in it.Santa Cruz County Supervisors Zach Friend says the pathway belongs to the County and the public has the right to it. Friend says for the last few years, the County has been working to facilitate the reopening of the public pathway."We made it clear that this is a public access point and that the main thing blocking the public access point is both the wall and the fence behind us. We sent letters… the Coastal Commission sent letters over the last couple of years. We are now recommitted to the community that we would reopen fully this public access point to the public," said Friend.The County plans to hang up new signs and raise community awareness about the walkway that they own. The Rio Del Mar dispute is the latest in a string of coastal access fights in Northern California.In November, Santa Cruz County and the Opal Cliffs Recreation District reached an out-of-court agreement regarding public access of Privates Beach in Santa Cruz.The District had threatened legal action.In October, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down another public access case involving Martins Beach in Half Moon Bay.Billionaire tech investor Vinod Khosla bought the land and an access road and padlocked a gate in 2010 to bar access. It had been a widely popular surfing spot on Highway 1.A permit process to re-open access is underway.Khosla’s attorney plan to fight it.