It was more than tasteless. Doing this seems to have broken civil laws (hence the fine). You have to have permits for any kind of construction like this. You can bet there is no way this would have been permitted.

The reason Big Sur is the way it is, is that development has been tightly restricted. In this sense, the construction Parker did was directly counter to the spirit of Big Sur. It's more of a "take only pictures, leave only footprints" kind of place. It's one of the most magical places in the American West.