A California appeals court last week reversed a ruling by a San Benito County Superior Court judge that had halted a lawsuit that claimed local officials did not follow the law in approving a new commercial development proposed at Betabel Road and U.S. 101, according to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs.
Now, the initial lawsuit—which accuses San Benito County of violating the state-mandated environmental review process for the Betabel project—can proceed to trial at the local courthouse, says a press release from Andy Hsia-Coron, a spokesperson for one of the plaintiffs.
The initial lawsuit was filed in 2022 by Protect San Benito County, Center for Biological Diversity and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. The complaint alleged that the county and its board of supervisors ran afoul of the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws that require consultation with Native American tribes when it approved the Betabel project.
The county had previously approved a conditional use permit for the proposed 26-acre project, which includes a gas station, convenience store, restaurant, up to five amusement buildings, a visitor center, three-story motel and other commercial space on the west side of U.S. 101 at Betabel Road. The project is proposed by the McDowell Charity Trust.
In May 2023, San Benito County Superior Court Judge Patrick Palacios ruled that the lawsuit—which was brought against the McDowell party and the county—had not been filed in time and thus could not proceed.
The plaintiffs appealed to the California Sixth Appellate District, where a judge ruled on July 24 that the superior court’s 2023 decision “relied on an erroneous interpretation of CEQA and the county’s municipal code,” says the press release from Hsia-Coron. The court of appeals’ ruling reinstated the lawsuit, which can now be tried in San Benito County Superior Court at a future date.
“We are extremely pleased with the Court of Appeals’ ruling,” said Hsia-Coron, speaking for Protect San Benito County. “The County Board of Supervisors rubber-stamped the Betabel project without thoroughly considering its impacts on sensitive habitats and the environment generally. We are eager to return to the trial court to prosecute our lawsuit to completion.”
The Betabel project is proposed on land that is part of the Amah Mutsun Tribe’s sacred ancestral home, known as Juristac. The tribe’s chairman praised the July 24 appeals court ruling.
“Counsel for the project developer and San Benito County tried to do away with this lawsuit based on their misunderstanding of the law and thankfully they failed,” Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, said in the press release. “We’re grateful that the Court of Appeal has recognized that the lawsuit must be allowed to proceed. We look forward to getting our day in court to defend our ancestral territory and right to meaningful tribal consultation.”
The lawsuit seeks to reverse the CUP and environmental impact study certification for the Betabel project, which had been approved by county officials in 2022.
An attorney for the McDowell trust did not respond to a request for comment.
Hahahahahahahaha The lefty loonies in the county must be totally PISSED. They must adhere to the same rules they force on everyone else. I bet the tools in San Benito hate this. I’m neither for or against they development, but I’m glad the idiots on local government are getting their asses handed to them.
Such an intelligent response, coming from “Soogon Deeznuts”.
This decision should make all folks regardless of their political orientation happy. It shows that San Benito County has to follow the law. It was a travesty that the county allowed the project at Betabel Road to move forward. The people of San Benito County rejected development of the 101 nodes in March 2020 Citizens’ Referendum (Measure K) by a landslide 60%. The county then tried to rush through its approval without adequate environmental review and when challenged tried to violate its own rules and claim the challenge was untimely. In November the people of San Benito County have the opportunity to change the rules by passing an initiative that makes sure that this will never happen again.