The owner of a property along Highway 101 northwest of San Juan Bautista and Hollister has unveiled plans for a commercial development next to the iconic Betabel RV Park.
In an interview with the Free Lance, Rider McDowell of Pebble Beach said he wants to build a vintage roadside rest stop, complete with a farm stand, gas station, visitor center and more.
He added that he will pledge the venture’s profits to pediatric cancer research.
The McDowell Charitable Trust of Pebble Beach is moving ahead with its plans for the Betabel Road development, following the Sept. 24 decision by the San Benito County Board of Supervisors that opens up commercial development along four highway interchanges. Betabel Road is the northernmost of the interchanges.
A signature-gathering campaign by an opposition group of residents near some of the four interchanges hopes to dash the plans.
McDowell said the proposal for the property adjacent to the Betabel RV Park is inspired by a 1950s-era California roadside stop, with wooden barns, local produce, a service station with gas and diesel and a vintage motel. A visitor center would be built in the shape of a watering can, meant to introduce travelers to San Benito County and promote its destinations such as Mission San Juan Bautista, Pinnacles National Park, Hollister and more.
A Pajaro River walk is also in the plans, including picnic tables along the riverbank.
“We have purchased over $150,000 of large native and drought-resistant trees, which will surround all buildings, making this a beautiful first introduction to the county,” McDowell said.
The McDowells purchased the land on the west side of Highway 101 through their charity trust about three years ago. According to Rider McDowell, the property was previously home to a 20-acre junkyard with steel buildings, more than 150 derelict vehicles and mobile homes, a chop shop, a doublewide trailer occupied by a Salinas drug gang and “tons of trash and steel parts.”
“We have cleaned it all up at our expense,” he said.
In a letter to the supervisors, Frank Paura, general manager of the Betabel RV Park, supported the development. He wrote that RV park customers need a nearby fuel station when leaving the park.
“The project overall, we feel, fits the needs of the area and the theme of the project fits the terrain of the county at heart,” he wrote.
The McDowells estimate the project would raise $2 million annually in taxes for the county, a major factor in the supervisors’ approval, and employ “dozens” of local people.
But what is most important to the family, said McDowell, is the project’s mission to raise money for pediatric cancer research.
The McDowells’ son, Errol, died in June 2018 at age 18 after a six-year battle with brain cancer.
During the course of his treatment, Errol joined forces with his younger brothers Mac and Piers to start a charity to support immunotherapy and other pediatric cancer therapies. The charity, called Cancer-A-Gogo, asks every American to donate $1 toward cancer research.
“The entire purpose of the project is to raise money for pediatric cancer research,” Rider McDowell said. “There is no other purpose. All profits, every penny, is for pediatric cancer research.”
Opponents gathering signatures
In addition to Betabel Road, the other commercial “nodes,” as they are called by planners, are located at the Highway 129/Searle Road interchange in San Juan Bautista, and the Rocks Ranch and 101 Livestock Market interchanges in Aromas.
The four properties, totaling about 326 acres, were converted to regional commercial zoning, which according to the 2035 General Plan approved in 2015 provides “areas that function as destinations for commercial activity serving the regional population.” The types of developments allowed are shopping centers, automobile stations and hotels.
Under regional commercial zoning, retail space is limited to 85,000 square feet per node, and no more than 125 hotel rooms can be built within each area.
Each site plan now needs approval of a site-specific master development plan, which outlines the property’s site plan and landscaping, among many other things. McDowell said a master plan for the Betabel node is currently being developed.
Once approved, major developments that are consistent with the master plan would then have to go through another round of reviews by the county.
Opponents vowed to fight the supervisors’ unanimous approval of the zoning changes.
The zoning change proposal spurred the creation of a citizens group known as Preserve Our Rural Communities, which consists primarily of Aromas and San Juan Bautista residents. The group, which contends that such development would negatively impact the rural character of the busy highway corridor and impact an already overtaxed highway and water system, launched a referendum petition drive on Sept. 26.
According to Assistant County Clerk Angela Curro, the group must gather the signatures of 2,060 registered voters in San Benito County by Oct. 23, 30 days after the supervisors’ decision. If the group is successful, the supervisors would then determine if the item will go on either the March or November 2020 ballot.
Aromas resident Mary Hsia-Coron, one of three recruiters for the petition drive, said the group is behind on its signature count.
“We are working hard to inspire our 30-plus active, volunteer signature gatherers to keep going,” she said. “Most of our volunteer signature gatherers have not started collecting signatures yet, but many have promised that they will begin soon.”
The group is hoping to exceed the required number of signatures, as the margin for invalid signatures can be as high as 35 percent, according to Hsia-Coron.
“Since we have an all-volunteer team of signature gatherers, it’s been a struggle to keep everyone focused on the task at hand,” she said. “But some of our volunteers are very committed and working hard. We hope that our remaining volunteers will step up. We’re still hopeful that we’ll get the signatures we need.”
‘Lies’ circulating, supervisor says
A recently launched website outlining the Betabel proposal, betabelproject.com, features a video of Supervisor Anthony Botelho urging residents to learn the facts of the ordinance before they sign the petition.
“There have been terrible lies told to our county residents about this new ordinance by an opposition group collecting signatures to recall the ordinance,” Botelho said, adding that opponents are claiming the ordinance will allow such development as an airport and water park. “This is unforgivable.”
McDowell said the ordinance is ironically “anti-development,” as it restricts development to only four nodes over eight miles of the highway.
“I personally feel the rampant housing development around Hollister has poisoned county residents’ views towards any development, and PORC has exploited this,” he said. “But they’re utterly wrong on this new ordinance which was so thoughtfully composed. It’s a wonderful thing for San Benito County.”
In a statement on its Facebook page, Preserve Our Rural Communities said it is “not out to mislead or lie to the community regarding the ramifications of the rezoning project.”
“PORC is providing land use facts based on law,” the post reads. “This county has not done adequate analysis to support the nodes. … Expanding uses and encouraging sprawl in the node areas is bad planning.”
