Hwy 101 node owners sue county in federal court

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A controversial measure approved by voters aimed at slowing growth has landed San Benito County in federal court. 

San Benito Holdings and Ben Bingaman III filed a lawsuit on Nov. 18 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose alleging the county unconstitutionally took private property along Hwy 101 through actions and inactions that they argue essentially killed two commercial projects. 

The lawsuit seeks to reverse land use designations for the two properties or be awarded  compensation for the properties’ fair market value of more than $25 million.

The Measure A initiative removed commercial land use designations for four properties, known as nodes, along Hwy 101 in the 2035 San Benito County General Plan. Approved by voters in November 2024, Measure A now requires voters to approve any proposed land use designation changes from rural, rangeland or agriculture to other uses.

Bingaman told BenitoLink that it was important to note that the county officials approached property owners to create a plan to create a revenue stream for the county along the Hwy 101 corridor, taking advantage of the existing traffic.

Zach Walton, attorney for San Benito Holdings and Bingaman, said the county’s actions have made a property that is very valuable “become worth nothing.”

“If the county wants to take someone’s land and make it open space they can, but they have to pay for it,” Walton said.

He said the property owners are open to “constructive discussions” to reach an “acceptable outcome” that allows commercial development of the properties.  

According to the lawsuit, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors denied a development agreement with San Benito Holdings for a truck stop project known as San Benito Ag Center project near Hwy 129 on Nov. 12, 2024. It also states that San Benito Holdings acquired the property in July 2022 for $7 million under the commercial zoning intending to develop the site.

For the second property in the lawsuit, Bingaman asked the supervisors on Sept.10, 2024, to rezone his land, known as Rocks Ranch, located near the San Benito-Monterey county line to commercial use, “but the supervisors refused to consider the request.”

Both requests, the lawsuit claims, were in response to the eventual passage and implementation of Measure A, which took effect in 2025 and applies to the unincorporated areas of the county.

According to the lawsuit, the supervisors denied the development agreement for the truck stop, saying it was against the spirit of Measure A.

The lawsuit points out that proposing a project to the voters, and providing designs, entitlements and environmental studies, can take upwards of three years and cost more than $2 million.

“Through Measure A, the county has deprived SBH and Bingaman Trust of all economically beneficial use of their land by designating the SBH property Rural (R) and the Bingaman property Agriculture (A) and Rangeland (RG),” the lawsuit states. “Both properties are only suitable for commercial use.”

The lawsuit also claims San Benito Holdings and Bingaman were discriminated against because their properties were targeted by Measure A, while other areas in the county under similar land use designations were left intact in the 2035 General Plan.

“No justification was provided for intentionally removing the CR nodes only,” the lawsuit reads. “The practical result is that Plaintiffs’ properties have been downzoned for uses that are incompatible with the land but commercial development remains viable at similarly situated land.”

The 2035 General Plan was adopted in 2015 and serves as the county’s blueprint for growth. Previously, county planners and the Board of Supervisors considered all land use changes. 

San Benito County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The four nodes

Rocks Ranch and Hwy 129-Searle Rd are two of four areas along Hwy 101 designated as commercial nodes in the plan. The three other areas are known as Livestock 101 and Betabel Road.

The county has considered commercial applications for the Betabel Road and Hwy 129-Searle Road nodes. Livestock 101 already includes a commercial business, 101 Trailer Sales. While the Betabel project’s environmental study is in litigation for the commercial project, the property owner, Rider McDowell, also submitted to the county alternative plans for a 280-home project.

The current land use designations, which have not yet been rezoned to correspond with the General Plan’s designations, are:

• Rocks Ranch: agricultural rangeland and agricultural productive, 2,613 acres of the ranch was acquired by the Land Trust of Santa Cruz for habitat preservation and management.
• Betabel Road: agriculture rangeland; commercial thoroughfare 
• Hwy 129-Searle Road: commercial thoroughfare
• Livestock 101: neighborhood commercial

Those projects have been opposed by activist group Preserve San Benito County and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, citing a lack of water, loss of open land, and the potential for increased traffic. The Amah Mutsun say the areas are considered sacred by Indigenous people. 
Property owners, along with the supervisors who were in office when the environmental study was approved in 2022, hold that nodes’ commercial developments would take advantage of traffic on Hwy 101 and bring needed tax revenue and jobs to the county.

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