Editor’s note: This article was updated to clarify only a portion of the lawsuits was dismissed by the judge. Last updated May 26 at 1:35 p.m.
The two-year legal battle to stop the Betabel Commercial project took another step May 24 when San Benito County Superior Court Judge Patrick Palacios upheld his April 24 ruling to dismiss portions of two lawsuits related to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The court has yet to decide on the second part of the lawsuits that claim the approval of the project by the county violates state planning and zoning laws.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Protect San Benito County, formerly known as Preserve Our Rural Communities or PORC, filed the lawsuit against the county and the project on Dec. 9, 2022. The commercial project is located along Hwy 101 on the northern tip of the county.
In their lawsuit, both Protect San Benito and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band argued “the project’s EIR [Environmental Impact Report] fails to adequately identify, evaluate, and/or require mitigation for all significant direct and cumulative environmental impacts the project will cause.”
On May 24 Palacios was addressing the issue of whether the lawsuits were filed within the CEQA statute of limitations time frame, more so than the merits of the lawsuits.
“Merit claims are often denied their day in court because the statute of limitations was not followed,” Palacios said. “That’s the case here. That renders the other motions moot.”
County Counsel Barbara Thompson confirmed the CEQA claims were dismissed.
“Although it does not resolve all the issues in these cases, this was an important ruling to narrow the issues,” she said. “The county looks forward to the ultimate resolution of both cases.” She did not respond before publication regarding what those issues are.
Peter Prows, the attorney for the Betabel property owners Rider and Victoria McDowell, said they filed a motion in April to dismiss the case based on the 30-day statute of limitations, which he said began when San Benito County filed the approval of the project on October 14, 2022. The county Planning Commission had certified the environmental impact report and project’s conditional use permit on a 4-1 vote two days prior.
Prows told BenitoLink on May 24, after the judge’s ruling, “I think the petitioners said they need to regroup and figure out whether and how they want to proceed. Their main claims have been dismissed. There are some lingering claims not related to CEQA. They allege, generally, that the project approval conflicts with the [county’s] General Plan.”
“There was no General Plan amendment, so it’s hard to see what those claims really are,” he continued. “We haven’t been briefed, so we’ll see whether or not they really want to proceed with those or be content to let this case go to judgment against them.”
The San Benito County General Plan identifies the site of the Betabel project as a regional commercial land use designation.
Mark Wolfe, the attorney representing both plaintiffs told BenitoLink, “We would respectfully disagree with the ruling, as the law makes clear that the two lawsuits were timely filed.” He did not say, though, whether there will be any other legal action against the project or the county.
In March, the California Department of Justice filed a motion to intervene in the case. The state attorney general’s press office told BenitoLink on May 17, “At this point, the court has not ruled on that motion, and thus our office is not yet a party to the case. The court also has not issued a ruling on the pending demurrers. Our office is not a party to the case.” The office did not respond as to why they wanted to be involved in the case.
Deputy Attorney General Yuting Chi attended the hearing on Zoom but did not comment during the hearing. After the judge’s ruling, the attorney general’s office did not respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment on whether it will take any action.
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Judge tentatively dismisses suits against Betabel project | BenitoLink
Appeals on Betabel project unsuccessful | BenitoLink
San Benito County planners approve Betabel project | BenitoLink
Betabel Road project continues to move forward | BenitoLink
Over 30 people protest the Betabel Road project | BenitoLink
Groundbreaking takes place for Betabel Road project | BenitoLink
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Betabel project keeps commercial designation following lawsuit | BenitoLink
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