Betabel Road developer sues county over housing project application

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A proponent of a 280-unit development on Betabel Road off Hwy 101 is challenging San Benito County’s denial of the project application in a lawsuit. 

Developer Rider McDowell alleges that county planners delayed providing a list of required “materials” to complete the project application and that deadlines were changed to make it more difficult to comply. 

The McDowell Family Trust filed the lawsuit in San Benito County Superior Court on Sept. 29, arguing delayed action by the county constitutes a “disapproval” in violation of the Housing Accountability Act. 

The trust is asking the court to reverse the county’s determination that its preliminary application expired and to allow the development to move forward through the “builder’s remedy” process, even as the county maintains that option is no longer available. 

“Builder’s remedy” is an element of the state’s Housing Accountability Act which sets limits on the ability of jurisdictions without a state-complaint housing element to deny certain housing projects including those with at least 20% of its units designated as affordable. A housing element outlines a jurisdiction’s housing goals for different types of income levels, generally for eight-year cycles. 

According to the lawsuit, the McDowell family met all the deadline requirements within six months of receiving a county letter outlining outstanding requirements to complete the application process.  

The lawsuit further alleges that the county changed the deadline for completing the application. It says the preliminary application was submitted in June 2025 and the county responded in a September 2025 letter notifying the developer that it had six months from the date of that letter to complete the application. That would place the deadline sometime in March 2026.

According to the lawsuit, the McDowells submitted its formal application on March 17, 2026.

The McDowells say in an April letter the developers were notified that the preliminary application process had expired because the 180-day period to submit a completed formal application had passed.

“At that time, the county measured the 180-day period in which petitioners had to submit a complete application from the date of submission of the preliminary application on June 23, 2025 and identified December 20, 2025 as the applicable deadline,” according to the lawsuit. 

It goes on to say the second letter that was issued by the county three days later identified “additional materials” the county required, ”including an approved change to the county’s general plan approved by voters.”

Rider McDowell did not immediately respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment. Peter Prows, McDowell’s attorney, said he had nothing to add to what is stated in the lawsuit. 

County Counsel Gregory Priamos said the lawsuit centers on the statutory timeline for applying the builder’s remedy process.

“The county maintains that the statutory timeline has expired, it now has a compliant housing element, and that the ‘builder’s remedy’ does not apply,” Priamos said. “The county continues to process the project in accordance with applicable county ordinances and state law and will defend its position in the litigation.”

The Betabel Road project is one of four sites previously identified by the county for commercial development known as nodes. Measure A, approved by voters in 2024, removed that designation from the San Benito County General Plan, which serves as the blueprint for future growth.

The housing development proposal on Betabel Road was initiated as  a second option for the McDowells to a heavily litigated commercial development project. 

Since 2019, the family has sought to put a restaurant, produce stands, a visitor center and gas station on the property.

However, there has been strong opposition from a group of activists led by Mary and Andy Hsia Coron and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. The commercial project proposal has been tied up in litigation since 2020. 

The latest lawsuit involving the commercial proposal filed in December 2022 by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Center for Biological Diversity and Protect San Benito County claimed the project did not conduct adequate environmental impact studies and that the county violated state planning and zoning laws. 

Though the local court dismissed the lawsuit in 2023, the Sixth District Court of Appeal overturned that ruling and sent the case back to the county in 2024.

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