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William Lee and the Lee Family Trust filed a lawsuit Feb. 26 against San Benito County for denying its residential project known as Lands of Lee, a 141-unit project on Fairview Road.
According to the lawsuit, which also names as respondents the county supervisors who voted to deny the project—Angela Curro, Kollin Kosmicki and Dom Zanger—Lee is asking the county to rescind its decision and enter into an agreement to approve the project.
Lee, who is the executive director of Martha’s Kitchen—a nonprofit which provides food to those in need— alleges the county broke the law and caused financial injury by:
- Not following procedure set by the 2035 San Benito County General Plan and the California Environmental Quality Act, and not providing evidence for its decision
- Violating the applicant’s procedural due process and substantive due process by not giving the applicant a fair hearing
- Violating the Housing Accountability Act and Subdivision Map Act by including in its findings for denial a density requirement that was not in effect when the application was deemed complete
- Violating the Brown Act by not reporting the vote taken in closed session regarding the project’s tolling agreement, and alleging that supervisors met outside public meetings to discuss the project
- Violating the Equal Protection Clause by not treating the applicant the same as “similarly situated persons and entities”
BenitoLink sought comment from Bill Lee, his attorneys and San Benito County but there was no immediate response.
On Feb. 7, 2023, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors denied the Lands of Lee project in a 3-2 vote. The supervisors considered the project following an appeal by Lee after the project was denied by the San Benito County Planning Commission on Nov. 16, 2022.
According to the supervisors’ agenda packet ahead of the vote, the Lee subdivision consists of 121 one- and two-story single-family detached units, 20 single-family duet units and a public park. The agenda packet notes that 21 units (15%) would be designated as affordable housing and that 25 affordable accessory dwelling units would also be built by the developer.
A case management conference is scheduled for June 26.
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