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Despite losing a court bid last month to speed up the processing of his Lands of Lee housing project, developer William Lee says the court has “put pressure on the county to get things done” by Sept. 10.
The county contends it has continued to process the project as approved.
On June 18, San Benito County Superior Court visiting judge Thomas Breen denied Lee’s request to set a July 1 deadline for the county to process permits and other entitlements for the 141-unit project off Fairview Road under a 2024 settlement agreement between him and the county that is intended to ensure the project moves forward in “good faith and fair and expeditious dealing.”
The settlement agreement requires the county to timely process all documentation such as environmental reports, permit applications and final maps.
However, the executive director of Martha’s Kitchen said the judge set a new hearing for Sept. 10 and indicated he expected the county to “make significant progress” on all elements of the project including an affordable housing agreement, verifying conditions of approval were met, and changes to proposed “duet” housing.
“The judge doesn’t want to overly impose deadlines they can’t meet or are unrealistic,” Lee said.
Court documents confirmed the petition was denied.
According to court records, at the hearing, Lee’s attorney Hilarry Lehmann alleged the county had not made progress on the project since the settlement agreement was signed, adding that it misplaced $88,000 of the developer’s money.
Lee said the county requires developers to deposit money that pays for staff and consulting costs. He said after analyzing the accounting the county provided in 2025, he realized it didn’t include an $88,000 payment he made in 2020.
County Counsel Gregory Priamos said the county acknowledged there have been delays in responses to Lee primarily because of staff turnover and loss of staff, but said the county has continued to review and process the project.
“This is a relatively large-scale development and requires careful and diligent review, which the county, along with its consultant, has been and is currently continuing to perform,” Priamos said.
At the hearing, the county’s attorney Sean Cameron said the project is “complicated” because it’s large, but added the county is committed to it while also acknowledging the county could be more responsive to “issues.”
Priamos also denied the claim that the county did not misplace Lee’s $88,000 deposit and said those funds were used on work related to the project.
“The Lands of Lee project paid invoices related to the project expending the entire $88,736.14 amount,” he said.
Before obtaining project approval from the county, Lee filed a lawsuit in February 2024 alleging the county committed multiple violations including a violation of his procedural due process rights and the Housing Accountability Act after the project was rejected by planners in November 2022 and by county supervisors in February 2023.
Officials cited concerns with the inclusion of junior accessible dwelling units and traffic impacts.
Lee revised his project to include more affordable housing and an agreement between the Sunnyslope Water District and the City of Hollister for wastewater treatment.
The project, which was finally approved in February 2024, is proposed next to the 189-unit Dividend Homes development that is under construction.
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