This letter to the editor was contributed by the McDowell Family. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
The Betabel Charity Project is a “vintage” roadside hospitality park (see BetabelProject.com) with essential services and a county visitor’s center, all on the site of a former sprawling junkyard, chop shop, and crack house. The project is the inspiration of our son Errol who traveled the section of Hwy 101 weekly for 6 years while undergoing chemotherapy at UCSF. All profits from the project go to pediatric cancer research. We anticipate producing over 300 local jobs, millions annually in badly needed county tax revenue, and essential highway services. Since the passage of Measure A, which effectively stops new business growth in the county, Betabel’s contribution to county tax revenue and jobs is more important than ever.
The Betabel Project was approved by the county in a 4-1 vote by the Board of Supervisors, despite a campaign of outrageous lies by PORC, a controversial no-growth group with no regard for the greater community. The community of San Benito is strongly in favor of our project. We’ve worked hard with members of the community, including Herman Garcia and CHEER, to clean up the 118 acre property and restore the bordering rivers and watershed; for the first time in 100 years baby steelhead swim in the rivers. We are ready to start construction, but are being sued by two groups, PORC and the Amah Mutsun Tribe. The lawsuits are part of a cynical campaign to shut down or stall our legally approved project.The two lawsuits are meritless. Here’s why:
1. PORC is suing us for having a “faulty EIR” or Environmental Impact Report, which assesses the impact of a new construction project. No sooner had PORC sued our charity over our “faulty” EIR, then Betabel won ‘2023 EIR OF THE YEAR AWARD’ for the entire state of California, the first time this has happened in the history of San Benito County. This has embarrassed PORC and emphasized how empty their lawsuit is.
2. The Amah Mutsun Tribe is suing our charity, claiming that we didn’t respect the law requiring projects to consult with local tribes. In fact we consulted extensively with the tribe, going above and beyond what the law requires. We brought in an attorney from Sacramento who is the foremost expert in this tribal consultation law and who helped the Governor’s office write the State’s tribal consultation guidelines. She advised us at every turn. We paid for experts of the tribe’s choosing to x-ray and excavate the land, and they found nothing. We granted the tribe everything they asked for including a 70-acre easement, access to fresh water, bathrooms, rights to hold fire lighting ceremonies, irrigation for tribal herbs and plants, a large passenger van to transport tribal elders and children, a work shed, fencing, anything and everything they requested on the property. But this was not enough for the tribe. Shortly before the Supervisor’s vote on our project, the tribe, through its attorney, demanded a seven figure cash payment and the contribution of land we didn’t own, in order to walk away. Equally outrageously, the tribe wanted Herman Garcia, the environmentalist who cleaned up the property and personally sought federal recognition for this tribe in the first place, banned from the property because the current tribal leader has a personal grudge against Herman. This is extortion, and my charity would not yield to it. And so immediately after the Supervisors voted in Betabel’s favor, the tribe sued us.
The lawsuits will be heard in 2025 and we expect to win. We will never give up. We get our strength from our beautiful son, whom we lost at age 18 and was the toughest person we’ve ever known. -The McDowell Family.
BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues.
The post PUBLIC LETTER: The Betabel Project appeared first on BenitoLink.