Landowners sue S.J. over Coyote Valley

City’s moves to protect scenic landscape stand in the way of three families selling the property

By Maggie Angst mangst@bayareanewsgroup.com

More than 50 years ago, three San Jose families bought vast acres of open land in North Coyote Valley with the expectation of one day selling the properties to a developer and turning a major profit.

But a recent move by the city to protect the scenic landscape on San Jose’s southern edge from becoming a sprawling industrial park has dashed their dreams.

And now they’re taking the city to court.

In a federal lawsuit filed this week in the Northern District of California, the Benson, Foster and Lester families who own 126.5 acres of undeveloped land in the North Coyote Valley argue that a series of land-use changes by the city to indefinitely preserve the bulk of North and Mid-Coyote Valley as open space and farmland amounts to an unlawful taking of their land for public use.

The property owners now are asking a judge to demand that the city buy the properties — located just south of Bailey Avenue between Monterey Road and Santa Teresa Boulevard — for a fair-market value.