The decision, delivered on June 29, ends a nine‑year battle that began when Willie Benedetti first sued Marin County in July 2017.
Marin County’s amended Coastal Zone Management rules allow a second dwelling on agricultural land only if the owner records a restrictive covenant that the property remains actively farmed.
The Benedettis, whose sons Arron and Arthur are plumbers, argued that the covenant’s requirement to be directly engaged in commercial agriculture or lease to a bona fide producer was an unconstitutional condition under Nollan and Dolan.
Both the Marin Superior Court and the First District Court of Appeal rejected the challenge, finding that the covenant satisfied the proportionality test because it prevented residential growth that would undermine the county’s agricultural objectives.
Pacific Legal Foundation counsel, who represented the family, said the denial leaves the county’s rule unaltered and that the family may now seek other remedies, though the likelihood is slim.
With the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene, the Benedettis’ only recourse is to either comply with the covenant or abandon plans for a second home, as the county’s ordinance will remain enforceable.