Facts: An owner applies for a building permit to construct a single family residence (SFR) on their property. The issuance of the permit is conditioned on payment of a traffic impact mitigation fee a local agency requires for building permits issued on all new construction. The fee amount is based on the location and type of construction under a predetermined fee schedule. The amount of the fee is not connected to the individual impact on traffic by the construction authorized by the building permit. The owner pays the fee then demands a refund, which the local agency denies.
Claim: The owner claims the impact fee is an invalid taking since no reasonable relationship exists between the fee amount and the impact of the particular construction and thus the fee is an invalid special tax.
Counterclaim: The local agency claims the impact fee is valid since it is reasonably derived from a predetermined fee schedule which targets broad types of construction and thus does not need to have an individualized determination.
Holding: The U.S. Supreme Court holds impact fees imposed by a local agency as a condition to receive a building permit need a reasonable relationship between the fee amount and the individual impact of the construction. [Sheetz v. County of El Dorado (2024) 601 U.S. 267]
Related RCDs
Related Reading
Real Estate Principles Chapter 85: Blueprints for construction
Real Estate Economics Chapter 10.2: Blueprints for future construction
