(The Center Square) – The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled against exorbitant government fees in a case that centered on one California retiree forced to pay a flat-rate $23,000 “traffic impact fee” for the construction of a single small home to raise his grandson in.
This ruling combined earlier rulings on government permitting fees, which must both have “essential nexus” — related to the government interest from having the fee — and be “roughly proportional” to the impact from the action the fee is targeting, with the addition that fees created by legislatures are not exempt from these requirements.
“Today’s ruling is a major victory for property rights, and a step in the right direction toward removing barriers to housing,” said Brian Hodges, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, which served as co-counsel on the case. “We are thrilled with the Supreme Court’s decision and will continue fighting to protect property rights and make the process for building new homes more fair.”
In California, because local governments tend to exhaust their property tax revenues on ongoing expenses, they use development fees to fund new projects. With flat-rate single family home development impact fees costing up to $157,000, it’s possible for an impact fee to cost more than construction.
Despite sky-high demand for housing and a 4.5 million home shortage in California, housing production is plummeting, with housing permits down 45% in 2023 compared to 2022 due to higher interest rates. By opening up exorbitant development fees to lawsuits, this ruling could help spur more housing construction in the long-term by making it more affordable to build.
California’s Supreme Court had ruled in favor of El Dorado County, which levied the fee on the basis that the fee was created through the legislature, not a bureaucratic action, and thus was exempt from the nexus and proportionality doctrines. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated that ruling and remanded it back to the state court to decide whether or not the $23,000 fee is constitutional under the new framework clarifying legislature-created fees are still subject to the tests.
In a separate opinion Justice Brett Kavanaugh clarified that this ruling ”does not address or prohibit the common government practice of imposing permit conditions, such as impact fees, on new developments through reasonable formulas or schedules that assess the impact of classes of development rather than the impact of specific parcels of property.”
“In California, because local governments tend to exhaust their property tax revenues on ongoing expenses, they use development fees to fund new projects. With flat-rate single family home development impact fees costing up to $157,000, it’s possible for an impact fee to cost more than construction.”
Why would ANYONE support a corrupt, treasonous, Democrat Party dictatorship?? If you don’t buy a EV then walk.
The Democrat party supporters operate strictly on emotion, with very little rational thought and who simply do not understand reality or basic economics.
“Today’s ruling is a major victory for property rights, and a step in the right direction toward removing barriers to housing,”,,,,,,,like Trump being able to keep Mar-a-Lago and having his $450 imaginary million dollar fine revoked and exposed for the government abuse of power that it was, and absorbent government fees used to punish political enemies. No coincidence that this only happens in Democrat run areas of the country. This is planned at a very high level of power designed to punish the successful and the American legal strong, to make way for the rule by the foreign minded weak and the American politically unfair and cowardly, too afraid to compete on a level playing field.
The SCOTUS just doesn’t seem to be picking up on what the socialist are doing in the nation! They want the ability to crush who they don’t like.
And in return they offer the weak-minded saps the illusion of virtue signaling how wonderful they are!
Stupid in the west is way passed the tipping point!
As far as I can tell, no one is fallowing what the Supreme Court’s are saying, they hall off and do whatever they want anyways, because there are no consequences for breaking the law unless you are a law abiding citizen! Then the courts throw the book at you or make up law that hasn’t been passed and go to biased judges!
GOOD. now lets see how this impacts, that suit from the fishers, against those govt monitors!