Victory for George, for property rights, for liberty, and for Americans! In a 9-0 unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot use the permitting process to twist the arms of property owners into paying exorbitant fees. The ruling is a momentous victory for property rights, and will help to remove costly obstacles in property development.
The Supreme Court held that development fees, otherwise known as “exactions,” must be reasonable and related to any potential negative impacts that the property development would cause to the public.
In George’s case, he simply wanted to build a single-family residence on his property in Placerville, California. The County of El Dorado, however, attempted to charge him a whopping $23,420, under the pretext of a “traffic impact mitigation fee.” Supposedly, his new home with his one car would so dramatically affect traffic that the county thought it appropriate to charge him over $20,000 for it.
Mr. Sheetz won this battle, but his war is not over. The Supreme Court ruled that the case must be returned to the lower court to determine if the $23,000 traffic impact mitigation fee is related to the small home George wanted to build. If so, then the lower court must determine whether the traffic mitigation fee was reasonable or exorbitant compared to the traffic impact caused by a small home in a rural area.
We celebrate George Sheetz & his victory! Mountain States is proud to have written on George’s behalf, and to see this vindication of his constitutional rights.
