Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, California
Issues
Does the Nollan and Dolan standard, which requires the government to show an essential nexus and rough proportionality between a development permit fee and its negative public impact, apply to a blanket legislative regulation that imposes a flat development fee for certain developers?
This case asks the Supreme Court to determine whether El Dorado County’s Traffic Impact Mitigation Fee Program (“TIM Program”) is an unconstitutional taking under the Takings Clause. The Takings Clause prohibits the government from taking individual property without just compensation. For a conditional development fee to be constitutional under the Takings Clause, the Nollan and Dolan standard requires the government to show an essential nexus and rough proportionality between the conditional permit’s fee and the permit’s negative public impacts. George Sheetz argues that the TIM Program’s flat fee to all residential homes within his zone is an unconstitutional taking as it is an exaction that is unrelated to traffic impact and makes no individual determinations. County of El Dorado, California argues that Nollan and Dolan do not apply to legislatively mandated development fees that broadly apply to a class of permit applicants. This case has significant implications for regulating development fees in the legislature and for individuals seeking to construct new properties.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether a building-permit exaction is exempt from the unconstitutional-conditions doctrine as applied in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Dolan v. City of Tigard, Oregon simply because it is authorized by legislation.
El Dorado County (“the County”) is a county in California. Brief for Petitioner, George Sheetz at 3. In 2004, the County adopted a plan that included a section on “transportation and circulation,” setting standards on how the County approaches the impact of new development on its road and highway network. Id.
Additional Resources
- Bernie Pazanowski, Supreme Court Accepts Takings Challenge to Land-Use Exaction, Bloomberg Law (Sep. 29, 2023).
- Richard Frank, A(nother) California “Regulatory Takings” Case Heads to the Supreme Court, Legal Planet (Oct. 10, 2023).
- Bob Egelko, U.S. Supreme Court agrees to decide legality of fees charged to California homebuilders, San Francisco Chronicle (Sep. 29, 2023).