In April 2024, The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a unanimous ruling favoring property rights by prohibiting governments from imposing hefty development fees on property owners in exchange for building permits. The decision emerged from a lawsuit filed by a California landowner, George Sheetz, who contested a $23,000 fee required for a permit to build a home on his property. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and other housing groups lauded the ruling as a significant victory against what they deemed to be excessive fees hindering development projects. The decision empowers developers and home builders to challenge such fees imposed by local governments for public improvements.
For more information, you can read the ruling here.
Mallon Lonnquist Morris & Watrous, PLLC is a business, transactional, real estate, and litigation law firm in Denver, Colorado. The attorneys at MLMW regularly represent businesses and individuals in commercial real estate matters and in business and contract disputes and related litigation including corporate, employment, partnership, construction, and service agreement disputes.