|
Legal Action Grants Support Mitigation, Wetlands Cases
During the NAHB Fall Board of Directors meeting in Chicago last month, the NAHB Legal Action Committee on Oct. 2 recommended grants from the association’s Legal Action Fund (link is for members only) to support cases involving farmland mitigation, the federal Clean Water Act and a man-made upland ditch, and storm water issues.
The fund was created to ease the burden on NAHB members and home builders associations wishing to pursue expensive and time-consuming cases involving nationally significant issues or legal matters commonly faced by builders and developers.
The cases approved last month by the NAHB Executive Board for funding and amicus assistance include:
- The Building Industry Association of Central California is challenging a municipality’s farmland mitigation program that requires developers to replace agricultural land on a one-to-one basis when it is rezoned for residential use. The BIA successfully argued in state trial court that these requirements resulted in an unconstitutional exaction. The municipality has appealed and NAHB agreed to provide funding and an amicus brief.
- The Home Builders Association of Greater Cleveland is supporting a member’s challenge to an ongoing enforcement investigation into whether a man-made upland ditch may be used to link an isolated wetland area to traditional navigable waters. The member has challenged the enforcement of the federal Clean Water Act and the federal approach to wetlands delineation. NAHB agreed to provide funding and assist the member with the litigation as it moves forward in federal court.
- The Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg in Pennsylvania is challenging a nutrient and sediment total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirement, claiming that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection violated a number of federal and state administrative procedures. The HBA will argue that the resulting TMDL will require a 90% reduction in these pollutants, which is not only unattainable but also would prevent any new development in the watershed. NAHB will provide funding to support this challenge.
The committee reviews Legal Action Fund applications three times a year in conjunction with NAHB Board of Directors meetings.
The deadline for applications for the upcoming board meeting during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas is Dec. 4. Download applications and guidelines from the members-only pages of the NAHB Web site at www.nahb.org/legalaffairs.
For more information on the grant program, e-mail Christopher Whitcomb at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8329.
|
