Mississippi Circuit Court Knocks Down Local Impact Fee Ordinance
In a victory last month for the Home Builders Association of Mississippi, the Jackson County court ruled that the City of Ocean Springs' impact fee ordinance was unconstitutional and in violation of state statutory law.
The municipality had imposed multiple impact fees for fire and police facilities, park and recreational facilities and water and roadway infrastructure, totaling almost $5,000 per single-family home.
In knocking down the fee program, the court ruled that the state's Home Rule Statute did not enable Ocean Springs to implement the fees in the absence of express enabling authority.
The court found that the municipality was not authorized to impose fees through its general planning and zoning powers, and determined that the purported “regulatory” fees were operating instead as illegal taxes. According to the court, the city's “venture into the realm” of taxation, without express taxing authority, was illegal.