One City May Be Collecting Impact Fees Illegally

24 December 2003 - 7:00am

Ocean Springs, MS faces problems as the attorney general is set out to show that the collection of municipal impact fees on new development is illegal.

"In 2002, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the city of Madison's impact fee was a tax, and the town had no authority under Mississippi law to levy taxes." According to the Attorney General, the impact fee "does not fall under state law that allows regulatory fees, as those fees are to fund only administrative costs related to the regulations of growth." Fees so far, have been collected by the City of Ocean Springs on new residential and commercial construction since February 2003.

Source: Clarion Ledger, December 20, 2003
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The areas where we have severe blight and indications of more blight to come are basically the same as they ever were. How in the world are we ever going to move our community development selves into an alternative future that thinks differently about the challenges we face in our cities and low-income suburban and rural communities?