Home Builders Ass'n v. City of Beavercreek

729 N.E.2d 349, 89 Ohio St. 3d 121
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJune 14, 2000
DocketNo. 98-2572
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 729 N.E.2d 349 (Home Builders Ass'n v. City of Beavercreek) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Home Builders Ass'n v. City of Beavercreek, 729 N.E.2d 349, 89 Ohio St. 3d 121 (Ohio 2000).

Opinions

Moyer, C.J.

The issue presented by this appeal is whether Beavercreek Ordinance 93-62, as amended, which establishes a system of impact fees payable by developers of real estate to aid in the cost of new roadway projects, is constitutional. For the following reasons, we hold that the ordinance is constitutional.

It is well established that “[mjunicipalities shall have authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws.” Section 3, Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution; see, also, Cleveland v. Shaker Hts. (1987), 30 Ohio St.3d 49, 51, 30 OBR 156, 158, 507 N.E.2d 323, 325. This court has consistently held that Section 3 of Article XVIII, or the Home-Rule Amendment, gives municipalities the authority to impose exactions, provided that the municipality is not statutorily forbidden from doing so, and the exactions meet constitutional standards. See, e.g., Cincinnati v. Cincinnati Bell Tel. Co. (1998), 81 Ohio St.3d 599, 693 N.E.2d 212, syllabus. The focus here is whether the impact fee ordinance enacted by the city of Beavercreek violates either the United States or Ohio Constitution.

[125]*125In its decision, the court of appeals engaged in a comprehensive analysis relating to the question of whether Beavercreek Ordinance 93-62 operates as an impact fee or a tax. While the ordinance clearly adopted an impact fee, its classification as an impact fee or a tax is not determinative for purposes of our constitutional inquiry. Prior cases of this court that address the constitutionality of impact fee ordinances did not find the label placed on an exaction in response to new development to be dispositive. See Towne Properties, Inc. v. Fairfield (1977), 50 Ohio St.2d 356, 4 O.O.3d 488, 364 N.E.2d 289; State ex rel. Waterbury Dev. Co. v. Witten (1978), 54 Ohio St.2d 412, 8 O.O.3d 410, 377 N.E.2d 505. Rather, the important factor in determining the constitutionality of an ordinance is whether the ordinance is unduly burdensome in application and not its label as a tax or an impact fee.

In determining whether Beavercreek Ordinance 93-62 is constitutional, it is necessary to first address the discussion by the court of appeals regarding the lack of a matching funds provision in the Beavercreek ordinance. A matching funds provision would require a city to contribute public funds to roadway projects in an amount that bears some proportion to the fees collected from developers. The court of appeals disposed of all issues before it by holding that Ordinance 93-62 is unconstitutional because it does not require Beavercreek to contribute public funds to the projects for which the impact fee is exacted. In support of this proposition, the court of appeals cites our decisions in Towne Properties, State ex rel. Waterbury Dev. Co., and the decision in Building Industry, Assn. of Cleveland & Suburban Ctys. v. Westlake (1995), 103 Ohio App.3d 546, 660 N.E.2d 501, as authority. Upon an analysis of Towne Properties and Waterbury, we conclude that there is no requirement that an ordinance imposing an impact fee on developers of real estate must contain a matching funds provision to be deemed constitutional.

In Towne Properties, we were asked to determine the constitutionality of a city ordinance that required anyone obtaining a building permit, registering a mobile home pad, or installing manufactured residential units not requiring a building permit to pay a fifty dollar fee. The ordinance was enacted to expand the city’s existing facilities in response to its growing population. The revenue collected through the fee, plus an additional amount of public funds, was placed in a special recreational fund created by the ordinance. In upholding the ordinance, we observed that the ordinance was written so that developers paid their proportionate share of the cost of the city’s expansion projects, and that the city contributes an equal amount to the fund. Towne Properties, 50 Ohio St.2d at 360, 4 O.O.3d at 491, 364 N.E.2d at 292. We did not hold that the matching funds provision was the sole means by which the constitutionality of such an ordinance was to be determined.

[126]*126Likewise, in Waterbury, we invalidated an ordinance that imposed a water tap charge and a park fee on new developments. The ordinance at issue did not contain a matching funds provision. We, however, based our decision, not on the lack of a matching funds provision, but on the fact that the fee imposed was higher than the actual costs of connecting to a water line and the cost of park development. Waterbury, 54 Ohio St.2d at 414-415, 8 O.O.3d at 412, 377 N.E.2d at 506-507.

Contrary to the' opinion of the court of appeals, the lack of a matching funds provision in the Beavercreek ordinance is not constitutionally fatal. That is not to say, however, that the presence or absence of a matching funds provision may not be considered when determining the constitutionality of an impact fee. The appropriate test is one that examines whether the fee is in proportion to the developer’s share of the city’s costs to construct and maintain roadways that will be used by the general public. See, e.g., Amherst Builders Assn. v. Amherst (1980), 61 Ohio St.2d 345, 347, 15 O.O.3d 432, 433, 402 N.E.2d 1181, 1183. A matching funds provision is one factor that a court may take into account in determining this balance.

When examining the Beavercreek ordinance, both the trial court and the court of appeals addressed the plaintiffs’ assertion that the ordinance produced an illegal taking of property without just compensation in violation of the United States and Ohio Constitutions. Each court, however, applied a different test to determiné whether the ordinance is constitutional.

The trial court used the dual rational nexus test, which is based on two United States Supreme Court decisions, Nollan v. California Coastal Comm. (1987), 483 U.S. 825, 107 S.Ct. 3141, 97 L.Ed.2d 677, and Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994), 512 U.S. 374, 114 S.Ct. 2309, 129 L.Ed.2d 304, and a Florida case, Hollywood, Inc. v. Broward Cty. (Fla.App.1983), 431 So.2d 606. The dual rational nexus test requires a court to determine (1) whether there is a reasonable connection between the need for additional capital facilities and the growth in population generated by the subdivision; and (2) if a reasonable connection exists, whether there is a reasonable connection between the expenditure of the funds collected through the imposition of an impact fee, and the benefits accruing to the subdivision. Hollywood, Inc., 431 So.2d at 611-612.

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Bluebook (online)
729 N.E.2d 349, 89 Ohio St. 3d 121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/home-builders-assn-v-city-of-beavercreek-ohio-2000.