The Wall Street Journal details impact fee issues in “Rising Use of ‘Impact’ Fees Rankles New-Home Buyers,” with some truly horrific examples, including one couple whom a California city demanded pay a $240,000 fee to get building permits to construct a rural home valued at $500,000, and homeowners who were required to sign away their first amendment rights as a condition of obtaining a permit. Worth a read.
Exactions are not limited to demands for cash. For example, the County of Maui imposes a 40% – 50% “affordable” requirement on new housing developments. See this post for more.