ABSTRACT
Exactions provide a means by which public infrastructure and other capital projects can be built or provided without resorting to unpopular tax increases or cuts in alternative projects, or at least a means by which to reduce the necessary magnitude of those actions. Development exactions represent a popular response to paying for the costs of growth. Development exactions are different from altruistic donations to local governments and traditional service districts in that the donation or payments made as part of a development exaction are required in order for some form of development approval to take place. There is generally a clear quid pro quo relationship that underlies development exactions. The use of development exactions has ebbed and flowed over time, both in terms of prevalence and in terms of the nature of the exactions with "most favored" status. Nevertheless, development exactions remain a much more major finance tool than they were 40 years ago.
