ABSTRACT
Impact fees are charges imposed by local governments that take the form of a predetermined monetary payment—a fee—and are generally levied against developers to fund capital expansion of large-scale public facilities and services. Even though local governments labeled impact fees as regulatory, courts required local governments to produce calculations and other data to support the reasonableness of their fees. There are various approaches available to a local government that wishes to require developer funding of infrastructure. These include required dedications, in-lieu fees, user fees, impact fees, rezoning conditions, and linkage programs. The legal frameworks for these various approaches have developed in different time periods and in different contexts, and they are therefore often subjected to different standards and legal requirements. Because impact fees are conceptually and functionally similar to dedications and other land-use regulations, they can be considered land-use regulations, which are generally considered valid exercises of the police power.
