By Steve Zurier. Home builders nationwide will be closely watching a lawsuit filed in a federal court by the Greater Atlanta HBA that for the first time tests a Fifth Amendment property rights claim on an impact fee.
The suit alleges that the city of Atlanta mishandled $20 million in impact fees by spending funds collected on north side and mid-town projects and using them for streetscapes and sidewalks on the less affluent south side. The builders’ group expects that the case will be heard later this year by Judge J. Owen Forrester in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta.