The U.S. Supreme Court just gave California a major opportunity to lower housing costs

Framers work to build the Ruby Street apartments in Castro Valley on Feb. 6, 2024. Photo by Camille Cohen for CalMattersA recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on housing impact fees has given California lawmakers an opening to address a key barrier to construction: cost.Louis Mirante is the vice president of housing policy for the Bay Area Council, a regional public policy group representing 325 of the Bay Area’s largest employers.

stems from a homeowner who had to pay $23,420 in county fees to mitigate the transportation impact from a single home he proposed to build himself.Lower courts disagreed, citing a long-established precedent allowing the fees based on the way they were charged. But the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision with wide-ranging implications said that yes, because the Constitution does not distinguish between the way a fee is charged, neither will they.Still, there are obvious benefits to fees too.

The Supreme Court largely punted these questions back to state courts, inviting a decade of litigation to establish case law answering these questions. That doesn’t help anyone. To avoid this, the state legislature should work within the guardrails of the Supreme Court ruling to provide clear guidelines, rules and standards for imposing and challenging fees. Lawmakers should indicate what they believes is a reasonable fee in most cases, and should encourage quick settlements when disputes about fairness arise.

If implemented correctly, this Supreme Court ruling could present the biggest opportunity we’ve had in many years to eliminate a significant barrier to affordable housing in California. Implemented poorly or ignored entirely, and we wade through a decade of litigation before standards are clear.“I support CalMatters because climate change and the environment are important issues for planet Earth. Knowledge should be driving action.

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