Atlanta faces lawsuit over impact fees
Atlanta is being sued by two real estate associations that accuse the city of misusing development impact fees. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, charges that the city collects most of the impact fee money from its trendy Midtown and Buckhead areas and spends most of it in undeveloped areas on the city’s southside.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties contend that Atlanta does not divide the city into separate geographical districts in disbursing impact fees. Division would guarantee that the fees, collected to ease transportation, parkland and public safety problems that result from development would go where they were most needed. Treating the city as one geographical district gives the city too much discretion on where the money is spent, the lawsuit alleges.
City planner Mike Dobbins denied the allegations, estimating that 85 percent of the $3 to $4 million in transportation impact fees collected from Northside development is spent on the north side.