This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A federal appeals court has shut down an attempt by city officials in Medford, Oregon, to require a private business operator to build – and pay for – a special road and bridge for the town.
The ruling in the fight between Medford officials and KOGAP Enterprises came from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and ordered the lower court to hold a hearing and enter a judgment in favor of KOGAP.
"The government cannot use the permit process to pressure private businesses or individuals to subsidize public infrastructure," explained a lawyer for Pacific Legal Foundation, which worked on behalf of KOGAP, Brian Hodges.
"The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that it is unconstitutional to single out property owners to shoulder massive costs for the public. We are thrilled that the court applied that precedent today in defense of Oregonians' property rights."
KOGAP is family owned, and has spent 20 years converting an old sawmill location into Stewart Meadows Village, a mixed use development covering some 100 acres.
For that project, it has built miles of streets, recreation trails and multiple bridges already.
But then the city demanded, in order to approve a minor revision in its previously approved development, the family must build a public road and bridge, and pay the $700,000 costs, even though its benefits would be for "future developments."
Explained the foundation, "The city's latest demand that KOGAP fund a massive building project to benefit future developers was a road too far."
The city's own lawyers had warned officials they were imposing an "unlawful exaction," an unconstitutional demand of private citizens and businesses.
But officials moved forward with the demand anyway, the PLF said.
Now the 9th Circuit has killed the demand for nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.
"[T]he record does not contain a basis upon which the district court could have held that the City demonstrated rough proportionality between the project's expected impacts and the exaction imposed. … We reverse the district court's orders granting summary judgment to the city and direct entry of summary judgment for KOGAP on remand," the ruling said.
