A local builders association challenges the impact fee ordinance adopted by the Town of Oak Grove. As required by statute (Wis. Stat. § 66.0617), the Town’s ordinance included an appeal process for challenging the Town’s impact fees. The Association did not use that appeal process, opting instead to bring a challenge to the fees directly to court. The Town argued that the Association could not seek judicial relief until after it had exhausted administrative remedies which means following the appeals process set forth in local ordinance. The Court of Appeals agreed that the builders failed to exhaust administrative remedies. The Court noted that the claims could have been resolved administratively, and that requiring the plaintiff to use the ordinance’s appeal process promotes judicial efficiency.
St. Croix Valley Home Builders Association, Inc. v. Township of Oak Grove, 2010 WL 2486640 (WI App. 6/22/2010)
The opinion can be accessed at: http://www.vhba.com/media/75803/scvhbaappealsruling.pdf
