Mayor and Board of Aldermen, City of Ocean Springs v. Homebuilders Association

After an infrastructure needs study, the City of Ocean Springs (defendant) adopted impact-fee ordinances requiring developers to pay fees, as a condition of permit approval, to help fund police, fire, park, roadway, and water facilities needed for new development. The Home Builders Association and Mississippi Association of Realtors (plaintiffs) challenged the ordinances as disguised taxes the city lacked authority to impose, while the city argued the fees were valid exercises of its police power or Home Rule authority. The circuit court agreed with the developers, voiding the ordinances as unauthorized taxes.