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Saturday, July 25, 2009
Ind. Courts - More on "Judge rules against Westfield on road fees"
Updating this ILB entry from May 25th, Carrie Ritchie reports today in the Indianapolis Star:
Westfield is fighting a Hamilton County court ruling that said the way the city applied a road-impact fee ordinance violated state law. * * *The city is arguing that the ruling was incorrect and a trial should be held to determine the outcome of the case.
If Hughes upholds the ruling, Westfield might have to refund some of the $3 million it collected in road-impact fees under that ordinance. The city would likely appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals.
In the lawsuit, attorneys for a Westfield businessman argued that the city should not have assessed impact fees on his business, because it could not demonstrate that the business would increase traffic in the area.
In the ruling, the court ordered Westfield officials to provide detailed information on businesses, developers and residents who have already paid road-impact fees.
A hearing on Westfield's claim is set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Hamilton Superior Court 3, but Steve Cook, the plaintiff's attorney, said that could change.
Cook is still waiting for the city to provide information, including a list of those who might be affected, so the hearing could be postponed.
Westfield attorney Brian Zaiger said in an e-mail that next week's hearing is still on, but didn't comment further.
Some are eagerly awaiting that information to see if they could get a refund.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 25, 2009 10:10 AM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions