On Friday, October 5, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, an appeal from the Florida Supreme Court. The questions presented in Koontz are twofold : (1) whether the government can be held liable for a taking when it refuses to issue a land-use permit on the sole basis that the permit applicant did not accede to a permit condition that, if applied, would violate the essential nexus and rough proportionality tests set out in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission (1987) and Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994), and (2) whether the nexus and proportionality tests set out in Nollan and Dolan apply to a land-use exaction that takes the form of a government demand that a permit applicant dedicate money, services, labor, or any other type of personal property to a public use. Petitioner Koontz argues in his Petition for Certiorari (a copy of which is attached) that the demands imposed by the St. Johns River Water Management District on the Koontz family as a condition of issuance of the permit were confiscatory and violated the 5th and 14th Amendments of the US. Constitution.
Follow this blog for additional details of this appeal.