At the 2023 NAHB Spring Leadership Meeting, the Board of Directors approved the recommendation of the NAHB Legal Action Committee to provide financial assistance through the Legal Action Fund to three local and state associations fighting impact fees and building code changes.

For more than 40 years, the Legal Action Committee has helped NAHB members and local and state HBAs defray litigation costs on issues that are common to the industry and that may carry nationwide impact or precedent.

The awarded grants include:

• The BIA of San Diego received a grant to help fund an impact fee challenge against the City of Escondido. In an apparent effort to fund ongoing public services, the city passed an ordinance that created a jurisdiction-wide funding district. This district targets only home builders and residents of newly constructed homes, but the impact fees from this district fund existing services in addition to the demands created by new development.
• In a similar impact fees case, the City of Spokane in 2022 passed a six-month moratorium on home building permits. Earlier this year, as part of ending the moratorium, the city imposed a 300%-400% increase in development fees. The Spokane HBA obtained a grant from the Legal Action Fund to challenge the city’s new fees.
• The BIA of Washington received a grant to support its lawsuits challenging building code changes that would prohibit the use of gas furnaces and water heaters in new homes.  

NAHB will next consider Legal Action Fund applications at its Fall Leadership Meeting in September. Applications are due Friday, Aug. 25. For more information, contact Lavon Roxbury, 202-266-8359.