Court rejects Patterson housing fee case

The U.S. Supreme Court put the final nail in the coffin of a lawsuit against the city of Patterson this week when it refused to review a lower court decision that struck down the city's affordable housing fees.

Patterson likely owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to developers since a state appellate court in January invalidated a fee the city had charged builders to offset the costs of affordable housing.

The 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno early this year found that Patterson did not use a reasonable method in 2006 when it increased its affordable housing fee from $734 per house to $20,946.

Patterson turned to the Supreme Court for another look at the case, but the justices declined.

The city had won the first round of the lawsuit in 2008, when Stanislaus County Superior Court judge David Vander Wall ruled that Patterson's affordable housing fee was fair. The Fresno court overturned his ruling.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision sends the case back to Vander Wall, who is expected to determine how much money Patterson should return to developers who paid the higher fee.

Morrison Homes, which built a 214-unit subdivision in Patterson, and the Central California Building Industry Association filed the lawsuit.

Steve Madison, the association's executive director, said the case set statewide precedent for how courts will review affording housing fees.

"There's no other case in the state that's made it this far," Madison said. "We're glad to get it over."