The United States Supreme Court decisions in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Dolan v. City of Tigard determined that the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution (the “Takings Clause”) requires heightened scrutiny for land use permit decisions that condition approval on an exaction of property. In those cases, the Court held that a unit of government may not condition the approval of a land use permit on the owner’s relinquishment of a portion of his property unless there is a “nexus” and “rough proportionality” between the government’s demand and the impacts of the proposed land use.
