Since the 1920s, states have passed laws requiring exactions from developers as part of the development approval process. These exactions were typically land dedications internal to the development project, such as new roads and sidewalks within a subdivision. Beginning in the 1950s, local governments passed laws requiring exactions external to the development, such as new roads to connect a subdivision to an existing network.
Over the years, there have been a number of court challenges to municipalities' use of exactions, providing a lengthy legal history, including two important U.S. Supreme Court cases. Those two cases are listed in the first table below. Additional court case analysis and information on the history and legal basis for exactions is summarized in a 2006 working paper published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a nonprofit thinktank.
Additional information on instances in which municipalities impose exactions and the judicial standards used to determine their validity is reviewed in a 1983 article in the Washington University Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law.
The second table below is a list of state enabling legislation related to exactions.
Last Updated: 09/04/19
| U.S. Supreme Court Cases | Summary |
|---|---|
| Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, 483 U.S. 825, 107 S. Ct. 3141 (1987) | Ruled that there must be a reasonable relationship ("rational nexus) between the exaction and the development project. |
| Dolan v. City of Tigard, 114 S. Ct. 2309, 129 L.Ed.2d 304 (1994) | Ruled that there must be "rough proportionality" between the exaction and the development project. |
| State | Title | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Territorial Jurisdiction; Approval of Maps or Plats; Regulations; Limits on Exercise of Powers | Ala. Code § 11-52-30 |
| Alaska | Platting Authority | Alaska Stat. § 40.15.070 et seq. |
| Arizona | Municipal Subdivision Regulations | Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 9-463.01 - 9-463.04 |
| Arizona | Subdivision Plats; Projection of Street and Alley Lines; Approval; Survey (cities and towns) | Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 9-474 - 9-478 |
| Arizona | Subdivision Approval; Platting Regulations; Violation; Classification; Easement Vesting (counties) | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 11-822 |
| Arkansas | Regulations to Control Development of Land | Ark. Code § 14-56-417 |
| California | Subdivision Map Act | Cal. Gov. Code §§ 66410 - 66499.38 |
| Colorado | Subdivision Regulations (cities and towns) | Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 31-23-214 - 31-23-226 |
| Colorado | Subdivision Regulations (counties) | Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-28-133 - 30-28-139 |
| Connecticut | Subdivision of Land | Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 8-25 - 8-26d |
| Delaware | Subdivision and Land Development (New Castle County) | Del. Code tit. 9, §§ 3001 - 3013 |
| Delaware | Subdivision Plans; Land Development Plans; Road Plats; Submission to Commission; Recording; Fees; Regulations (Kent County) | Del. Code tit. 9, §§ 4810 - 4812 |
| Florida | Approval of Plat by Governing Bodies | Fla. Stat. §§ 171.071 - 171.081 |
| Georgia | Home Rule for Counties and Municipalities - Planning and Zoning | Ga. Const. art. IX, § 2, para. 4 |
| Hawaii | Public Access | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 46-6.5 |
| Hawaii | Development Agreement; Provisions | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 46-126 |
| Hawaii | Powers of the Court | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 668-7 |
| Idaho | Plats and Vacations | Idaho Code Ann. § 50-1301 et seq. |
| Illinois | Compliance of Plat with Map; Designation of Public Lands; Approval; ... | 65 Ill. Comp. Stat. §§ 5/11-12-8 - 11-12-12 |
| Indiana | Subdivision Control | Ind. Code § 36-7-4-700 et seq. |
| Iowa | Platting - Division and Subdivision of Land | Iowa Code § 354.1 et seq. |
| Kansas | Planning and Zoning in Cities and Counties | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 12-741 et seq. |
| Kentucky | Subdivision Management | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 100.273 et seq. |
| Louisiana | Scope of Control of Subdivision | La. Rev. Stat. §§ 33:111 - 33:114 |
| Maine | Impact Fees | Me. Stat. tit. 30-A, § 4354 |
| Maryland | Subdivision | Md. Code Land Use § 5-101 et seq. |
| Massachusetts | Subdivision Control Law | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 41 §§ 81K - 81GG |
| Michigan | Land Division Act | Mich. Comp. Laws § 560.101 et seq. |
| Michigan | Reincorporation under Act; Platting of Lands; Liability of City for New Streets (fourth class cities) | Mich. Comp. Laws § 113.9 |
| Minnesota | Official Controls: Subdivision Regulation; Dedication | Minn. Stat. §§ 469.358 - 469.365 |
| Mississippi | Regulation of Subdivisions | Miss. Code Ann. § 17-1-23 |
| Missouri | Regulations Governing Subdivision of Land - Bond (Certain First Class Counties) | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 64.060 |
| Missouri | Regulations Governing Subdivision of Land - Bond (Second and Third Class Counties) | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 64.580 |
| Missouri | Regulations Governing Subdivision of Land, Limitations, Contents... | Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 89.410 - 89.450 |
| Montana | Local Regulation of Subdivisions | Mont. Code Ann. § 76-3-101 et seq. |
| Nebraska | Real Estate; Subdividing; Procedure; Conditions; Replatting... (cities of the metropolitan class) | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 14-115 - 14-116 |
| Nebraska | Additions; How Platted; Approval... (cities of the primary class) | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 15-106 |
| Nebraska | Zoning regulations; building ordinances... | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-901 - 16-904 |
| Nebraska | Additions; Subdivision or Platting; Procedure... | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 19-916 - 19-921 |
| Nevada | Division of Land | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 278.230 et seq. |
| New Hampshire | Regulation of Subdivision of Land | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 674:35 - 674:42 |
| New Jersey | Contribution for Off-tract Water, Sewer, Drainage, and Street Improvements | N.J. Rev. Stat. § 40:55D-42 |
| New Mexico | Subdivisions; Planning and Platting (municipalities) | N.M. Stat. § 3-20-1 et seq. |
| New Mexico | County Subdivisions | N.M. Stat. § 47-6-1 et seq. |
| New York | Subdivision Review; Record of Plats | N.Y. VIL Law § 7-732 |
| New York | Subdivision Review; Approval of Plats; Development of Filed Plats | N.Y. TWN Law §§ 276 - 278 |
| New York | Subdivision Review; Approval of Plats; Development of Filed Plats | N.Y. GCT Law §§ 32 - 33 |
| New York | Approval of Building Permits, Curb Cuts, and Subdivision Plats (county planning boards and regional planning councils) | N.Y. GMU Law § 239-F |
| North Carolina | "Subdivision" Defined (counties) | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 153A-335 |
| North Carolina | Subdivision Regulation (cities and towns) | N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 160A-371 - 376 |
| North Dakota | Extraterritorial Subdivision Regulation... | N.D. Cent. Code §§ 40-48-18 - 40-48-23 |
| Ohio | Plats | Ohio Rev. Code § 711.001 et seq. |
| Oklahoma | Municipal Planning Commissions - Appointment Authorized - Ordinances | Okla. Stat. tit. 11, §§ 45-101 - 46-105 |
| Oregon | Subdivisions and Partitions | Or. Rev. Stat. § 92.010 et seq. |
| Pennsylvania | Subdivision and Land Development | Pa. Stat. tit. 53 § 10501 et seq. |
| Rhode Island | Subdivision of Land | 45 R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-23-25 et seq. |
| South Carolina | Local Planning - Land Development Regulation | S.C. Code Ann. § 6-29-1110 et seq. |
| South Dakota | Platting of Townsites, Additions and Subdivisions | S.D. Codified Laws § 11-3-1 et seq. |
| South Dakota | Subdivisions Outside Municipal Corporate Limits Not Approved Pursuant to § 11-3-6 | S.D. Codified Laws §§ 11-6-26 - 11-6-35 |
| Tennessee | Municipal Planning Regulations | Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-4-301 et seq. |
| Texas | Regulation of Subdivisions (municipalities) | Tex. Local Gov't Code § 212.001 et seq. |
| Texas | County Regulation of Subdivisions | Tex. Local Gov't Code § 232.001 et seq. |
| Texas | Authority of Municipality and County to Regulate Subdivisions in and Outside Municipality's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction | Tex. Local Gov't Code § 242.001 et seq. |
| Utah | Subdivisions | Utah Code § 10-9a-601 et seq. |
| Vermont | Limitations on Municipal Bylaws | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 24, §§ 4413 - 4421 |
| Virginia | Land Subdivision and Development | Va. Code Ann. § 15.2-2240 et seq. |
| Washington | Plats-Subdivision-Dedications | Wash. Rev. Code § 58.17.010 et seq. |
| West Virginia | Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance | W. Va. Code § 8A-4-1 et seq. |
| West Virginia | Subdivision or Land Development Plan and Plat | W. Va. Code § 8A-5-1 et seq. |
| Wisconsin | Platting Lands and Recording and Vacating Plats | Wis. Stat. § 236.01 et seq. |
| Wyoming | [Zoning] Regulations; Scope and Purpose... (cities and towns) | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-1-601 |
| Wyoming | Real Estate Subdivisions (counties) | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 18-5-30 et seq. |
