Minnesota Bar Advances Takings Claim Over Transportation Fees

A craft beer bar and restaurant will go to trial on its claim that Rochester, Minn. committed an unconstitutional taking because the city failed to definitively prove the transportation-related fees it imposed on the business were proportional, a federal court held Friday.

US Supreme Court precedent requires the fees Rochester charged the bar to fund local transportation infrastructure improvements to be proportional to the impact of the business’s development, but the city hasn’t shown to what extent the business generated traffic, the opinion said, rejecting the city’s motion for summary judgment. A reasonable fact finder could ultimately conclude the fees ...