Arbor Homes files federal lawsuit against Pendleton
Aug. 31—ANDERSON — The developer of two housing additions has filed a federal lawsuit against the town of Pendleton over impact fees.
The Clayton Properties Group doing business as Arbor Homes contends in the lawsuit that Pendleton failed to follow state laws pertaining to the collection of impact fees.
The developer wants a reimbursement of $750,000 already paid in impact fees.
Jeff Graham, attorney for the town of Pendleton, said the town's insurance company will hire an attorney to represent them in the lawsuit and file a response in September.
"They will file meritorious defenses to the claims," Graham said. "Some of the claims are not accurate."
The lawsuit states that Arbor Homes purchased 132 acres in 2019 to complete the Huntzinger Farms community, which was approved by the town in 2020.
The company also contracted to construct 56 homes in the "Falls" in 2019 and during that time Pendleton never established an impact fee advisory committee as required by state law.
The town in 2020 commissioned an impact fee study to establish the fees to fund road improvement projects.
"Pendleton's study was flawed because Pendleton failed to draw a connection between new developments, such as Arbor's Huntzinger and Falls developments, the impact caused by those developments on different areas of the town," the suit continues.
The lawsuit states that Pendleton created a road impact fee zone improvement plan that was made public in June 2021.
That plan designated the entire town as the "impact zone," the company states.
The Pendleton Town Council adopted the impact fee ordinance in January, 2022 and in the same year started imposing a park impact fee.
The impact fee for the roads was $9,237 and the park fee was $3,854 for each new housing lot that was developed.
As of the filing of the lawsuit Arbor has paid in excess of $750,000 in impact fees and the end amount could be in excess of $5 million.
"Pendleton's Impact Fee ordinance is invalid for failure to comply with the requirements set forth in Indiana's Impact Fee Series," the lawsuit states.
It contends Pendleton didn't establish an impact fee advisory committee, failed to show how the necessary improvement projects were needed for the new development and failed to identify the revenue sources from existing developments to raise the level of community service.
The lawsuit asks the federal court to prohibit Pendleton from collecting the impact fees for 10 years.
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
