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Zoning Bulletin August 25, 2011 I Volume 5 I No. 16 <br />dinance could be severed from that chapter of the Zoning Code <br />or whether the entire chapter with those provisions had to be <br />"[struck] down." <br />Public and Low-Income Housing—Town <br />Ordinances Allow Developers to Pay Fee-In-Lieu <br />of Affordable Housing Construction <br />Developer argues fee-in-lieu is illegal because it is not <br />authorized by the State General Assembly <br />Citation: North End Realty, LLC v. Mattos, 2011 WL 2670227 (R.I. 2011) <br />RHODE ISLAND (07/08/11)—This case addresses the issue of wheth- <br />er Rhode Island municipalities can charge developers a fee-in-lieu of un- <br />dertaking the construction of affordable housing. <br />The Background/Facts: North End Realty, LLC ("North End") was <br />a developer. It owned real property in the Rhode Island town of East <br />Greenwich (the "Town"). In February 2007, North End filed with the <br />Town's planning board both "master" and "preliminary" plans for the <br />development of a proposed five-lot subdivision. <br />Town ordinances required that developers either designate 15% of <br />the units in any subdivision or major residential land development as <br />affordable housing or pay the sum of $200,000 (per affordable unit) <br />as a fee-in-lieu of constructing the required number of affordable <br />housing units. <br />Because North End indicated that it did not intend to include any af- <br />fordable housing units as part of the subdivision, the Town, citing its <br />related ordinance, mandated that North End pay a $200,000 fee-in-lieu <br />before North End would be allowed to record subdivision approval or <br />begin property development. <br />Subsequently, North End filed a complaint in superior court. Among <br />other things, North End argued that the Town did not have the requi- <br />site authority to impose the $200,000 fee-in-lieu, required by the Town's <br />ordinances. North End maintained that before the Town could impose <br />"a fee of such a substantial and burdensome nature," the State General <br />Assembly must enact legislation that explicitly grants the Town that au- <br />thority. In other words, North End argued that the fees-in-lieu were il- <br />legal because the Town had no authority to impose them. North End as- <br />serted that only the General Assembly had the power to enact laws that <br />had a statewide impact. <br />© 2011 Thomson Reuters 5 <br />