Also known as: closely nexus · closer nexus · nexus
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A connection between a government-imposed condition on a development permit and a legitimate governmental interest that would justify outright denial of the permit. The connection must be essential rather than merely tangential so that the condition mitigates impacts caused by the proposed development.
Canyon Construction sought a permit to enlarge its retail store. The city conditioned approval on dedication of a strip of land for a greenway and a bike path. Canyon Construction refused the conditions and sued. The court held that the city failed to show the required connection between the demanded dedications and the traffic or other impacts from the store expansion.
Claire Campbell applied for a permit to build a larger home on her coastal lot. The commission required her to grant a public easement across the beachfront portion of the property. Claire Campbell challenged the condition. The court ruled that the easement lacked the necessary connection to any impact from the home construction that would have justified denying the permit outright.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Crestview Holdings sought a permit to develop a commercial site. The city denied the permit after Crestview Holdings rejected a demand to pay a sum of money for off-site improvements. Crestview Holdings sued. The court applied the same standards used for land dedications and held that the monetary demand lacked the required connection to the project's impacts.
Catherine Carter sued an insurer after a car accident. The jury awarded substantial punitive damages. On appeal the court examined whether the award bore a sufficient connection to the harm actually suffered by Catherine Carter and to the insurer's conduct in that case.
Connor Clark challenged limits on coordinated expenditures by political parties. The court assessed whether the restrictions maintained a close enough connection to the prevention of actual or apparent corruption to survive constitutional scrutiny.
Colin Chambers was prosecuted under a federal statute banning firearms near schools. The court examined whether the statute had a sufficient connection to interstate commerce to fall within Congress's enumerated powers.
The government must demonstrate an essential connection between the condition and a legitimate interest that would justify denying the permit outright. The condition must also be roughly proportional to the projected impact of the development.
No. The requirement extends to permit denials and to demands for monetary payments as well as to dedications of real property.
The government bears the burden of showing both the essential connection and that the exaction is roughly proportional in nature and extent to the projected impact of the development.
…239 U. S. 33 (1915). Indeed, we do not read the appellee's brief as really asserting anything to the contrary. The "logical nexus between the status asserted and the claim sought to be adjudicated," Flast v. Cohen , 392 U. S., at 102, and the necessary degree of contentiousness, Golden v. Zwickler , 394 U. S.…