California homebuilder challenges City’s $127K “recreation in-lieu” fee

Menlo Park, California; July 20, 2026: A California homebuilder filed a lawsuit challenging a local government’s six-figure “recreation in-lieu” fee. Mircea Voskerician argues that the City of Menlo Park unconstitutionally imposed a $127,400 fine on his business’s application for a standard permit to subdivide a lot.

“When the government exploits permitting processes to extract extortionate fees from builders, homebuyers pay the price,” said David J. Deerson, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. “The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that cities cannot force property owners to foot the bill for problems they didn’t create. Menlo Park cannot ignore that precedent to demand a six-figure exaction for a routine subdivision.”

Voskerician bought a Menlo Park property through his business, 12 Maywood LLC, in December 2024, then applied for a standard subdivision. The City demanded a $127,400 “recreation in-lieu” fee before it would approve the routine lot split, citing a need to secure at least five acres of park land per 1,000 residents. The City currently has six and a half acres of park land per 1,000 residents.

Voskerician paid the fee under protest earlier this year. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to challenge the City’s exaction in state court. His lawsuit argues that the City violated his constitutional rights by imposing an unjust condition on a land-use permit, and that Menlo Park’s “recreation in-lieu” fees contradict a state law that prohibits local governments from requiring “offsite improvements” before approving a subdivision applications.

Pacific Legal Foundation represents Voskerician free of charge. The case is Voskerician, et al. v. City of Menlo Park, California.