In a ruling that could carry special importance for the town of Aquinnah — as well as for other Vineyard towns that want to adopt impact fees — the Massachusetts Appeals Court this week struck down a school impact fee in the town of Franklin.
The court found that the impact fee, charged to developers, is an improper tax.
“This is so totally contrary to tax philosophy as to require it to be stricken down,” declared Mel Greenberg, an associate justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, who wrote the decision.