Richard McCarthy, 80; Fought Fees He Saw as Government Profiteering

Richard McCarthy, a retired Palm Springs developer who launched a crusade against local government building fees, died Friday after an extended illness. He was 80.

McCarthy was admitted to a Palm Springs hospital in March for breathing problems and other ailments. His wife, Marilyn, and their daughter, Leslie Ann, were at his side when he died.

Several state court cases prompted by McCarthy against cities and counties are pending.

In January, the state Supreme Court ruled in a case against Rancho Cucamonga that governments could not charge developers for building inspection and permit fees above the “reasonable cost” of providing the service.

In another case, the Supreme Court upheld an appellate court decision ordering Encinitas to refund excessive building fees.

Attorney Walter P. McNeill of Redding, who was enlisted by McCarthy 10 years ago to fight the fees in court, said McCarthy nearly single-handedly revamped the fee systems in Riverside County and San Diego, as well as other cities and counties.

“Taking on this kind of fight really is trench warfare, and there was nobody better at that than Dick McCarthy,” McNeill said. “He was sort of a legend in his pursuit of honest government.”

Prickly, tenacious and determined to correct what he saw as government profiteering, McCarthy began his crusade in 1989 after balking at fees charged for four custom homes he was building in Palm Springs.

He argued that cities throughout California were routinely overcharging developers and using the money to subsidize unrelated government services. That amounted to a hidden tax, he said, which was forbidden under state law.

In one of his earliest victories, a case against Murrieta was settled in 1999 after officials admitted that their fee system was flawed. The cost for inspection and plan checks dropped from $1,300 to $488.

In Orange County, a Superior Court judge ruled last year that builders were overcharged by $4.5 million and ordered future fees reduced. That case is on appeal.

Several lawsuits were filed by national homebuilder Barratt American separately or with McCarthy’s Paladin Group, which he created with a lance-wielding knight as its symbol.

“Dick McCarthy was a great friend of the homeowner,” Barratt Chief Executive Mick Pattinson said. “He had a great dislike of excessive government and unresponsive government, and he was one of the few who would stand up to it.”

McCarthy was born Jan. 8, 1926, in Chicago. His family had a second home in Palm Springs and spent winters in California. They later moved to Biloxi, Miss. McCarthy attended Occidental College before beginning a career in the building industry.

In addition to his wife and daughter, McCarthy is survived by brothers David R. McCarthy of Claremont, Martin H. McCarthy of Marina del Rey, Fred W. Griffin of South Pasadena and John J. McCarthy of Biloxi.

A private memorial is planned.