Any regular reader of these pages knows about the Williamson County/San Remo Hotel “ripeness” Catch-22: try vindicating a property owner’s federal constitutional right in federal court in the first instance, and the federal court will tell you that you are too early — a regulatory taking is of no constitutional moment until the
A Brief Visit To What May Be The Coolest Courthouse In America
Most courthouses look like court houses. Government Issue Bland. Others can be interesting, even though they are imposing (Tennessee Supreme Court), traditional (Ninth Circuit, San Francisco), historic (Rhode Island Superior Court, Providence), unique (Hawaii Supreme Court, the only courthouse in the U.S. which was also the supreme court for another country), plain but hip (Coahoma
Professor Eagle Clears Up Our Confusion
Responding to the recent post on the New York Court of Appeals’ decision in Uptown Properties, George Mason U. lawprof Steven Eagle writes with his thoughts on the concurring opinion by Judge Smith that caused us some dissonance.
Here, with a little editing for layout, are Professor Eagle’s comments:
In your blog for May
Now I’m “Frightened And Confused” – New York Eminent Domain Law May Provide More Protection Than The Fifth Amendment, Unless There Is Blight?
Update: a follow up from lawprof Steve Eagle here.
Thanks to colleague Dwight Merriam for pointing out a recent decision that we missed from the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. In Uptown Holdings, LLC v. City of New York, 2011 NY Slip Op 01071 (Feb. 17, 2011), the court sua sponte
Regulatory Takings Pilgrimage, Part II
Last week, after we concluded the spring meeting of the ABA’s Section on State and Local Government Law in Portland, Oregon (more about that in a subsequent post), we could not resist paying a brief visit to the neighboring City of Tigard.
Yes, that City of Tigard.
In the early 1990s, the city was
Cert Denied In Guggenheim
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the petition for a writ of certiorari in Guggenheim v. City of Goleta, No. 10-1125. Property owners asked the Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s sharply divided en banc opinion, which held that the City’s mobile home rent control ordinance did not work a regulatory taking because the
“Make Eminent Domain Imminent” – Fidell On Wind Power
Honolulu attorney Jay Fidell (who also produces Think Tech Hawaii) writes a regular column in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. This week, he focuses on eminent domain in “Governor must insure wind farm moves forward,” where he writes about the proposed wind farm on Molokai, and urges the state to use eminent domain
Connecticut: Soft Costs Sufficient To Show “Substantial Loss” For Zoning Estoppel
In Levine v. Town of Sterling, No. 18470 (Apr. 12, 2011), the Connecticut Supreme Court held that a property owner need not show that his property was rendered worthless or that he made “capital investment” to prove that he relied on a resolution by the town’s board of selectmen that he could build more
All Aboard? Honolulu Rail Is Coming
As we’ve mentioned here before, the City & County of Honolulu has given the green light to a new public railway, described as “a 20-mile elevated rail line that will connect West O`ahu with downtown Honolulu and Ala Moana Center. The system features electric, steel-wheel trains capable of carrying more than 300 passengers each. Trains
Upcoming CLE And ABA State & Local Govt Law Section Meeting (Portland)
Next week (May 12 – 15, 2011), the ABA Section of State & Local Government Law is meeting in Portland, Oregon.
This is our Spring Meeting (complete agenda here), and is co-sponsored by the Urban Land Institute and the American Planning Association. In addition to the business and administrative meetings (I promise, the meeting