“Property rights” often are portrayed as belonging only to the rich and powerful and protecting only the politically connected. But as we recently were reminded, this is a very inaccurate picture because property rights — as the “guardian of every other right” — form the foundation on which all other rights rest
The Latest Cert Petition Seeking To Overrule Williamson County
There’s been yet another cert petition asking the Suprme Court to revist and discard the ripeness rules of Williamson County Regional Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172 (1985).
In Colony Cove Properties, LLC v. City of Carson, 640 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 2011), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the
New Cert Petition: Why Can’t A Federal Court Determine The State Has Not Provided Compensation?
A cert petition has been filed by the property owners in a case we’ve been following about what the takings ripeness doctrine of Williamson County Regional Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172 (1985) requires.
In Downing/Salt Pond Partners v. Rhode Island, 643 F.3d 16 (1st Cir. 2011), the
Latest In Big Island Takings And Vested Rights Challenge To LUC Reclassification
Here’s the latest in a case we’ve been following. In Bridge Aina Lea, LLC v. State of Hawaii Land Use Comm’n, the plaintiff filed its complaint in state circuit court alleging that the LUC violated state and federal law (due process, takings, vested rights, and more) when it reclassified “urban” land on the Big
8th Cir: No Rooker-Feldman, But San Remo Hotel Precludes Federal Takings Claim
In Edwards v. City of Jonesboro, No. 10-2405 (July 14, 2011), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a takings claim brought in federal court after the property owner prevailed on the same claim in state court was not barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, but that the state court judgment
9th Circuit: Church’s Use Permit Requirement Violates RLUIPA Equal Terms
We tend not to think of churches as “blighting” their neighborhoods. But what about a church in a downtown “entertainment” district, where the nearby businesses are bars, nightclubs, and liquor stores, and placing a church in the area might limit the availability of liquor licenses?
In a sort of reversal of the usual LULU (locally
Eighth Circuit Sees The Sign – Eminent Domain Abuse Protest Mural Gets First Amendment OK
Is this a “sign?” The city of St. Louis thought so. The city’s building inspection department issued a citation to the folks who commissioned the painting on a residential duplex, telling them they needed a permit. So they asked the city for one.
Denied. The zoning code does not allow for such signs. It’s too
What Do You Want To Save In Honolulu (And How Much Will It Cost?)
Civil Beat‘s recent report on the mayor’s plan to demolish the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial, a salt-water swimming pool erected to honor those who served in “the Great War,” not only brought back some childhood memories (I swam there as a kid) but reminded us of the cost of preservation. When the thing
First Circuit: RI’s Inverse Condemnation Remedy Satisfies Williamson County
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
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