A couple of weeks ago, we (along with nationally renown zoning law expert lawprof Michael Wolf), offered our thoughts on “Euclid at 100,” the most most (in?)famous zoning case, now coming up on its 100th anniversary. The session was recorded and the Federalist Society has now posted it, so if you couldn’t make it live, here’s your chance.
Continue Reading Euclid at 100: The Past, Present, and Future of Zoning (Recording)
Tomorrow, Friday, August 28, 2026, at 12 noon Eastern Time, the Federalist Society will be producing a one-hour web-based program, “Euclid at 100: The Past, Present, and Future of Zoning in America.”
Along with land use expert Professor Michael Wolf, we shall be speaking about the most (in?)famous zoning case, now coming
You know the drill: permitting authorities know that if they take a definitive position about how a regulation works on a particular piece of property, a takings challenge is ripe. So in many cases we see either the authority taking affirmative steps to keep on saying “maybe,” or at least providing a definitive “no.” Or
It’s that time of the year again. Fall’s-a-coming, and that means that in a few days, we’re back at the William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia to teach two courses: Eminent Domain and Property Rights (W&M is one of the few law schools in the country that offer a course in eminent domain, just compensation, and takings) -and Land Use Controls (an especially hot topic at the moment).
Continue Reading Back To School For Dirt Law @ William & Mary, Season 9
Worth subscribing: a newer (the archives go back to this post, late 2025) from lawprof Stephen R. Miller, named “Euclid Land.” The title should give you a hint about what the topic is, “a conversation about land use reform with law professor, urban planner, and author Stephen R. Miller.”
Continue Reading New(ish) Substack: “Euclid Land” (Prof. Stephen Miller)
Here’s the latest in our continuing series of dirt law pilgrimages, where we visit the site of some of the more important cases in our favorite area of law. As every dirt lawyer knows, you can see photos, read descriptions, and study plat maps. But when it comes to understanding about the property at issue, nothing substitutes for getting your shoes in the dirt on-site, seeing the area for yourself, smelling the air. Walking the earth.
Continue Reading Property Pilgrimage: Nectow v. City of Cambridge (1928)
It was on this day in 1928 when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its second most famous decision about zoning, Nectow v. City of Cambridge, 277 U.S. 183 (1928). We say “second” because everyone knows that the first is the Court’s decision issued just two years earlier which generally upheld comprehensive use, height, and density regulations as a valid exercise of the government’s police power to regulate property uses to further the public health, safety, welfare, or morals. See Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U S. 365 (1926).
Continue Reading You Don’t Look A Day Over 98, Nectow v. City of Cambridge
Worth checking out: in the vein of our old favorite Eminent Domaine, a Napa Valley winery is offering for preorder its “Eighth Amendment” wine.
What’s the deal with the name? We all know the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which prohibits the imposition of excessive fines.
Continue Reading Eighth Amendment Proprietary: Wine Without the Excessive Fining
Here’s a cert petition that asks whether a local government (here, the granola-swanky Marin County, California) as a condition of approving a building permit may require a property owner to restrict uses of the land to commercial agriculture, and bind all future owners of the property as well. Because this is one of ours, we won’t be going into great detail but will instead leave it to you, starting with the Questions Presented.
Continue Reading New Cert Petition: Can You Be Forced To Be A Farmer Under The Police Power?
In an historic win for property owners in California, in Shear Dev. Co., LLC v. California Coastal Comm’n, No. S2284378 (Apr. 23, 2026), the unanimous California Supreme Court held that the Coastal Commission–which we can say without exaggeration is the most unaccountable and out-of-control agency in the nation–overstepped its authority when it purported to override a municipal government’s approval of a building permit. [Barista’s note: our firm represents the prevailing property owner in the case, and the head of our Coastal Property Rights group, Jeremy Talcott is lead counsel.]
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Reins In The Most Unaccountable Agency In The Nation, The California Coastal Commission