Land use law

Thanks to Professor Patty Salkin for calling attention to a recent case from a Missouri federal court that provides a good (if that word can be used) illustration of the weird shell game that is played by the federal courts when it comes to regulatory takings claims, Reagan v. City of St. Louis, No.

The Garden Island reports that a property owner’s appeal of the County of Kauai’s approval of its permits with allegedly illegal conditions is going forward after the County withdrew its motion to dismiss.

The County Attorney’s Office filed for themotion to dismiss based on the Planning Commission failing to issue a“written decision and order containing

The Garden Island reports that the Kauai County Council is considering a ban on “gated communities” —

A stalled plan to ban gated communitiesshould return to County Council’s agenda by the end of February, MayorBryan Baptiste said yesterday. 
   
“It’s not a public safety issue to me,” he said. “It’s so we don’t isolate

A complaint has been filed in U.S. District Court against the mayor of Kauai County, the county  Department of Planning, and the Planning Commission over the Coconut Beach development.  The complaint seeks relief for violations of equal protection, and federal civil rights laws.  Charley Foster has some background on the case here.  Download the

  • Today’s oral arguments in Missouri Supreme Court in the Tourkakis appeal, a case of an attempted taking for economic development, have been posted here

Are rumors of the demise of the Ninth Circuit’s Armendariz doctrine greatly exaggerated, or is J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster)’s advice to Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) in the noir classic Sweet Smell of Success more appropriate? 

What brings this to mind is the parting shot in the recently-issued opinion in Matsuda v. City and County of