If everything the Ninth Circuit says in its unpublished memorandum opinion in Craneveyor Corp. v. City of Rancho Cucamonga, No. 22-55435 (Apr. 20, 2023) is accurate, there’s no way to ever draft a complaint alleging a facial Penn Central regulatory taking that will survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a
Zoning & Planning
New Article: Alex Boone, “The Tide’s Coming In: A New Case for Beachfront Property Rights in South Carolina” (Wm & Mary Envt’ L & Pol’y Rev)
Check this out, a new student-authored note from William and Mary third-year law student Alex Boone, “The Tide’s Coming In: A New Case for Beachfront Property Rights in South Carolina,” 47 Wm. & Mary Envtl. L. & Pol’y Rev. 383 (2023).
Here’s the Abstract:
Part I of this Note explores the scientific data…
April 27, 2023, 5-7pm, Honolulu: Join Us To Celebrate The Work And Career Of Professor David Callies
Come join us on Thursday, April 27, 2023, from 5-7pm, downtown Honolulu, to celebrate the retirement of Professor David L. Callies from the University of Hawaii Law School.
Join U.H. Law School Dean Camille Nelson, Professor Callies’ colleagues, his students (present and former), the Hawaii legal community, and family and friends as we honor…
Instead Of Being The First Case To Take Advantage Of Knick, This One Was The Last Victim Of Williamson County
There’s a lot going on in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s opinion in Tejas Motel, L.L.C. v. City of Mesquite, No. 22-10321 (Mar. 22, 2023), but that’s mostly because it’s a procedural decision resolving a question of whether a Texas court’s federal takings judgment was res judicata, and therefore…
CA4: Exactions Takings Claim Accrues When Owner Knows Of The Demand, Not When It Paid
As most of you probably already know, there’s a demon lurking out there in takings claims. Not of the Levon Helm-narrated The Right Stuff variety, but maybe just as deadly in litigation.
That’s right, the too-early-or-too-late thing (or in some cases, the too-early-and-too-late argument). Getting caught between arguments that a takings claim…
Exactions, Takings, And Ripeness…Oh My! When Planning Officials Say “No,” That’s Enough (Even If They Might Have Said “Yes” Some Other Way)
Denying Uses (But Allowing Discretionary Ad Hoc Exceptions) Isn’t A Recipe For Rational Land Use
If a zoning statute or ordinance sets out the uses permitted in a zone, and the uses not permitted in the zone, and a property owner wants to make a use not permitted in the zone, all she needs to do is apply for a variance, or a Conditional Use Permit, or a nonconforming use…
New Article: “Toward Principled Background Principles in Takings Law” (Strahilevitz & Hansen)
Check this out, a new article co-authored by a federal judge’s law clerk and lawprof Lior Strahilevitz (Chicago). With the title, “Toward Principled Background Principles in Takings Law” are we going to read it? You bet. (Unlike a lot of new scholarship that we post here, we read this one immediately.)
Here’s the…
Video: “Are Zoning Laws the Cause of Hawaii’s Housing Crisis?” With Nolan Gray
As we wrote up here, national zoning and planning expert Nolan Gray joined our U. Hawaii Land Use class (and the public) last week for a talk about whether zoning is an impediment to affordable housing in Hawaii.
Thank you to Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for recording the talk, as well as making Mr.
A National Zoning Expert Pays A Visit To The L580 Land Use Class At U. Hawaii

The session was recorded.
Here’s the video and audio.
Earlier this week, planner M. Nolan Gray, author of the new book, “Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It” (Island Press 2022) joined our Land Use class at the University of Hawaii Law School to talk…



