The Washington (state) Supreme Court, in Sleasman v. City of Lacey (No. 77590-7, Feb. 8, 2007), decided what it means to have a developed parcel. Actually, the court determined what the terms "undeveloped" and "partially developed" mean within the context of a local ordinance that regulates tree removal on such property. The opinion is a good primer on what it means to own "developed" vs "undeveloped" property, even though it is Washington law-specific, since it discusses decisions from other jurisdictions. Bottom line, according to the court, is that development takes place when the owner makes raw land suitable for residential or commercial use. Best line in the opinion is the last, however:
Lacey claims attorney fees under RCW 4.84.370 as a prevailing party. But it isn't.
If only all court opinions were that direct.
this blog is...
- devoted to recent developments and commentary on regulatory takings, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, property rights, and land use law.
publisher
- Robert H. Thomas is a lawyer focusing on property, takings, eminent domain, and appellate law
He also serves as the Joseph T. Waldo Visiting Chair in Property Rights Law at the William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia.
email | bio | publications
Recent Posts
- Join Us (For Free!): Lawprof Ilya Somin On "Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid and the Future of the Takings Clause: Physical Occupation, Eviction Moratoria, and More" (Tues. Sep. 28, 2021, 12:50pm ET)
- Watch: "The Future of Regulatory Takings at the Supreme Court"
- 2021 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference (Sep. 30 - Oct. 1, 2021) - Still Time To Join Us
- Cert Petition: Please Stop The Federal Circuit's "determined dismantling of the guarantees of the Takings Clause"
- The Real "Prime Directive" - Happy Constitution Day 2021
- Cert Petition: It Should Matter When A Profit-Making Enterprise Is Sacrificed For A Third Party
- New Article: Lawprof Lee Anne Fennell - "Escape Room: Implicit Takings After Cedar Point"
- Oregon App: Six Year Statute Of Limitations For Physical Invasion Takings Begins To Run When Property Occupied, Not When Compensation Is Denied
- The Way We Are: Entering Our Sixteenth Year!
- New Comment: Cedar Point - "A New Test Or Merely A New Name For Some Regulatory Takings?"
Categories
- ▪ Coronavirus (53)
- ▪ 42 U.S.C. § 1983 | Civil Rights (414)
- ▪ Administrative law (305)
- ▪ Agriculture (180)
- ▪ Appellate law (1519)
- ▪ Articles and publications (164)
- ▪ Attorneys Fees & Costs (103)
- ▪ Blight (43)
- ▪ Brigham-Kanner Conference (77)
- ▪ Court of Federal Claims | Federal Circuit (406)
- ▪ Development agreements (185)
- ▪ Due process (557)
- ▪ Eminent Domain | Condemnation (1370)
- ▪ Environmental law (690)
- ▪ Equal Protection (156)
- ▪ Floods and Flooding (18)
- ▪ Inverse condemnation (1453)
- ▪ Judicial Takings (75)
- ▪ Just Compensation | Appraisal (465)
- ▪ Land use law (1514)
- ▪ Municipal & Local Govt law (1109)
- ▪ Nollan/Dolan | Exactions (343)
- ▪ Penn Central (398)
- ▪ Pipelines (87)
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- ▪ Public Use | Kelo (752)
- ▪ Rail (148)
- ▪ Rails-to-Trails (115)
- ▪ Redevelopment (165)
- ▪ Regulatory takings (1553)
- ▪ Rent Control (104)
- ▪ RLUIPA | religious land use (84)
- ▪ Schadenfreude (63)
- ▪ Seminars (421)
- ▪ Shoreline | CZMA (310)
- ▪ UIPA - Public Records Law (28)
- ▪ Uniform Relocation Act (66)
- ▪ Vacation rentals (61)
- ▪ Vested rights (319)
- ▪ Voting rights | election law (149)
- ▪ Water rights | Public trust (328)
- ▪ Wildfires | Flooding (34)
- ▪ Williamson County | Ripeness (454)
- ▪ Zoning & Planning (513)
books & articles
The Law of Eminent Domain - A Fifty State Survey (ABA 2011)
Eminent Domain - A Handbook of Condemnation Law (ABA 2011)
At the Cutting Edge 2009: Land Use Law from The Urban Lawyer (D. Merriam, ed. 2010)
Recent Developments in Public Use and Pretext in Eminent Domain, 41 Urban Lawyer 563 (Oct. 2009)
The Ninth Circuit Rediscovers Substantive Due Process in Land Use Cases (Dec. 2008)
reviews
- Names on the Land (2008)
Battle For Brooklyn (Rumur Films 2011)
Regulating Paradise: Land Use Controls in Hawaii by Professor David J. Callies (2d ed. 2010)
Regulatory Takings by Professor Steven J. Eagle (2013)
Takings International: A Comparative Perspective on Land Use Regulations and Compensation Rights, Professor Rachelle Alterman, ed. (ABA Section of State and Local Government Law 2010)
Property Rights, Eminent Domain, and Regulatory Takings Re-Examined Bruce L. Benson, ed. (Independence Institute 2010)
Little Pink House - A True Story of Defiance and Courage by Jeff Benedict (2009)
The Complete Guide to Zoning by Dwight H. Merriam (2005)
Bulldozed: 'Kelo,' Eminent Domain and the American Lust for Land by Carla T. Main (2007)
Eminent Domain Use and Abuse: Kelo in Context, Dwight H. Merriam, editor (2007)
podcasts
- IJ's "Bound by Oath" Podcast, Ep. 9: Excessive Fines, 14th Amendment Incorporation (And The Just Compensation Clause) We Join IJ's "Short Circuit" Podcast To Talk Virginia Oyster Takings, Colorado Wild Eminent Domain Abuse Cert Petition, And Berman International Eminent Domain Podcast Interviews William & Mary Law Students Clint Schumacher's Eminent Domain Podcast Is Back - Six Degrees Of Williamson County Ripeness ... And Elvis Clint Schumacher's New Eminent Domain Podcast Podcast: Interview With Ted Balaker, Producer Of The Upcoming Kelo Movie "Little Pink House" Interview With The Filmmaker: Michael Galinsky On "Battle of Brooklyn" Taking Accretion By Legal Erosion: Summary Of The Oral Arguments In The Hawaii Beach Takings Case
The Kauai Property Tax Charter Amendment Case (KKCR FM 92.7)
Legal and Other Issues In Honolulu's Rail Project (Think Tech Hawaii, KIPO FM 89.3)
live blog archive
- Judge McKenna Senate Hearing (2/4/2011)
Governor's Announcement of Judge Sabrina McKenna as Associate Justice, HAWSCT (1/25/2011)
Must A Property Owner Seek To Change The Law To Ripen A Federal Takings Claim? (HAWICA, 12/8/2010)
Justice Recktenwald Senate Hearing (8/25/2010)
Judge Leonard Senate Hearing (8/3/2010)
New Jersey's "Bizarre Condemnation" - Klumpp v. Borough of Avalon (NJ Supreme Court, 3/22/2010)
Columbia Eminent Domain Oral Arguments (NY Court of Appeals 6/1/2010)
Turtle Bay/Kuilima Supplemental EIS case (HAWSCT, 12/17/2009)
Atlantic Yards eminent domain abuse (NY Court of Appeals, 10/14/2009)
Ala Loop Homeowners: are state zoning laws "environmental" statutes (HAWSCT, 10/14/2009)
links
- Professor Mandelker's Land Use Law
- Julie Tappendorf's Municipal Minute
- Professor Kanner's Gideon's Trumpet
- Bulldozers at Your Doorstep - Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton
- Eminent Domain Law Blog by Owners Counsel of America
- Rick Rayl's California Eminent Domain Report
- ABA State & Local Govt Law Section, Condemnation Law Committee
- Mark Murakami's Hawaii Ocean Law
- Dwight Merriam's RLUIPA Defense
- McKirdy & Riskin's NJ Condemnation Law
- Tred Eyerly's Insurance Law Hawaii
- Dean Patty Salkin's Law of the Land
- PLF's Liberty Blog
- Ackerman Ackerman & Dynkowski's National Eminent Domain Blog
- Jesse Souki's Hawaii Land Use Law & Policy
- New Jersey Eminent Domain Law Blog
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Disclaimer
- This blog is not legal advice. But come on man, you knew that already! Reading this blog does not make you a client, nor are any posts or comments on this blog subject to the attorney-client privilege. Nor should you rely on the posts or comments for counsel on your situation. For legal advice, please retain an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
This blog is not sponsored by the author's firm, and the views expressed by the author are just that, his views; they are not the views of his clients, his firm or its clients, or anyone but the author.
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