Also known as:land use regulation · land-use regulations · land use regulations · zoning · land-use law
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A governmental ordinance or other legislative enactment that governs the development or use of real estate by dividing land into districts and restricting uses within those districts. Such regulations must bear a substantial relation to public health, safety, morals, or general welfare and may not rest on mere prejudice or arbitrarily deprive owners of beneficial use.
Sources & Authorities· 16 primary sources
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Cases
Statutes
Uniform Acts
Common Law
Restatements
Casebooks
Dictionaries
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Group Home Permit Denial
Lakeside Homes LLC purchased a house and leased it to Harbor Care to operate a supervised residence for adults with intellectual disabilities. The town amended its housing code to bar only congregate living for the intellectually disabled while allowing fraternities and sober homes. The permit was denied solely because of the residents' mental condition. The denial violates equal protection because the classification rests on prejudice rather than any legitimate land-use interest.
Nonconforming Use Continuation
Luke Latham operated a machine shop on his property for decades before the city rezoned the area residential. The shop was lawful when established but now violates the new zoning. Latham may continue the use because the vested right to a preexisting nonconforming use limits the municipality's power to eliminate it immediately upon rezoning.
Zoning Distinct From Servitude
Lola Langley recorded a private covenant restricting her lot to residential use only. The city later enacted a zoning ordinance permitting limited commercial uses in the same district. The zoning ordinance does not qualify as a servitude because public land-use regulations fall outside the Restatement definition of servitudes created by private parties.
Arbitrary Zoning Boundary
Leah Lamb owned a corner parcel zoned for commercial use. The city redrew the zoning map to place only her lot in a residential district with no relation to traffic, safety, or welfare concerns. The reclassification arbitrarily deprives Lamb of the beneficial use of her property and is invalid as a deprivation without due process.
Vested Rights After Permit
Lillian Locke obtained a building permit for a multi-unit project and spent substantial sums on site preparation in reliance on the existing zoning. The city then rezoned the area to single-family use. Locke holds a vested right to complete the project because the good-faith expenditures and position change make revocation inequitable.
Landmark Regulation Challenge
Luna Lang owned a historic theater and sought to demolish part of the structure for modern retail space. The city applied landmark preservation rules that barred demolition and left Lang with continued theater operations. The regulation does not constitute a taking because it substantially advances a legitimate public interest and leaves the owner with reasonable beneficial use under the multi-factor analysis.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
What standard of review applies when a zoning ordinance singles out group homes for persons with intellectual disabilities?+
Rational basis review applies because classifications based on intellectual disability are not suspect or quasi-suspect. Even under this deferential standard the government may not act from mere prejudice, so an ordinance that bars only such group homes while permitting similar congregate uses lacks a legitimate interest and violates equal protection.
Supporting sources
When does a landowner lose the right to continue a nonconforming use after rezoning?+
The right may be lost through abandonment, discontinuance for the statutory period, or in some jurisdictions through a reasonable amortization ordinance that phases out the use after a set time. Protection of preexisting property rights otherwise prevents immediate elimination upon rezoning.
How do courts determine whether a land-use regulation effects a regulatory taking?+
Courts apply a multi-factor test that weighs the economic impact on the claimant, the interference with distinct investment-backed expectations, and the character of the governmental action. Regulations that substantially advance legitimate public interests and leave the owner a reasonable beneficial use are generally not compensable takings.
Supporting sources
What must a landowner show to acquire a vested right to complete a development after a zoning change?+
The owner must demonstrate good-faith reliance on a permit or existing zoning together with substantial expenditures or other change of position that would make revocation inequitable. Jurisdictions vary on whether a valid permit plus substantial construction is required or whether a balancing test suffices.
Supporting sources
, this Court has upheld
land-use regulations
that destroyed or adversely affected recognized real property interests. See Nectow v. Cambridge , 277 U. S. 183, 188 (1928).
Zoning
laws are, of course, the classic example, see…
violate the Due Process Clause if they are "clearly arbitrary and unreasonable, having no substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare." 272 U. S., at 395.…
is rejected. The condition does not substantially advance a legitimate state interest; it is an exaction that forces the Nollans to convey an interest in their property to the public…
, and state requirements under compulsory school-attendance laws are examples of necessary and permissible contacts. Indeed, under the statutory exemption before us in Walz ,…
Constitutional LawIndividual rights · Equal protectionUBEIntermediate