Zoning, Planning & Land Use

Read Agriculture Law updates, alerts, news, and legal analysis from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 25, 2013

Supreme Court Holds Temporary Flooding Can Be A Taking

by Brad Kuhn on 12/4/2012

After passing on a number of Fifth Amendment issues in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear three cases this term in which the takings clause plays a prominent role. And today, the Court addressed the...more

Court Decision on Loss of Goodwill Results in Sour Grapes for Business Owners

by Brad Kuhn on 11/29/2012

California is one of only a few states in which a business may recover for loss of goodwill when property is taken by eminent domain, but even here there are limitations on a business' right to recover for such damages. ...more

Massachusetts Landlords Smoking Mad About New Medical Marijuana Law

by Richard Vetstein on 11/11/2012

Burned up Massachusetts landlords are fuming with concern over the state’s newly passed but hazy medicinal marijuana law. The law — rolling out Jan. 1 — grants medical marijuana users the right to grow a two-month supply of...more

Legal Byte: “Boundary by Agreement:” a fence alone is not enough

by Alan Goldberg on 9/10/2012

California landowners can agree on a boundary between their properties. However, they have to conform to specific requirements by California law....more

Seventh Circuit affirms exclusion of unreliable expert testimony on valuation in condemnation actions

by Saul Ewing LLP on 8/28/2012

On August 21, 2012, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the decision of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois to exclude the testimony of the landowners' expert in...more

Potential Future Takings Do Not Give Rise to Liability

by Brad Kuhn on 5/23/2012

A new Court of Federal Claims opinion was handed down this month coming right out of our own Southern California backyard. The case, Stueve Bros. Farms, LLC v. the United States, deals with whether a "physical taking of...more

What is Downzoning and When is it Compensable?

by Brad Kuhn on 11/22/2011

"Downzoning" describes a government agency's rezoning a parcel of land once previously zoned for a more intense use to a more restrictive use (e.g., changing the commercial zoning designation of an undeveloped parcel of land...more