Property Posts

Exclusion, Control, and Consequence in 2,622 Zoning Districts

This article describes the basic legal mechanics of zoning and argues it is an important area of study. It reveals that despite the importance of zoning, very few studies have conducted rigorous multi-jurisdictional surveys of actual zoning codes.

October 2020 Council Meeting Updates

At its meetings on October 13 and October 22-23, 2020, the Council reviewed and discussed Council Drafts of seven projects and approved drafts and portions of drafts.

Property Convergence in Takings Law

Although one of the key questions in a federal system is how authority should be allocated between the state and national governments, property law has rarely generated serious controversy on this front. Instead, property entitlements and the rules governing resource use have typically been the province of state and local actors.

Pandemic Takings: Compensating for Public Health Emergency Regulation

The COVID-19 pandemic led all states to issue regulations aiming to limit the spread of the coronavirus and reduce morbidity and mortality. Alongside the impediments that the “stay at home” and social distancing regulations imposed on citizens’ freedom of movement, worship, and leisure, they also interfered, sometimes significantly, with owners’ property rights.

U.S. Supreme Court Cites Restatement of Property

In a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Ass’n, Nos. 18-1584 and 18-1587 (June 15, 2020), Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the Court, cited Restatement of the Law, Property § 450.