Kavanau v. Santa Monica Rent Control Board, 16 Cal. 4th 761 (1997)

Citation: Kavanau v. Santa Monica Rent Control Board, 16 Cal. 4th 761 (1997)
Parent Document: Kavanau v. Santa Monica Rent Control Board, 16 Cal. 4th 761 (1997)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1997-08-26
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5607899/kavanau-v-santa-monica-rent-con... ↗

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In this case, we need not decide whether a rent regulation that violates a particular property owner’s right to due process also constitutes a taking, because, assuming it otherwise might, we hold that a remedy for the due process violation, if available and adequate, obviates a finding of a taking. In a variety of contexts, the Supreme Court has recognized that the benefits a property owner receives in conjunction with a regulation may offset the burdens and thus satisfy the takings clause. (Penn Central, supra, 438 U.S. at p. 137 [98 S.Ct. at p. 2666]; see generally, Kendall & Ryan, “Paying” for the Change: Using Eminent Domain to Secure Exactions and Sidestep Nollan and Dolan (1995) 81 Va. L.Rev. 1801, 1837-1842; Costonis, “Fair” Compensation and the Accommodation Power: Antidotes for the Taking Impasse in Land Use Controversies (1975) 75 Colum. L.Rev. 1021, 1039-1042.) Thus, in Penna. Coal, Justice Holmes noted the “average reciprocity of advantage” that often characterizes regulations and justifies them for purposes of the takings clause. (Penna. Coal, supra, 260 U.S. at p. 415 [43 S.Ct. at p. 160].) More explicitly, the court has long held that the special benefits conferred on a property owner’s remaining property as a direct result of a taking may constitute just compensation. (Bauman v. Ross (1897) 167 U.S. 548 [17 S.Ct. 966, 42 L.Ed. 270].) Bauman involved the taking of private property to build a highway in the District of Columbia. The court stated: “The Constitution of the United States contains no express prohibition against considering benefits in estimating the just compensation to be paid for private property taken for the public use; and ... no such prohibition can be implied . . . .” (Id. at p. 584 [17 S.Ct. at p. 980].) Similarly, a government agency may “mitigate . . . [the] financial burdens” *783of a land-use regulation, and thus avoid a takings clause violation, by transferring development rights to the property owner’s other parcels. (Penn Central, supra, 438 U.S. at p. 137 [98 S.Ct. at p. 2666]; see also MacDonald, Sommer & Frates v. Yolo County, supra, 477 U.S. at p. 350 [106 L.Ed.2d at pp. 2566-2567]; cf. Suitum v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (1997) _ U.S. _, _ [117 S.Ct. 1659, 1662, 137 L.Ed.2d 980] [not deciding whether the sale value of transferable development rights is relevant to the existence of a taking or only to the adequacy of the compensation].) (9c) Consistent with the reasoning of these cases, when a due process violation is the sole basis of an asserted taking, a remedy for the due process violation, if available and adequate, is a valuable benefit that satisfies the takings clause. (Cf. Williamson Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank (1985) 473 U.S. 172, 194-197 [105 S.Ct. 3108, 3120-3121, 87 L.Ed.2d 126] [state law inverse condemnation remedy may be adequate compensation for purposes of takings clause]; Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co. (1984) 467 U.S. 986, 1019 [104 S.Ct. 2862, 2881, 81 L.Ed.2d 815] [Tucker Act remedy may be adequate compensation for purposes of takings clause]; Regional Rail Reorganization Act Cases (1974) 419 U.S. 102, 136, 150, 155-156 [95 S.Ct. 335, 355, 362, 364-365, 42 L.Ed.2d 320] [same].)

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