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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The importance of the right to use one’s property in an economically viable manner as the determinative factor in assessing whether a taking has occurred was again emphasized by the court in Agins v. Tiburon, supra, 447 U.S. 255. There the validity of zoning ordinances which limited the number of homes that could be constructed on a five-acre parcel was challenged. Because the property owners had not sought a development permit, the only question before the court was whether enactment of the ordinances alone constituted a taking. In rejecting the property owners’ taking claim, the court stated: “The application of a general zoning law to particular property effects a taking if the ordinance does not substantially advance legitimate state interests, see Nectow v. Cambridge, 277 U.S. 183, 188 (1928) [48 S.Ct. 447, 448, 72 L.Ed. 842], or denies an owner economically viable use of his land, see Penn Central Transp. Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104, 138, n. 36 (1978) [98 S.Ct. 2646, 2666, 57 L.Ed.2d 631].” (Id. at p. 260 [100 S.Ct. at p. 2141] , italics added.) Neither occurred as a result of the adoption of the Tiburon zoning ordinances. While they limited development, “they neither prevented] the best use of appellants’ land [citation], nor extinguished] a fundamental attribute of ownership [citation].” (Id. at p. 262 [100 S.Ct. at p. 2142] .)

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