The U.S. Supreme Court issued an important ruling last week on the issue of when are local environmental regulations restricting development not a taking.
This issue involved a Wisconsin case over restrictions on riverfront development on a designated Wild and Scenic River.
The 40-page decision was decided by a 5-3 vote. Justice Gorsuch did not participate in the case.
The takings issue has been sometimes a factor in Florida zoning cases since the passage of Bert Harris Act, which laid out standards for when government regulations might go too far.
Sometimes the fear of provoking a claim under the law has been used to temper local zoning actions.
Perhaps this Supreme Court ruling will bring the pendulum back into balance.
The core issue is when regulations constitute a government taking of private property, which the Bill of Rights of U.S. Constitution bans without proper compensation.
One of the key principles is whether the regulations deprive private property owners of all beneficial use of their property or whether instead it restricts use for a proper public purpose.
The court majority ruled there was no taking because the property owners retained development rights, just not as many as they wanted.