AICP Land Use Law and Regulations 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which U.S. Supreme Court case established that a regulation goes 'too far' and becomes a taking when it denies an owner all economically beneficial use of land?
- Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City
- Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council (Correct answer)
- Nollan v. California Coastal Commission
- Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Correct answer: Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council (1992) established the categorical taking rule when regulation eliminates all economic value of property.
Question 2: A city requires a developer to dedicate 10% of a new subdivision's land as open space. What legal doctrine determines whether this condition is a valid exaction or an unconstitutional taking?
- The rational basis test
- The Nollan/Dolan rough proportionality test (Correct answer)
- The Penn Central balancing test
- The police power nexus standard
Correct answer: The Nollan/Dolan rough proportionality test
The Nollan/Dolan test requires an essential nexus and rough proportionality between the exaction and the project's impact.
Question 3: Under the doctrine of vested rights, at what point does a developer typically acquire a right to complete a project under the regulations in effect at the time of application?
- Upon filing a preliminary plat application
- Upon receiving a building permit and making substantial good-faith expenditures (Correct answer)
- Upon recording the final subdivision plat
- Upon obtaining a conditional use permit
Correct answer: Upon receiving a building permit and making substantial good-faith expenditures
Vested rights generally attach when a developer obtains a valid permit and makes substantial expenditures in good-faith reliance on it.
Question 4: Which type of zoning provision allows a use that is generally permitted in a district but only after discretionary review by a local body to ensure compatibility with the neighborhood?
- Variance
- Nonconforming use
- Conditional use permit (Correct answer)
- Floating zone
Correct answer: Conditional use permit
A conditional use permit (also called a special use or special exception) allows discretionary approval of uses that may be compatible if specific conditions are met.
Question 5: The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) prohibits local governments from imposing land use regulations that:
- Require religious institutions to pay impact fees
- Place a substantial burden on religious exercise without a compelling governmental interest (Correct answer)
- Restrict the height of religious buildings to match surrounding structures
- Require conditional use permits for all religious assemblies
Correct answer: Place a substantial burden on religious exercise without a compelling governmental interest
RLUIPA bars regulations that substantially burden religious exercise unless the government demonstrates a compelling interest pursued by the least restrictive means.
Question 6: A property owner claims that a newly enacted historic preservation ordinance prevents any alterations to her building's facade. Which legal framework is most appropriate for analyzing whether this constitutes a regulatory taking?
- The Lucas categorical taking rule
- The Penn Central Transportation balancing test (Correct answer)
- The Nollan essential nexus test
- The Dolan rough proportionality test
Correct answer: The Penn Central Transportation balancing test
Penn Central's three-factor balancing test (economic impact, investment-backed expectations, character of government action) applies to partial regulatory takings like historic preservation restrictions.
Question 7: A municipality enacts a moratorium on all development permits while it updates its general plan. A landowner sues, arguing the temporary freeze is a taking. Under Tahoe-Sierra, courts will most likely:
- Apply Lucas and find a per se taking for the duration of the moratorium
- Apply Penn Central balancing and consider the temporary nature of the restriction (Correct answer)
- Strike down the moratorium as an improper exercise of police power
- Require the municipality to pay compensation for each day of the moratorium
Correct answer: Apply Penn Central balancing and consider the temporary nature of the restriction
Tahoe-Sierra held that temporary development moratoria should be analyzed under Penn Central's ad hoc balancing, not the Lucas categorical rule.
AICP Land Use Law and Regulations 4
Which U.S.
Supreme Court case established that a regulation goes 'too far' and becomes a taking when it denies an owner all economically beneficial use of land?