Time: Wed May 28 05:21:45 1997
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Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 05:20:05 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: C-NEWS: Supreme Court - Property Rights Victory! (fwd)

<snip>
>
>NEWS from Defenders of Property Rights
>
>
>Supreme Court Rules for Property Rights  
>
>(WASHINGTON, DC) - Defenders of Property Rights, the only national legal
>defense foundation dedicated exclusively to the protection of private
>property rights, applauds the United States Supreme Court's decision in 
>favor
>of property rights in the case of Bernadine Suitum v. Tahoe Regional 
>Planning
>Agency (96-243).  The Court's ruling brings dramatic change to how
>governmental entities with land use permitting authority deal with 
>property
>owners.
>
>In 1972, Bernadine Suitum and her late husband acquired an 18,300 
>square-foot
>lot in a residential area of Incline Village, Nevada.  When she sought to
>obtain a permit to build a house on the lot, her application was denied
>because the land was included in a "stream environment zone" (SEZ) created
>fifteen years after she took title to the property. The SEZ prohibited any
>"new land coverage or other permanent land disturbance" within the zone
>(i.e., the lot must stay in its natural state).
>
>Under the Supreme Court's 1992 decision in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal
>Council, this is a per se taking of Mrs. Suitum's property rights since 
>there
>is no question she was deprived of all the beneficial or productive use of
>her building lot.   Rather than paying her just compensation as the Fifth
>Amendment requires, however, the government essentially gave her a 
>"lottery
>ticket" whereby she could "win" the right to transfer development rights
>(TDRs) equal to only one percent of her original lot size to another lot
>somewhere else.  Moreover, even if deemed eligible, she would be entitled 
>to
>build the equivalent of only one bedroom.  
>
>Mrs. Suitum does not own another lot, and all she asks is that the 
>government
>pay for the taking of her right to build on the lot she does own.  When 
>she
>challenged the government's refusal to pay just compensation for the 
>taking
>of her property rights as unconstitutional, both the federal district 
>court
>and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that her case was not "ripe" 
>for
>review because she had never tried to sell the TDR.
>
>Today's Supreme Court decision could have wide impact since governments
>routinely utilize TDRs as a means of avoiding its obligation to pay just
>compensation.
>
>"Governments should not be allowed to concoct elaborate schemes that 
>deprive
>property owners of their right to just compensation," said Defenders
>President and Chief Legal Counsel Nancie G. Marzulla.  "A potential to
>transfer a small percentage of development rights to another lot not even
>owned by Mrs. Suitum is neither a 'use' of the property nor just 
>compensation
>within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment.  The Supreme Court's decision 
>is a
>clear message to government that it cannot utilize complicated schemes to
>avoid claims for the taking of private property."
>
>Defenders of Property Rights filed a brief amici curiae ("friends of the
>court") on behalf of itself and twenty-seven other organizations concerned
>about the property rights of Mrs. Suitum and the implications of the 
>decision
>on property owners across America.  In its brief, Defenders points out 
>that
>Mrs. Suitum's property was taken upon the denial of the building permit, 
>and
>a potential TDR does not constitute just compensation as required by the
>Constitution.
>
>Ms. Marzulla and Roger J. Marzulla are the authors of the new book 
>Property
>Rights: Understanding Government Takings and Environmental Regulation
>published by Government Institutes Press.  Defenders of Property Rights is
>the also home to the Property Rights Legal Center - the nation's first and
>only legal intern training center for property rights.
>
>Defenders of Property Rights is a national membership organization 
>dedicated
>to protecting the rights of private property owners.  Defenders engages in
>litigation across the country 
>affecting the public interest and its membership, vigorously protecting 
>those
>rights considered essential by the framers of the Constitution.
>
>To arrange an interview on this case or any other property rights issue,
>please contact Defenders at (202) 686-4197.
>
>-  30  -
>-------
>To subscribe to c-news, send the message SUBSCRIBE C-NEWS, or the message
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>
>
>

========================================================================
Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S.    : Counselor at Law, federal witness
email:       [address in tool bar]   : Eudora Pro 3.0.1 on Intel 586 CPU
web site:  http://www.supremelaw.com : library & law school registration
ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech,  at its best
             Tucson, Arizona state   : state zone,  not the federal zone
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========================================================================


      


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