How Will The Knick Ruling Affect California Planning?
- William Fulton
- Jun 23, 2019
- 7 min read
As the general press has reported widely, last week the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1980s land-use case, Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172 (1985), and ruled that property owners with a taking claim can skip state court and go directly to federal court to litigate those claims. The case, Knick v. Township of Scott, involved the question of whether a local law requiring access to cemeteries during daylight hours created a taking a property for a property owner who has a private family cemetery on site.