Searching for Balance in the Aftermath of the 2006 Takings Initiatives

The partial regulatory takings movement seeks to compensate private landowners when regulations diminish their land values. This movement has grown in recent years, particularly at the state level. Scholars have focused thus far on the cost of compensation and its effect on the regulations that governments enact or enforce. In addition to exploring those concerns, this Note argues that partial regulatory takings regimes threaten to constrain residents’ ability to influence their communities’ growth and character. The greatest impact could fall on low-income communities, many of which contain disproportionate levels of undesirable land uses and lack adequate financial resources to influence land use planning in the absence of regulatory solutions or alternative venues. To address these problems, state and local governments should implement what I call a “regulatory balances” regime, strengthening participatory planning venues and funding the resulting measures. author. Yale Law School, J.D. expected 2007; Dartmouth College, A.B. 2002. I send my heartfelt gratitude to my fiance, Samuel Wiseman, for his constant support and help—from editing to organization to encouragement—throughout this process. Thanks also to my parents for their patience; to Josh Berman for the topic suggestion; to Adam Dressner, Andrea Gelatt, Grace Leslie, and Matthew Splitek for assistance with sources; and to Will Baude, Megan Ceronsky, Nicole Johnson, and other members of the Property, Social Justice, and the Environment Seminar for constructive discussion. Finally, many thanks to David Spohr and Professor Carol Rose, and to Annie Decker and the other editors of The Yale Law Journal, for their invaluable editing and reviewing assistance. JACOBSFORMATTEDFORSC1_01-31-07 5/17/2007 9:35:24 AM searching for balance