William Tauzin: “Mr. Chairman, let me be, perhaps, very clear about what this bill is not about so we do not get confused as we almost…”

“Mr. Chairman, let me be, perhaps, very clear about what this bill is not about so we do not get confused as we almost just did. It is not about zoning laws. Zoning laws under Federal court decisions are not takings. The reason they are not takings is all land owners benefit mutually from zoning laws. The government is not taking away one's value there. It is enhancing the general value of all properties zoned one way or another in that zoning condition. We are not talking about nuisance laws. Nuisance laws are being held by the courts not to be takings. We are talking about the kind of laws in which the general public benefits from, but a single landowner or class of landowners has to sacrifice his property for. Dolan v. The City of Tigard is the best case on record. In that case, the City of Tigard, a local authority, tried to tell a landowner that we will only give you a building permit, which he was entitled to, if you give us some of your land for a green space and a running back. Now, the court, after 10 years of litigation, finally held to that local authority, the Supreme Court rule did not have the right to take that man's and that woman's property in the course of giving them or not giving them a building permit without paying them just compensation. That was a taking.”