Diamond B-Y Ranches v. Tooele County
Utah Court of Appeals
2004 UT App 135, 91 P.3d 841
All property is subject to reasonable zoning regulation by a local government. While property may be regulated to a certain extent, if regulation goes too far, it will be recognized as a taking.
If a regulation’s interference with an owner’s use of property is too great a “virtual taking” may have occurred. The character of the governmental action, the economic impact of the regulation, and the extent to which the action interferes with distinct investment-backed expectation are among the factors considered when determining if a virtual taking has occurred.
The purpose of the Takings Clause is to prevent the government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by public as a whole.
In order to pursue a claim for a taking, a property owner must have a valid property interest based on a legitimate claim to a property right. A unilateral expectation of a future property use or development is not a valid property right.
