The County Planning Commission and the County Council planned a comprehensive rezoning scheme for the development of a large tract of land on the outskirts of town. A large segment of the community was opposed to the plan, and after a suit was filed against the Commission it entered into an agreed judgment to update and review the plan. As part of the agreed judgment the Commission agreed to hold public hearings on the rezoning scheme but imposed a five-minute time limit on each presenter. A group of landowners came to Miller, Griffin & Marks, because they were concerned that the proposed zoning changes would devalue their property and wanted the property rezoned for economic development. MGM defended the landowners’ rights at the hearings. The Council denied the zoning changes and MGM then filed to suit against the Commission and Council to protect the rights of the landowners. MGM argued that the Council had prejudiced their case by refusing to allow them to offer evidence of the need to rezone and violated the due process rights of the landowners by not rezoning the land and essentially making it valueless.
Comprehensive plan/zoning/taking/due process