SCOTUS to hear takings case of Wisconsin cabin owners
Four siblings who own a vacation cabin by Lake St. Croix in Wisconsin will have their takings case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court agreed to hear the case earlier this month, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The siblings are represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation.
The cabin and lot were purchased by the siblings’ parents in the name of the family business in 1960, according to the cert petition (PDF). The couple bought an adjacent land parcel in their own names in 1963 that, at the time, was sufficient for development. Zoning changes enacted in 1975 barred development on the adjacent parcel because of its size, but a grandfather clause created an exception for parcels that have separate ownership from adjoining land.
Because the siblings own both parcels, the second parcel is not eligible for development under the grandfather clause. The ordinance also prevents the siblings from selling the adjacent lot unless it is combined with the cabin lot.
The siblings claim the adjacent lot is the only relevant parcel for takings purposes, while the government says the combined lots are the relevant parcel.
PLF principal attorney John Groen commented on the case in a press release.
“We’re challenging a practice that is all too common among land use regulators, where they tell a landowner she can’t use her property, based on the excuse that she also happens to own a neighboring parcel,” Groen said. “By accepting this case, the Supreme Court has an opportunity to make it clear that government can’t cut off landowners’ constitutional rights based on how much land they own.”
The case is Murr v. Wisconsin.
