Nollan v. California Coastal Commission
| Nollan v. California Coastal Commission | |
|---|---|
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| Argued March 30, 1987 Decided June 26, 1987 |
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| Full case name | Nollan et ux. v. California Coastal Commission |
| Citations | 483 U.S. 825 (more)
107 S. Ct. 3141; 97 L. Ed. 2d 677; 55 U.S.L.W. 5145; 26 ERC (BNA) 1073; 17 ELR 20918
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| Prior history | 177 Cal. App. 3d 719 (reversed) |
| Holding | |
| A governmental exaction has to be substantially related to a legitimate government interest and there must be a nexus between the exaction and that interest. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, White, Powell, O'Connor |
| Dissent | Brennan, joined by Marshall |
| Dissent | Blackmun |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by Blackmun |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. V | |
In Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, 483 U.S. 825 (1987), the United States Supreme Court reviewed a regulation under which the California Coastal Commission required that an offer to dedicate a lateral public easement along the Nollans' beachfront lot be recorded on the chain of title to the property as a condition of approval of a permit to demolish an existing bungalow and replace it with a three-bedroom house. The Coastal Commission had asserted that the public-easement condition was imposed to promote the legitimate state interest of diminishing the "blockage of the view of the ocean" caused by construction of the larger house. The Court held that in evaluating such claims, it must be determined whether an "essential nexus" exists between a legitimate state interest and the permit condition.
In a controversial 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that a requirement by the CCC was a taking in violation of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, as incorporated against the states by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Nollans owned beachfront property in Ventura County, and wished to replace a 504-square-foot (46.8 m2) bungalow which had fallen into disrepair with a 2,500-square-foot (230 m2) house. As a condition for permits to do so, the California Coastal Commission required that the Nollans dedicate for 20 years a strip of land along the beach in front of their house to allow the public the right of pass and re-pass along the beach (to be enacted only when a public agency agreed to accept management of the ambulatory lateral-access easement). 43 neighbors had granted such easements without litigation; the Nollans, however, believed that the demand was an unconstitutional taking of their property without just compensation, and filed a petition for writ of administrative mandamus asking the Ventura County Superior Court to invalidate the easement stipulation. The CCC argued that the new house would increase blockage of the ocean view and contribute to a “wall of residential structures” which would prevent the public “psychologically from realizing a stretch of coastline exists nearby that they have every right to visit". The Nollans could offset this burden to the public, the CCC argued, by providing additional access to the beach in the form of a dedicated access easement along the beachfront side of their property. The Superior Court ruled in favor of the Nollans, declaring “the Commission could impose access conditions on development permits for replacement homes only where the proposed development would have an adverse impact on public access to the sea, and this requirement was not met" (Mandelker 124).
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