Land use cases do not often wind their way to the U.S. Supreme Court. When they do, the decision is bound to have a ripple effect throughout the land.

In 1926, in Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty, 47 S.Ct. 114 (1926), the Supreme Court upheld what is known today as Euclidean zoning–use-based zoning districts regulating residential and nonresidential uses, together with their area and bulk standards. At issue in Village of Euclid was the exercise of the police power—were the land use regulations reasonable? Did they evince a substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals or general welfare?

The right to use and enjoy one's property is not unlimited. When local regulations go too far, as in a local ordinance which is unreasonable, arbitrary or even confiscatory, that municipal exercise may be deemed an unconstitutional regulatory taking.