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2/12/2026 <br />20 <br />PLANNING AND ZONING <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Definition <br />•Land Use Planning is an activity permitted to local governments <br />by the State – MN Stat 462 governs planning and zoning. <br />•Prior to our current zoning process, land use was regulated by <br />nuisance law. <br />•Nuisances are infringements on property rights held by another <br />person. <br />•Property rights include the right to use one’s property for one’s <br />own benefit, and not to be unreasonably interfered <br />INTRODUCTION CONTINUED <br />Definition Continued <br />•Nuisance law is notoriously difficult to manage – expensive, uncertain, inconsistent from place to place. <br />•Public zoning took the place of private nuisance lawsuits in the early 1900s. The theory was that a <br />consistent set of land use expectations could be written and defended, and people could make more <br />predictable investments in real estate, under a public scheme. <br />•Zoning was tested as a "taking" of private property rights by the public government in violation of 5th <br />Amendment requirements for "just compensation". US Supreme Court validated the public interest. <br />•Public land use regulation acknowledges that the public has a stake in how property is developed, since <br />the public will be asked to maintain the infrastructure and public safety to preserve it – the “police <br />powers.” <br />39 <br />40