2017 | Fall Issue

Nollan+30

Can the government extort property owners?

This issue celebrates what put Pacific Legal Foundation on the map, the right that is the foundation of every other right—the right to private property.

– Steven D. Anderson, President & CEO, Pacific Legal Foundation

what’s inside

America’s Individualist Constitution

Larry G. Salzman

PLF exist to establish a rule of law under which all Americans may live free in their pursuit of happiness. We fight to preserve and advance the American ideals of individualism and liberty, and our mission has never been more vital. Individualism is the animating moral principle of our Constitution. It is the idea that each person is an end in himself, endowed by nature with rights to think and act according to his own conscience and interests. Government is a servant, on this view, and it is good to the extent that it protects individuals’ rights to life, liberty, and property.

Tearing Down a Roadblock to Liberty

Anastasia Boden

Like many PLF Clients, Arty Vogt simply wanted the opportunity to start a business and compete freely.

Nollan+30: How PLF Is Still Leading the Way for Property Rights

James S. Burling

Government cannot steal. That was the essence of Justice Scalia’s majority opinion in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission. If government demands someone’s property in exchange for a permit, then the taking of the property must reduce a serious harm caused by the permitted development. It’s not enough that the government might want the property for “the public good.” Instead, the taking must directly reverse a harm that would otherwise be caused by the development.

Drawing a Line In the Sand for Private Property Rights

Robert K. Best

In the 1980’S the California Coastal Commission forced landowners to pay a price to obtain a coastal development permit. When permits were approved, they included an exaction requiring the owners to dedicate a portion of their property to the state to provide public access across their land. Even when the development did not interfere in any way with existing public access, the Commission demanded its tribute. You want a permit? Pay up with some of your property.

Defeat Inspires Renewed Effort to Defend Property Rights Nationwide

John M. Groen

When you're in a long-term fight for freedom, you must treat any setbacks as challenges to keep advancing. That is how property rights advocates must respond to a recent defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Forced Farming Mandate Needs to Be Put Out to Pasture

Jeremy Talcott

Lauded for their taste and quality, Willie Bird Turkeys are sold by the tens of thousands each Thanksgiving in grocery stores and Williams-Sonoma catalogs. Willie has spent five and a half decades building his brand by combining traditional, free-range farming with sophisticated monitoring technology, and now he’d like to spend some time relaxing with his grandkids on his beloved Marin County property.

Powerful Lesson In Liberty

Mark Miller

After a rising senior, J.P. Krause, won his senior class presidency election in a landslide, the Vero Beach school administration punished J.P. for a humorous campaign speech he offered the day before the election. They removed him from the presidency and gave him detention.
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