Opinion ID: 553906
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Counts One and Six of Complaint

Text: 11 The Board asserts that the plaintiffs' claims are not ripe because the plaintiffs have not proposed alternative zoning so as to reach a final determination of the nature and extent of development that the Board will permit on the plaintiffs' land. In MacDonald, Sommer & Frates v. County of Yolo, 477 U.S. 340, 106 S.Ct. 2561, 91 L.Ed.2d 285 (1986), the Supreme Court stated that [o]ur cases uniformly reflect an insistence on knowing the nature and extent of permitted development before adjudicating the constitutionality of the regulations that purport to limit it. Id. at 349, 106 S.Ct. at 2567. In MacDonald, the Court refused to hear the plaintiff's just compensation claim after its first development plan was rebuffed because the state courts had le[ft] open the possibility that some development [would] be permitted, and ... le[ft] [the Court] in doubt regarding the antecedent question whether appellant's property ha[d] been taken. Id. at 352-53, 106 S.Ct. at 2567-68. Accordingly, the Court held that the plaintiff's just compensation claim would not be ripe until the plaintiff reapplied for a permit to pursue a less ambitious development plan. Id. at 352-53 n. 9, 106 S.Ct. at 2568 n. 9. 12 Counts one and six of the plaintiffs' complaint alleged that the Board deprived the plaintiffs of property without due process of law. These claims are due process takings claims. 11 In order for these claims to be ripe for adjudication, the plaintiffs must obtain a final decision regarding the application of the zoning ordinances to their property, including denial of variance applications. 12 Eide, at 721, 720; MacDonald, 477 U.S. at 352-53, 106 S.Ct. at 2567-68. In the present case, the plaintiffs do not allege that they have sought variances or pursued alternative, less ambitious development plans. Accordingly, the plaintiffs' due process takings claims (counts one and six) are not ripe and should be dismissed.