Opinion ID: 2355263
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The taking issue.

Text: Apparently relying on both the Maine Constitution and the United States Constitution, the plaintiffs contend that because the Board's interpretation of the Ordinance precludes them from putting their property to a beneficial use, the Board's refusal to grant the administrative appeals or variance applications unconstitutionally deprived the plaintiffs of their property without just compensation. Zoning restrictions can amount to a taking of property even though title and some uses of the property remain with the owner. See LaPointe v. City of Saco, 419 A.2d 1013, 1015 (Me.1980); State v. Johnson, 265 A.2d 711, 715 (Me.1970). However, [n]o taking exists unless the property has been rendered substantially useless. Sibley v. Inhabitants of the Town of Wells, 462 A.2d at 31. The only evidence of value was presented by the plaintiffs' real estate agent. The record contains no evidence of the value of the lots for use as nonresidential property. Although there was no clear evidence of potential nonresidential uses developed below, the plaintiffs did not prove the absence of nonresidential beneficial uses. The burden was on the plaintiffs to prove that the subsequently enacted ordinance and the Board's refusal to grant variances rendered their property substantially useless. See Inhabitants of the Town of Boothbay v. National Advertising Co., 347 A.2d 419, 424-25 (Me.1975); Barnard v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Yarmouth, 313 A.2d at 747. Because the plaintiffs failed to meet this burden, we cannot find that the Board unconstitutionally deprived the plaintiffs of their property. The entry must be: Judgment affirmed. All concurring.