A . What public restrictions can be placed upon the use of land? Explain. b. What private restrictions can be placed upon the use of land? Explain

Answer 1

a . Public restrictions on the use of land occur primarily through the use of zoning. Zoning is based upon the police power of the government. Regulation may be for purposes of public health, safety, morals, or welfare. Absent one of these purposes, the restriction is unconstitutional as being contrary to due process of law. Eminent domain is the power of government to take private property for public use. The owner must be paid the fair market value of the property.
b. Private restrictions upon the use of land arise as a result of restrictive covenants. These are in sense negative covenants in that they impose a limit upon the use of the land. Covenants cannot violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On this basis, private racial restrictive covenants have been invalidated. Restrictive covenants that specify the size or style of construction of buildings on land in a particular subdivision are common and are generally upheld.