The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution explicitly protects private property owners' economic interests. Explain how this amendment affects owners of private property

Answer 1

Answers may vary, but students should mention that it has been an important battleground over the years as courts have had to define "public use," "just compensation," and, especially in recent environmental cases, the concept of a "taking.". Early cases typically dealt with the confiscation of private land—as in the highway example above. By the early twentieth century, many of the conflicts involved local zoning laws that prevented owners from enjoying economically optimal use of their property. In a 1926 case, land that had been zoned for industrial development was restricted by a new zoning ordinance to residential use, reducing its value to the owner by 75 percent. Yet the Supreme Court found that this did not amount to a taking, and the city did not have to compensate the owner for it. The Court viewed the rezoning as an exercise of the police power--the power of state and local governments to make laws for public health, safety, and welfare. Commercial use of land might, in shifting circumstances under that police power, wear out its welcome and become a nuisance.