4th Circuit - Land Use In a decision that needs to be in every land use lawyer's arsenal, the 4th Circuit rationally explained why the federal courts have no business second guessing land use decisions by local elected leaders absent some clear evidence of constitutional violation. In this case the court reviewed the lower court's dismissal of a claim by developers against a city for denying the developer's plans. Some of the court's analysis ought to be in every local government lawyer's quiver: "As a prefatory matter, we underscore that zoning decisions are presumptively the province of local governments. Land use decisions like these lie at the core of local governments' historic responsibilities in much the same way that state governments regulate domestic relations and the federal government oversees matters of national security. See Gardner v. City of Baltimore Mayor & City Council, 969 F.2d 63, 67 (4th Cir. 1992). "To have the federal courts upending zoning decisions impairs the constitutional architecture in two ways. First, zoning challenges constitute a request for the federal government to intervene in local affairs. Zoning decisions primarily impact the communities to which they apply. Local officials are well equipped to make such decisions because they interact with those most affected and can remain attentive to their changing needs. Their constituents attend the schools, drive the roads, and drink the water that zoning classifications affect. The federal government, on the other hand, waves a distant wand. It cannot inform itself about individual communities well enough to know their needs and is thus comparatively ill-suited to decide matters of zoning." Why do I love the 4th Circuit? The court comes off the bench to shake your hand after each argument AND read that quote above again. Really great work by the City of Chesapeake's legal team. Learn more about local government legal issues affecting your city or county by joining the IMLA CLE programs www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org> - the Kitchen Sink is really the best value for a local government. SAS Associates I vs City Council of Chesapeake Virginia, 221690.P.pdf (uscourts.gov)<https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221690.P.pdf> Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Of Counsel P: (202) 466-5424 x7110 M: (240) 876-6790 D: (202) 742-1016 [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> [logo]<https://imla.org/> 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org/> Plan Ahead! Plan Ahead! See IMLA's upcoming events<https://imla.org/events/>, calls and programming. Check out our On-Demand webinar library<https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/shopping/shopping.aspx?site=imla&webcode=shopping&cart=0&shopsearchCat=Merchandise&productCat=Webinar> with 100+ webinars at your fingertips!