Law Commons^™

Challenging Exclusionary Zoning: Contrasting Recent Federal And State Court Approaches, James C. Quinn

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The zoning power, though based on the police power of the states, has traditionally been granted to local communities through various state enabling statutes. These enabling statutes permit local enactment of zoning ordinances only to the extent that they bear a substantial relation to the "health, safety, morals, or general welfare" of the community. With the migration of middle-class city dwellers to thc suburbs after World War II, zoning has become more than a means of maintaining the proper mix of land-use patterns in a community. Rather, in fear of overly rapid development and irreversible alteration of their community character, …