Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co.

Facts

Appellee challenged the enforcement of a zoning ordinance on the ground that the enforcement would constitute an unconstitutional taking by devaluing his land. Appellee owns sixty-eight acres in the Village of Euclid (Appellant). On November 13, 1922, the Appellant enacted a zoning ordinance, which divided the land in the village into six classes of use districts, three classes of height districts, and four classes of area districts. The uses of Appellee’s first six hundred twenty feet of land do not include apartment houses, hotels, churches, schools or other public or semi-public buildings. The use of the next one hundred thirty feet of Appellee’s land include all the uses excluded in the first six hundred twenty feet, except that the use of the second one hundred thirty feet excludes industries, theatres, banks and shops. The enforcement of the ordinance is left to the inspectors. Meetings of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) are public and minutes are kept. The BZA is give n the power to interpret the ordinance in connection with its general purpose and intent, so that the public health, safety, and general welfare may be secure and substantial justice done. Appellee contests the ordinance on the grounds that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as being a deprivation of liberty and property without due process of law, it denies it the equal protection of the laws, and it violates certain provisions of the Ohio Constitution. The complaint prays for an injunction restraining the enforcement of the zoning ordinance. The lower court held that the ordinance is unconstitutional and void. The Appellants appealed.