§ 29-20-201 — Legislative declaration

(1) The general assembly hereby finds,
determines, and declares that:

(a) The right to own and use private property is a fundamental right,
essential to the continued vitality of a democratic society;

(b) Governmental regulation of conduct, while equally essential to public
order and the preservation of universally held values, must be carried out in a
manner that appropriately balances the needs of the public with the rights and
legitimate expectations of the individual; and

(c) This part 2 appropriately and necessarily underscores and reinvigorates
the federal constitutional prohibition against taking private property for public use
without just compensation and the state constitutional prohibitions against taking
or damaging private property for public or private use.

(2) The general assembly further finds and declares that an individual private
property owner should not be required, under the guise of police power regulation
of the use and development of property, to bear burdens for the public good that
should more properly be borne by the public at large.

(3) The general assembly intends, through the adoption of section 29-20-203, to codify certain constitutionally-based standards that have been established
and applied by the courts. The fair, consistent, and expeditious adjudication of
disputes over land use in state courts in accordance with constitutional standards is
a matter of statewide concern.

Legislative History

Source: L. 99: Entire part added, p. 586, � 1, effective July 1.