Central Bank and Trust Company as Trustee Under Land Trust No. 65-Lt-5-475, and Not Individually v. City of Miami Beach, Florida

Property owners attacking the validity of zoning laws have a high wall to surmount. Forty years ago, in the landmark case of Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co., 1926, 272 U.S. 365, 47 S.Ct. 114, 71 L.Ed. 303, the Supreme Court established a test that severely limits the power of federal courts to declare zoning statutes and ordinances unconstitutional :

“If the validity of the legislative classification for zoning purposes be fairly debatable, the legislative judgment must be allowed to control. (Emphasis added).

Here, the plaintiff, as trustee, sought a building permit to construct…