Kempf v. City of Iowa City

REYNOLDSON, Chief Justice.

The unusual circumstances of this case require us to mark the obscure line that sometimes protects a landowner's right to hold and utilize property against a city’s power to change zoning regulations. Except when it is necessary to distinguish them, we refer to plaintiffs Wayne Kempf, Kenneth L. Albrecht, Governor-Dodge Street Rentals, and Earl Yoder Construction Co. collectively as Kempf.

Kempf purchased a four-acre tract in Iowa City, zoned for office buildings and high density, multi-family residential housing. Relying on a city study concluding such uses should be…