ANDERSON, G. BARRY, Justice.
This case arises from an airport zoning ordinance enacted in 2002 by appellant Rochester International Airport Joint Zoning Board. The ordinance increased the size of a runway safety zone that extended over property owned by respondents Leon S. and Judith M. DeCook. The ordinance also changed the restrictions within the safety zone to allow fewer land uses on the DeCooks' property and other land within
The DeCooks purchased 240 acres of land north of the Rochester International Airport for $159,600 in 1989. Approximately 19 acres of the land purchased by the DeCooks was subject to land-use regulations defined by Safety Zone A, the most restrictive safety zone established by ordinance in 1982 by the Board.
On September 18, 2002, the Board enacted Ordinance No. 4, the ordinance at issue in this case. Ordinance No. 4 changed the land-use regulations within Safety Zone A so that fewer uses were allowed than previously permitted under Ordinance No. 3. For example, although Ordinance No. 4 continued to prohibit dwellings within Safety Zone A, it also prohibited all "buildings, temporary structures, exposed transmission lines, or other
Most of the DeCook property is outside Safety Zone A. The western 160 acres of the DeCooks' 240-acre parcel is zoned by Olmsted County as "RC," in which recreational and commercial uses are allowed. The eastern 80 acres of the DeCook parcel is zoned by the City of Rochester as "M1," in which commercial and light industrial development is allowed. The M1 zoning underlies all of the property subject to Safety Zone A under Ordinance No. 4. Oak Summit Golf Course stretches across the RC land and part of the M1 land.
The DeCooks commenced this action in 2005. The DeCook complaint alleged that Ordinance No. 4 was "designed to specifically benefit a public or governmental enterprise," caused "a substantial and measurable decline" in the market value of the DeCooks' property, and constituted "a constitutional compensable taking under the principles of McShane v. City of Faribault," 292 N.W.2d 253, 258-59 (Minn. 1980). In McShane, we resolved a regulatory takings claim brought by the owner of land subject to runway safety-zone regulations near the Faribault Municipal Airport. We held that "where land use regulations, such as the airport zoning ordinance here, are designed to benefit a specific public or governmental enterprise, there must be compensation to landowners whose property has suffered a substantial and measurable decline in market value as a result of the regulations." 292 N.W.2d at 258-59.
The district court granted the Board's motion for summary judgment, and the DeCooks appealed. DeCook v. Rochester Int'l Airport Joint Zoning Bd. (DeCook I), No. A06-2170, 2007 WL 2178046, at *1 (Minn.App. July 31, 2007), rev. denied (Minn. Oct. 24, 2007). The court of appeals held that, as in McShane, the DeCooks "must be compensated if their property has suffered a substantial and measurable decline in market value as a result of [Ordinance No. 4]." Id. at *3. The court held that whether a diminution in value occurred, and the extent of any diminution, were questions of fact, while the question of "whether the diminution is substantial" was a question of law. Id. at *4. The court rejected the district court's conclusion that we would reach a different decision in this case than we did when we considered the "strikingly similar" facts of McShane in 1980. Id. at *3. The court also cited a footnote to our decision in Wensmann Realty, Inc. v. City of Eagan, 734 N.W.2d 623 (Minn.2007), in which we said we did not consider McShane to be "`different from or inconsistent with the flexible approach to takings'" adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in cases interpreting the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution. DeCook I, 2007 WL 2178046, at *3 n. 2 (quoting Wensmann, 734 N.W.2d at 641 n. 14). The court of appeals reversed, id. at *1, 5, and we denied review.
On remand, the case went to trial in November 2008. The parties disputed the development potential of the DeCooks' property subject to Safety Zone A given the physical features of the land. The
The district court then decided the diminution found by the jury did not constitute a compensable taking as a matter of law. The court rejected the DeCooks' argument that McShane created a "different and unique test" for takings claims in Minnesota. Rather, the court applied and balanced the factors established by the Supreme Court in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104, 98 S.Ct. 2646, 57 L.Ed.2d 631 (1978): the economic impact of the regulation on the claimant; the extent to which the regulation interfered with distinct investment-backed expectations; and the character of the governmental action. The court relied upon Wensmann in adopting this approach, noting that our footnote discussing McShane stated that "[a]ny unfairly unequal distribution of the regulatory burden may be considered in appropriate cases under the character factor of the Penn Central approach and then balanced along with the other relevant factors." Wensmann, 734 N.W.2d at 641 n. 14. The court found each Penn Central factor weighed against the DeCooks. In its discussion of the economic-impact factor, the court compared the $170,000 diminution with both the $2.77 million value of the land set by the Board's appraiser and with Leon DeCook's testimony that his property had a before-damage value of $4.8 million and held that the economic impact of a decrease in value of either 3.5% or 6.14% (depending on the starting value) was "minimal." In its discussion of the character of the government action, the court cited McShane and concluded the DeCooks had not suffered "a substantial decline" as a result of the ordinance, in part because the ordinance did not affect the "primary use" of the DeCook property. The court concluded that the DeCooks had not met their burden of proving the lost value "was a substantial decrease that is manifestly unfair to require them to sustain," and held that there was no taking as a matter of law.
The DeCooks appealed. In a divided decision, the court of appeals reversed and remanded for judgment in favor of the DeCooks. DeCook v. Rochester Int'l Airport Joint Zoning Bd. (DeCook II), No. A09-969, 2010 WL 1850268, at *5 (Minn. App. May 11, 2010). The majority held that McShane was the law of the case under DeCook I and rejected the Board's argument that, under Wensmann, McShane was "merely . . . instructive in considering the character factor under Penn Central." DeCook II, 2010 WL 1850268, at *4. The majority concluded that the $170,000 diminution resulted from the unequal burden that Safety Zone A placed on the DeCooks' property. Id. at *5. The dissent stated that the majority erred by not measuring the amount of diminution against the overall value of the property before damage and agreed with the district court's decision that the proportional diminution is "`minimal' and `does not significantly interfere with the DeCooks' legitimate property interests.'" Id. at *6 (Johnson, J., dissenting). The Board sought review, which we granted.
The parties in this appeal do not dispute the question of fact resolved by the jury: that Ordinance No. 4 caused a $170,000
The Minnesota Constitution provides that "[p]rivate property shall not be taken, destroyed or damaged for public use without just compensation." Minn. Const. art. I, § 13. The language of the Minnesota Constitution is broader than the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." U.S. Const. amend. V; State by Humphrey v. Strom, 493 N.W.2d 554, 558 (Minn.1992) (describing the Minnesota takings provision as "broader than the language of the federal constitution"). In limited circumstances, government regulation of private property may result in a taking even though the government has not directly appropriated nor physically invaded the property. See Wensmann, 734 N.W.2d at 632 (citing Penn. Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393, 414-15, 43 S.Ct. 158, 67 L.Ed. 322 (1922)). Whether a governmental entity's action constitutes a regulatory taking is a question of law that we review de novo. Wensmann, 734 N.W.2d at 631; Alevizos v. Metro. Airports Comm'n (Alevizos I), 298 Minn. 471, 484, 216 N.W.2d 651, 660-61 (Minn.1974).
When we evaluate whether a government regulation of private property is a taking, our task is to determine whether "`justice and fairness require that the economic injuries caused by public action be compensated by the government.'" Wensmann, 734 N.W.2d at 632 (quoting Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, 533 U.S. 606, 633, 121 S.Ct. 2448, 150 L.Ed.2d 592 (2001)). Our inquiry must be "`highly fact-specific, depending on the particular circumstances underlying each case.'" Id. (quoting Westling v. Cnty. of Mille Lacs, 581 N.W.2d 815, 823 (Minn. 1998)). Our analysis "relies heavily on reasoning by analogy to previous takings cases," Zeman v. City of Minneapolis, 552 N.W.2d 548, 552 n. 3 (Minn. 1996), and we rely upon our cases interpreting and analyzing the Minnesota Constitution when property owners have sought compensation under its provisions.
We have often applied Penn Central to decide a regulatory takings case under the Minnesota Constitution. See, e.g., Wensmann, 734 N.W.2d at 633; Zeman, 552 N.W.2d at 552 & n. 3. Penn Central did not establish any set formula for deciding whether a taking occurred. The Court indicated, however, that the inquiry should include the economic impact of the regulation on the claimant, the extent to which the regulation interferes with distinct investment-backed expectations, and the character of the government action. Penn Cent., 438 U.S. at 124, 98 S.Ct. 2646. But Penn Central is not the only test. For
Here, the DeCooks ask us to interpret and apply the Minnesota Constitution differently than the U.S. Constitution. In doing so, we are necessarily guided by our earlier, and seminal, airport zoning decision, McShane. In the end, we conclude McShane controls the result here.
The McShanes initiated an inverse-condemnation action against the City of Faribault, Rice County, and the Faribault-Rice County Joint Airport Zoning Board after the Board enacted an ordinance that applied a Safety Zone A and a Safety Zone B to land that the McShanes owned near the Faribault Municipal Airport. McShane, 292 N.W.2d at 255. The ordinance prohibited above-ground structures in Safety Zone A and "[i]t [was] undisputed that commercial development [in Zone A] would be out of the question." Id. Less-restrictive regulations applied within Safety Zone B, which covered an approach area farther from the runway than Safety Zone A. Id. at 256. The parties' experts disagreed on the extent to which the ordinance decreased the value of the McShanes' property but agreed the diminution was "substantial."
In McShane, we drew a distinction between zoning regulations such as those that implement comprehensive land-use plans, under which "a reciprocal benefit and burden accru[es] to all landowners from the planned and orderly development of land use," and zoning regulations enacted "for the sole benefit of a governmental enterprise," such as the Faribault airport. Id. at 257-58. We referred to the former as "arbitration" regulations and gave as an example regulations that implement a comprehensive land-use plan. Id. at 258. For the latter—which we called "enterprise" regulations—we held that "where land use regulations, such as the airport zoning ordinance here, are designed to benefit a specific public or governmental enterprise, there must be compensation to landowners whose property has suffered a substantial and measurable decline in market value as a result of the regulations." Id. at 258-59.
Alevizos I, 298 Minn. at 486-87, 216 N.W.2d at 662, cited in part in McShane, 292 N.W.2d at 259.
We see no reason to abandon the rule we announced in McShane, and therefore we hold that McShane provides the appropriate analysis to determine whether the enactment of an airport ordinance restricting land use within runway safety zones amounts to a regulatory taking under the Minnesota Constitution. When an airport ordinance regulates land use within runway safety zones, "there must be compensation to landowners whose property has suffered a substantial and measurable decline in market value as a result of the regulations." McShane, 292 N.W.2d at 258-59. Whether a diminution in value has occurred, and the extent of diminution, are questions of fact and, in this case, were resolved by the jury in favor of the landowner. Whether the diminution is substantial is a question of law, and we turn to that legal issue next.
The task of determining "whether a taking has occurred is highly fact-specific, depending on the particular circumstances underlying each case." Wensmann, 734 N.W.2d at 632 (quotation omitted). As previously discussed, under McShane a landowner must be compensated if his or her property sustains a substantial and measurable decline in market value as a result of the application of an airport safety zone ordinance to the property. In McShane, the parties agreed the loss of value was substantial. 292 N.W.2d at 256. The parties here do not so agree. The DeCooks contend that the $170,000 decline in market value is substantial, citing "common sense" and a definition of "substantial" as "[o]f real worth and importance; of considerable value; valuable." See Black's Law Dictionary 1428 (6th ed.1990). The Board contends the lost value is not substantial given that, depending on property valuations adopted in evaluating the loss, the DeCooks have suffered a loss of either 6.4% or 3.5% of the total value of the property and such a deprivation is essentially de minimis.
As the Board notes, McShane specifically warned that not "every landowner who is in some way limited or inconvenienced by [airport zoning] regulation is entitled to compensation." 292 N.W.2d at 259. It may well be that, in some other regulatory takings dispute, arithmetic calculations such as those urged by the Board will be persuasive.
But here, evaluating the facts and circumstances underlying this case, we conclude the $170,000 diminution in the value of the DeCook property caused by Ordinance No. 4 is substantial. Not only is there merit to the argument advanced by the DeCooks—that by any definition $170,000 in damages is substantial—it is also worth noting that the damages awarded by the jury exceeded the purchase price paid by the DeCooks for the entire 240-acre parcel less than 15 years before enactment of Ordinance No. 4, which caused the diminution in value suffered by the DeCooks.
We affirm the court of appeals and remand to the district court to enter judgment in favor of the DeCooks.
Affirmed and remanded.
STRAS, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
The State standards include three land use safety zones for the area surrounding an airport. See Minn. R. 8800.2400 (2009). Safety Zone A is the most restrictive zone and is currently defined to apply to a fan-shaped area extending from the end of a runway for a distance equal to two-thirds of the length of the runway. Id., subps. 5, 6(B). In Zone A, the State standards prohibit buildings and allow only uses such as agriculture, certain outdoor recreation, and automobile parking. Id., subp. 6(B). Safety Zone B, the next most restrictive zone, extends from the end of Safety Zone A for a distance equal to one-third of the length of the runway. Id., subps. 5, 6(C). Buildings are allowed in Safety Zone B, subject to restrictions on density, plot size, and height. Id. subp. 6(C). Safety Zone C, the least restrictive zone in the current standards, surrounds an airport and includes general restrictions on uses that may interfere with communications and other flight operations. Id., subps. 5, 6(A), (D).
Penn Central dealt with New York City's denial of a request from the owners of Grand Central Terminal to build a 55-story office tower over the landmark building. See Penn Cent., 438 U.S. at 117-18, 98 S.Ct. 2646. The Supreme Court distinguished between that case and United States v. Causby, "in which government, acting in an enterprise capacity, has appropriated part of [private] property for some strictly governmental purpose." Penn Cent., 438 U.S. at 135, 98 S.Ct. 2646 (emphasis added) (citing United States v. Causby, 328 U.S. 256, 66 S.Ct. 1062, 90 L.Ed. 1206 (1946)). The appropriation in Causby was of the airspace above a chicken farm by low-flying bombers and other military aircraft landing on a nearby runway. Causby, 328 U.S. at 258-59, 66 S.Ct. 1062. The taking was the destruction of the ability to use the land as a chicken farm, even though other uses remained:
Id. at 262, 66 S.Ct. 1062. In Penn Central, the Supreme Court put cases such as Causby in a different analytical category:
Penn Cent., 438 U.S. at 135, 98 S.Ct. 2646.
Outside the context of airport safety zoning, we have not often—nor recently—drawn a distinction between arbitration and enterprise regulations. Cf. Spaeth v. City of Plymouth, 344 N.W.2d 815, 821 (Minn.1984) (holding that McShane does not apply when the government has physically appropriated property); City of Mankato v. Hilgers, 313 N.W.2d 610, 613 (Minn. 1981) (holding that McShane does not apply when the government commenced condemnation proceedings to acquire land within a runway Zone A rather than enact land-use regulations); Pratt v. State, Dept. of Natural Res., 309 N.W.2d 767, 774 (Minn. 1981) (finding that State prohibition on mechanical harvesting of wild rice had both enterprise and arbitration functions and stating that in McShane, "the governmental enterprise function of a regulation was not just predominant but exclusive. Whether a regulation effects a taking is rarely so simple an issue."). In Wensmann, a case that did not deal with airport zoning, we noted in dicta that the enterprise-arbitration distinction may be considered by a court when it assesses the character of the government action as a factor to be balanced in a Penn Central analysis— along with the economic impact of the regulation and the extent of any interference with distinct, investment-backed expectations. 734 N.W.2d at 633, 641 n. 14.