Ari Bargil is a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice and a co-lead of the Zoning Justice Project, a campaign to protect and promote the freedom to peacefully and productively use property. Ari frequently represents property owners battling aggressive zoning regulations and excessive fines in state and federal court nationwide. Ari’s work has been featured by USA Today, NPR, Fox News, Washington Post, Miami Herald, Dallas Morning News and other national and local publications.
Vince Graham is Geoff’s brother and business partner with the I’On Company, as well as the owner of Loci, a developer in the Charleston, SC area. Vince has also appeared previously on the Yeoman Podcast.
In this episode, Geoff, Vince, and Ari discuss the changing legal landscape of zoning, the history behind key court decisions, issues raised across cases, and more.
You can find Yeoman on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube, and elsewhere.
Links
Kallan Welsh on Tom Wood’s show
Judge David Westenhaver’s opinion on Euclid
Timestamps
0:00 – intro
3:20 – how the legal landscape for zoning has changed
5:18 – wins in GA, Montana
7:24 – usual justifications provided for Euclid
13:28 – Euclid v Ambler history, Supreme Court context
22:12 – an era of technocratic central planning
24:21 – how would the court react if the zoning case was presented today?
31:01 – health and safety impacts of zoning, precedent, changed circumstances in the law
37:53 – other zoning decisions: Nectaw v Cambridge; Beltair v Boris
47:08 – local and state policy making, transportation infrastructure
49:29 – current legislative changes, local and state reforms
54:46 – legal pushback, arguments used, taxi medallion example
1:03:06 – what property rights mean
1:04:43 – rising awareness, connecting the economic environment and housing
1:11:35 – enthusiasm at IJ, Zoning Justice Project
1:15:21 – conclusion and where you can find Ari
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