Can SR Be Cancelled?

"Takings" Explained

A familiar term in Land Use circles is "takings". Basically, if a land owner is denied the use of their property by private litigation or a public policy, the landowner can claim the use, enjoyment and development of their property has been taken away from them.

This comes up often in Environmental Law. For example if half a property is judged to be wetlands, the landowner may be denied the ability to drain it and fill it in for development. This would potentially "take" half their property and also a loss of value.

On the other hand, some uses may be detrimental to the local community, regional community or even the country. A local example is the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, a Bi-State Compact formed by California and Nevada in 1969 and ratified by Congress. Rampant development in the 1950s-1960s threatened to overrun the natural attributes that make the lake a national treasure. Ironically, the prevention of over-the-top development and degradation has preserved the reasons to visit the lake and not only preserved but raised property values.

While a physical taking, like for an airport expansion requires compensation, regulatory takings are much more variable and nuanced.

How does this affect Sierra Reflections?

At the March 10, 2026 Board of County Commissioners meeting, at least one commissioner expressed worry that the county could be sued. The taking issue is probably why.

During the public comment period, a local property owner gave this commentary:

"Unless the board determines that every required finding is met, then, like the considered decision of the planning commissioners, this board cannot approve a discretionary land use application. Without all those findings, county code does not allow approval. Whatever entitlements the appellant may claim now are irrelevant. Such entitlements, if any, were forfeited when the appellant bungled the 2006 application for so long that extensions were terminated, something that staff glossed over.

Submitting a development proposal, even one with long-standing zoning or extensive technical studies, does not guarantee approval. Findings must still be met. Importantly, a property owner is not entitled to the most intensive or most profitable use of their land. The denial of one proposal does not amount to a taking because this property retains value in other reasonable uses consistent with the county's code and master plan. With respect to the takings argument, the Nevada Supreme Court's one eighty land decision, also known as Bad Lands, dealt with government actions that made development futile.

That decision does not require the board to approve this project when the board cannot make the findings required under county code. If every claimed entitlement was treated as mandatory approval, it would undermine the county's ability to enforce land use standards and protect public health, safety, and welfare. That is not what takings law requires. A regulatory taking happens only when government action removes all economically viable use of the property, as you see on the handout you received.

That is not happening here. The planning commission did not prohibit all development. Your appointees simply found, as you should find, that the applications before the county do not meet the required findings under Washoe County Code. For these reasons, you must deny the appeal and affirm your planning commission's unanimous decision."

The questions that come to my mind are:

If the developer claims they can't make a profit with less than 940 homes, is real estate the only investment where the owner is guaranteed a profit? Did the investors make a bad investment?
If the county is afraid to be sued when a developer allegedly violates the Development Code or Master Plans, why have a planning department at all?

Try to attend the Regional Planning Commission Meeting at 6pm at the County Commissioners Hearing Room on 9th Street on Thursday. Go to this YouTube link for the streaming session for watching at home.

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