Haas v. City and County of San Francisco

William C. Haas & Co., Inc. (""Haas"") brought this diversity action against the City and County of San Francisco (""City"") claiming that the City's rezoning of its property and the imposition of other land use restrictions so far diminished the value of its property as to constitute a taking for which it is entitled to just compensation protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the City, and Haas appeals. We uphold the district court because we conclude that (1) the land use restrictions imposed by the City upon Haas' property were not unconstitutional as applied to that property, and (2) the impairment of the economic value of the property, although substantial, was not sufficient to give rise to a constitutional claim to just compensation. This controversy has a long history, punctuated by years of litigation before administrative agencies, and federal and state courts. On June 28, 1971, Haas entered a land purchase agreement to buy a large parcel of unimproved land in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. The agreement was conditioned upon Haas' procurement of a valid site permit from the requisite city agency. When Haas first applied to the San Francisco Planning Commission for a site permit, on July 7, 1971, the property was zoned R-5, permitting the high-rise development that Haas proposed. The City Planning Commission denied the permit on the ground that the project would have a detrimental effect on the City as a whole and upon the residents and property of the neighborhood. The Commission also relied upon an ""Urban Design Plan,"" containing general environmental policies for the City developed over several years to be included in the City's Master Plan. Haas appealed to the Board of Permit Appeals on August 13, 1971. Two weeks later, while the appeal was pending, the Commission formally adopted the Urban Design Plan as part of the Master Plan of San Francisco. On August 26, 1971, the Commission adopted interim controls establishing height and bulk restrictions which, among other things, limited the maximum height to 300 feet. Haas withdrew its appeal, and on November 9, 1971, submitted new plans for approval by the Commission. The new plans as amended complied with the 300-foot height restriction as well as the bulk restriction. After a public hearing, the Commission approved the application for the site permit on the revised plans. The neighbors' efforts to stop the high-rise project failed when the Board of Permit Appeals, approving the permit, denied a petition for rehearing on April 10, 1972.