Temporary moratorium on approvals doesn't violate due process/not a taking

In this opinion, released on September 29, the 4th DCA held that a nine month moratorium placed on approvals of multi-family developments while a review of the comprehensive plan and land development regulations did not violate substantive due process and wasn't a taking.



On the due process end, the court held that there was a substantial nexus between the moratorium and the permissible public purpose of maintaining the status quo, agreeing with the trial court when it determined that "the temporary moratorium was an important land-use planning tool . . . to ensure that the community's problems were not exacerbated during the time it takes to formulate a regulatory scheme."



On the takings issue, the court predictably (but without much analysis) relied on Tahoe-Sierra Pres. Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Council, 535 U.S. 302 (2002) for the proposition that temporary moratoria do not constitute a taking.