The Constitution of the United States is based primarily on the ideas of the 17th Century English philosopher John Locke. Locke thought that everyone had natural rights, which included life, liberty, and property. Locke stated "the great and chief end, therefore, of men's uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of property" (Locke/ McClaughry 3). He thought that if any of these rights were violated that the violator should make restitution. The Takings Clause in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states "Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." When the government needs a citizen's private property to build roads or buildings, they compensate the person with money roughly equal to the value of that person's land.

The problem of the government taking or restricting a citizen's land arises with regulation of private property. John McClaughry defines regulatory taking "as a governmental confiscation or destruction of economic rights by regulation, without the physical occupation which would trigger just compensation to the owner" (McClaughry 7). The case of Lucas v. South Carolina Coas

The Supreme Court ruled in this case that when all value has been taken from property that the owner must receive compensation for it. The question still stands as to whether the state caused the land to become valueless by restricting the building upon it. Justice Blackmun argued, "...yet the trial court, apparently believing that 'less value' and 'valueless' could be used interchangeably, found the property 'valueless'" (Blackmun 5). He goes on to propose that the land still held value because Lucas could enjoy it in other ways, such as camping, swimming, picnicking, or placing a mobile home on it. The value of the property often lies in the eye of the beholder.

insurance and federal aid money, but possibly lives.

tal Council is an example of regulatory taking.

According to Locke, the government's purpose is to protect and enforce people's natural rights. One of the natural rights, according to Locke, is life. The coastal area of the Isle of Palms that Lucas' lots were on has been plagued with floods. Justice Blackmun stated that the land was "under water" from 1957 until 1963. In addition, between 1981 and 1983, "the Isle of Palms issued twelve emergency orders for sandbagging to protect property" (Blackmun 2). The state of South Carolina saw Lucas' property as unsafe. "Long ago it was recognized that all property in this country is held under the implied obligation that the owner's use of it shall not be injurious to the community, and the Takings Clause did not transform that principle to one that requires compensations whenever the State asserts its power to enforce it" (Keystone Bituminous Coal Ass.491-492). The state's prevention of building on the site in question would not only foreseeably save the beach from erosion,!

In Colorado, a piece of legislation is being proposed that might become a model for other states where property rights are concerned. The Private Property Protection Act would allow "a landowner to seek compensation when a regulation takes away more than fifty percent of the land's value" (McClaughry 4). This act hopes " to establish a standard for the most serious regulatory takings and to afford a method of relief for a landowner whose rights have been taken" accordi

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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)