Woman bought 94 acres in 1973, then state restricted 10 acres for 20 years
The North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that state land-use restrictions imposed under the former Map Act constituted an unconstitutional taking of property. A lower court must now determine the compensation owed to a landowner whose property development was blocked for two decades.
Why it matters
This ruling sets a legal precedent regarding the limits of state power in restricting private property rights for future infrastructure projects.
A long legal fight over land restrictions tied to a road project in North Carolina has reached a key point. The state Supreme Court has sent a Wake County landowner's compensation case back to trial judges so they can decide how much the property was worth. Elizabeth Mata bought 94 acres of land in 1973. Decades later, state transportation officials set aside a 9.93-acre strip across her property for the planned Interstate 540 outer loop. The restriction limited her ability to build on or sell that part of the property for nearly 20 years. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the restrictions imposed under the state's former Map Act amounted to an indefinite taking of property rights.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in