Local property law: Adjusting the scale of property protection

This Article proposes that issues surrounding the protection of Private property should be resolved at the local level, and that local governments should be allowed to select the property protection that they want to offer. Specifically, this Article proposes state legislation to create a mechanism for local precommitments around the most contested takings and land use issues. The resulting local variation in property regimes would allow consumers-homeowners, developers, and any other property owners-to select the property protection they want by choosing where to live and invest. Implicit in this proposal is the idea that property protection can be viewed as a tool for attracting investment. Given the opportunity, local governments should offer property protection when the costs of that protection-in the form of increased compensation and decreased flexibility-are less than the benefits from increased investment.