land use & zoning law

Riparian doctrine refers to the doctrine in property law that deals mainly with a body of water bordering a piece of land.

Riparian rights are the rights of a riparian landowner to certain uses of the river or stream adjoining their property. In a 2018 Wisconsin Supreme Court case, Movrich v.

Servient estate is a parcel of land that is subject to an easement and benefits another parcel of land.

Setback means the areas, measured from the property line to any structure, within which building is prohibited, but which may include driveway areas or other similar surface improvements. In other words, it is the distance a building must be from the street as required by zoning laws.

Spot zoning refers to when a piece of property or groups of property have special zoning laws applied to them that differ from the zoning laws surrounding them. The practice of spot zoning can be very controversial and may be illegal. Some types of spot zoning actually can be necessary, such as granting waivers for existing businesses when new zoning laws come into force or when a business might be needed in a residential area.

In a non-legal context, a structure is an artificial construction built over a piece of land, like a shed, a house, or a building.

In a legal context, structure refers to the deliberate organization of legal elements, such as corporate governance or business structure. 

Summary probate is a simplified probate proceeding to administer the distribution of certain estates. Most states have provisions for summary probate proceedings. Generally, estates under a certain dollar amount and without a personal representative will qualify for summary probate.

Take means to gain or obtain possession. Some common uses of the term “take” in a legal sense include: 

The power of the government through the use of eminent domain, to take private property and convert it into public use, is referred to as a taking. The Fifth Amendment provides that the government may only exercise this power if they provide just compensation to the property owners.

A taking occurs when the government seizes private property for public use. It may be a physical taking, where the government occupies or acquires the property, or a regulatory taking, where government restrictions limit property use so severely that it becomes the equivalent of a physical seizure.

• property law
• government
• Fifth Amendment
• constitutional law