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First, developers cannot argue that there is a taking where only a portion of a person's land <br /> restricts development. In Tahoe-Sierra Pres. Council Inc. v. Tahoe Reg'l Planning Agency, 2002 <br /> U.S. Ll?XIS 3028 (2002) the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that a categorical taking does not <br /> occur if only a portion of land is downzoned. The courts have also uniformly rejected the <br /> proposition that diminution in property value, standing alone, can establish a taking. Penn <br /> Central, 438 U.S. at 131; Keystone Bituminous Coal Association v. DeBenedictis, 480 U.S. at <br /> <br /> 498-99; Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 384, 397 (1926) (75% diminution <br /> in value caused by zoning law); Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 at <br /> footnote 8 (1992) ("It is true that in at least some cases the landowner with 95%a loss will get <br /> nothing, while the landowner with total loss will recover in full."); see also William C. Haas & <br /> Co. v. City & County of San Francisco, 605 F.2d 1117, 1120 (9th Cir. 1979) (value reduced from <br /> $2,000,000 to $100,000); Concrete Pipe and Products, Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension <br /> Trust, 508 U.S. 602, 645 (1993). <br /> Second, placing land in "open" or "conservation" does not leave landowners with no <br /> economically beneficial use of the land and does not prohibit all future uses of the property. <br /> Uses are still allowed by the underlying zone and the precise uses can only be definitively <br /> determined after application for SMA permits etc. For example, Pacific Star's land at Keopuka is <br /> currently using 30 acres of the land for agricultural uses and macadamia nut orchards. Another <br /> <br /> 30 acres could be used for agricultural purposes. None of these uses would be adversely affected <br /> in any way by the proposed redesignation. <br /> <br /> Third, none of the landowners in question have significant investment-backed expectations. <br /> Investments to date have been minor. As the I°Iawai i Supreme Court held in County of Kauai v. <br /> Pacific Standard Life Insurance, 653 P.2d 766 (1982): <br /> "When a property owner has actually proceeded toward development pursuant to <br /> existing zoning, the initial inquiry is whether a developer's actions constituting <br /> irrevocable commitments were reasonably made or were speculative business risks not <br /> rising to the level of vested property right. Thus, the Developers may not establish a <br /> 'taking' simply by showing that they have been denied the ability to exploit a property <br /> interest that they heretofore had believed was available for development." <br /> The I~awai'i Supreme Court long ago emphasized that rights do not vest until the last <br /> discretionary permit such as the SMA permit has been issued. County of Kauai v. Pacific <br /> Standard Life Insurance, 653 P.2d 766 (1982). <br /> Finally, the county's reasons for designating conservation and open areas serve legitimate public <br /> interests. It is beyond question that government may downzone property to protect <br /> environmental interests. The City and County of ;Honolulu did it, for example, at Queens Beach. <br /> The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized government's right to "protect the public interest in <br /> health, the environment and the fiscal integrity of the area." Keystone Bituminous Coal <br /> Association v. DeBenedictis, 480, U.S. 470, 488 (138`7}. In Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal <br /> Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992), the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that government may act in <br /> accord with background principles of property. One of the basic principles of property law, as <br /> articulated by the I-Iawai'i Supreme Court, is the public trust doctrine, which serves to protect the <br /> state's natural resources. As the I~awai i Supreme Court has recognized, "There can be no <br /> <br />