483 U.S. 825 (1987)
Nollan v. California Coastal Commission is a pivotal U.S.
Does the imposition of a public access easement condition on a building permit constitute a taking under the Fifth Amendment when there is no clear nexus between the condition and the public purpose behind the building restriction?
For a condition imposed on a land-use permit to be constitutional under the Takings Clause, there must be an 'essential nexus' between the legitimate state interest and the permit condition.
The Supreme Court held that the condition imposed by the California Coastal Commission was a taking under the Fifth Amendment, as there was no essential nexus between the condition of allowing public access and the legitimate interest of preserving visual access to the ocean from the roadway.
Nollan v. California Coastal Commission is significant for establishing the 'essential nexus' requirement, which has become a foundational principle in land-use law. This case underscored the importance of ensuring that government-imposed conditions on property development are closely connected to legitimate public goals. For law students, Nollan serves as a critical precedent when analyzing the constitutionality of governmental conditions on land use and property rights under the Takings Clause. It laid the groundwork for further jurisprudence on the limits of governmental power in conditioning land-use permits.