Bell v. City of Elkhorn
Wisconsin Supreme Court
364 N.W.2d 144 (1985)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
The city of Elkhorn (the city) (defendant) had a zoning ordinance that divided the city into districts and provided certain restrictions for the use of property in each district. The ordinance served as the city’s comprehensive plan, controlling the use of property in the city. Hardees C & S Foods, Inc. (Hardees) (defendant) owned land at the southeast corner of an intersection in the city. The property was zoned as a multi-family residential district. The other three corners of the intersection were zoned as commercial-shopping districts. Hardees petitioned the city council to have its property rezoned from residential to commercial. Michael and Susan Bell (plaintiffs) owned land near Hardees’s property and opposed the proposed rezone. Nonetheless, the city council approved Hardees’s petition to rezone. The Bells subsequently brought suit against Hardees and the city, challenging the city’s zoning ordinance and the city’s rezoning of Hardees’s property. The circuit court upheld both the ordinance and the rezoning, and the Bells appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Callow, J.)
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