District Intown Properties Limited Partnership v. District of Columbia

District Intown Properties LP (District Intown) (plaintiff) filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against the District of Columbia (City) (defendant) seeking compensation from the City for a government taking after the City denied District Intown’s application to build townhouses on eight recently subdivided lots near the National Zoo. District Intown purchased the lots in 1961, when they were part of a single lot that included an apartment building and adjacent landscaped lawns. The lot remained unchanged until 1988 when District Intown subdivided it into nine lots: eight from the lawns and one encompassing the apartment building. District Intown sought permits to build townhouses on the lawn lots, but a movement was underway to designate the property as a historic landmark. A petition for designation was filed five days before District Intown’s permits were approved. The Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) granted landmark designation later that year and recommended against District Intown’s building permits for being incompatible with the historic designation. The City agreed and denied District Intown’s permits on the grounds that destruction of the lawn on the eight lots was incompatible with their landmark status. District Intown filed suit under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, but the district court granted summary judgment to the City. District Intown appealed.