Macdonald, Sommer & Frates v. County of Yolo et al.

Decided June 25, 1986. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-2015 · 477 U.S. 340 (1986) · Cited 565 times

Holding

Absent a final and authoritative determination by the County Planning Commission as to how it will apply the regulations at issue to the property in question, this Court cannot determine whether a "taking" has occurred or whether the county failed to provide "just compensation." Without knowing the nature and extent of permitted development, this Court cannot adjudicate the constitutionality of the regulations that purport to limit it.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City · 473 U.S. 172 (1985)
• Agins v. City of Tiburon · 447 U.S. 255 (1980)
• Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City · 438 U.S. 104 (1978)
• San Diego Gas & Electric Co. v. City of San Diego · 450 U.S. 621 (1981)
• Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon · 260 U.S. 393 (1922)
• Kaiser Aetna v. United States · 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
• Andrus v. Allard · 444 U.S. 51 (1979)
• United States v. Central Eureka Mining Co. · 357 U.S. 155 (1958)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. Chicago · 166 U.S. 226 (1897)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• Goldblatt v. Town of Hempstead · 369 U.S. 590 (1962)
• United States v. Dickinson · 331 U.S. 745 (1947)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Palazzolo v. Rhode Island · 533 U.S. 606 (2001)
• Suitum v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 520 U.S. 725 (1997)
• First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles · 482 U.S. 304 (1987)
• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council · 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
• Murr v. Wisconsin · 582 U.S. 383 (2017)
• Keystone Bituminous Coal Assn. v. DeBenedictis · 480 U.S. 470 (1987)
• Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 535 U.S. 302 (2002)
• City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
• Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel · 524 U.S. 498 (1998)
• San Remo Hotel, L. P. v. City & County of San Francisco · 545 U.S. 323 (2005)
• Pakdel v. City and County of San Francisco · 594 U.S. 474 (2021)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).