Eastlake v. Forest City Enters., Inc. - 426 U.S. 668, 96 S. Ct. 2358 (1976)

Rule:

The referendum process does not, in itself, violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when applied to a rezoning ordinance.

Facts:

Respondent developer applied for a zoning change. During the process, voters of the city amended the city charter to require that any changes in land use agreed to by the city council had to be approved by a 55 percent vote in a referendum. The developer challenged this charter provision. The state supreme court found that the referendum requirement, lacking standards to guide the decision of the voters, permitted the police power to be exercised in a standardless, hence arbitrary and capricious manner and reversed the charter provision. Petitioner city sought a writ of certiorari. 

Issue:

Was the charter provision invalid? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

On appeal, the Court determined that a referendum could not be characterized as a delegation of power. The Court found that although a congressional delegation of power to a regulatory entity had to be accompanied by discernible standards, this was not the case because there was no delegation of power but rather a power reserved by the people to themselves. The Court held that the referendum process did not, in itself, violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when applied to a rezoning ordinance. The Court found that the rezoning decision had been properly reserved to the people of the city under the state constitution.