A fundamental precept of American law is the authority of the government, in the exercise of the police power for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public, to regulate the conduct of individuals in the use and management of their property. In judicial review of legislative decisions, this is embodied in the familiar rule that a regulation will be upheld if rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest or purpose. In the specific area of land use regulation, a governmental decision will be upheld unless “clearly unreasonable, having no substantial relationship to the public health, safety, morals or general welfare.” Thus, “as a general matter, so long as a land use restriction or regulation bears a reasonable relationship to the public welfare, the restriction or regulation is constitutionally permissible.”
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