(1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that:
The right to own and use private property is a fundamental right, essential to thecontinued vitality of a democratic society;
Governmental regulation of conduct, while equally essential to public order and thepreservation of universally held values, must be carried out in a manner that appropriately balances the needs of the public with the rights and legitimate expectations of the individual; and
This part 2 appropriately and necessarily underscores and reinvigorates the federalconstitutional prohibition against taking private property for public use without just compensation and the state constitutional prohibitions against taking or damaging private property for public or private use.
The general assembly further finds and declares that an individual private propertyowner should not be required, under the guise of police power regulation of the use and development of property, to bear burdens for the public good that should more properly be borne by the public at large.
The general assembly intends, through the adoption of section 29-20-203, to codifycertain constitutionally-based standards that have been established and applied by the courts. The fair, consistent, and expeditious adjudication of disputes over land use in state courts in accordance with constitutional standards is a matter of statewide concern.
Source: L. 99: Entire part added, p. 586, § 1, effective July 1.