[tahiti]

"I'm about as libertarian and pro-property rights as they come, however I do concede that I see some wisdom in zoning laws when it comes to historical neighborhoods."

Amendment V

"nor shall private property be taken for public use without compensation."

If a community wants to "preserve" a historical district, then the community must compensate the private property owners for the cost to preserve the property in the manner in which the community wishes for it to preserved.

Remember the "preservation" is for "public use."

[sauropod]

Precisely.

[tdadams]

Remember the "preservation" is for "public use."

Sorry, but you're playing semantics and you're wrong. Do zoning laws open your house to the public? Are you required to allow strangers to come in and sleep or use the bathroom? No.

Sophistry is not a convincing argument.