As the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark zoning ruling arrives, Heartland expert says it’s time to end the regulations that priced out first-time homebuyers and are now used to block data center construction
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (September 8, 2026) — The Heartland Institute’s senior fellow S.T. Karnick is available for interviews about his new commentary marking the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. ruling, which upheld zoning laws as constitutional and opened the door to a century of local micromanagement of private property.
Karnick argues that decades of zoning and land-use regulation are the primary drivers of the housing affordability crisis, pushing the median age of a first-time homebuyer to 40, up from the late 20s in the 1980s, and are now being weaponized by activists and local governments to block new data center development across the country.
Karnick contends property owners have every right to seek compensation for real harm and to raise legitimate concerns about pollution or noise — but says they have no right to veto a neighbor’s use of their own property based on speculation or a desire to protect home values. He calls for revisiting the constitutionality of exclusionary zoning under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause.
Karnick wrote:
“A century of zoning regulations and other land-use restrictions that override people’s property rights is more than enough. Let’s end it now.”
On your program, Karnick can discuss:
• Why 2026 marks 100 years since the Supreme Court’s Euclid decision opened the door to modern zoning — and why that anniversary is a good occasion to reverse it
• How zoning and land-use regulation have driven the median age of a first-time homebuyer to 40, and pushed mortgage payments on a median-priced home to 36 percent of income
• Why data center opposition — which disrupted 75 projects worth $130 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone — is the newest front in the fight over local control of private property
• The difference between a property owner’s right to seek compensation for real harm and a government-granted power to veto a neighbor’s plans based on fear or aesthetics
• Why scholars on the left and right are increasingly arguing that exclusionary zoning violates the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause
Why Book S.T. Karnick?
S.T. Karnick is a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute and author of the Life, Liberty, Property weekly e-newsletter. He is a veteran commentator on law, culture, and public policy who can speak clearly and persuasively about how regulation affects Americans’ ability to own homes and build businesses.
To book Karnick on your program, reply to this email or contact EVP & Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] or call/text 312-731-9364.
The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.
S. T. Karnick is a senior fellow and director of publications for The Heartland Institute.
