You can fight city hall.

A long time ago, I read an article on wealth that proclaimed "it's not the wealth you own that matters.... it's the wealth you control".

For years, that cliche has stuck in my mind. But the longer, I live the more I see it play out.

One need look no further than Mike Brown, the owner of the Bengals. He doesn't "own" any stadiums or riverfront property but he has total control over a half billion dollars in property on the Cincinnati riverfront. What a sweet deal; total control and none of the responsibility.

It works that way for cities as well. Why buy property you don't want developed or want developed a certain way when you can simply put zoning restrictions on the property that makes it worthless.

Well, Half Moon Bay CA thought they could limit development on a property by declaring it a "wetland", thus making it worthless. The developer, who paid one million dollars for the property, sued the city.

The result....

Half Moon Bay is wrestling with unpleasant options for responding to a court ruling that officials say threatens the "very existence of our city government" - a $36.8 million judgment against the city for turning a proposed housing development site into wetlands.

More....