Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fajardo,31 the municipal mayor refused Fajardo permission
to build a house on his own land on the ground that the proposed structure
would destroy the view or beauty of the public plaza. The ordinance relied
upon by the mayor prohibited the construction of any building that would
destroy the view of the plaza from the highway. The court ruled that the
municipal ordinance under the guise of police power permanently divest
owners of the beneficial use of their property for the benefit of the public;
hence, considered as a taking under the power of eminent domain that
could not be countenanced without payment of just compensation to the
affected owners. In this case, what the municipality wanted was to impose
an easement on the property in order to preserve the view or beauty of the
public plaza, which was a form of utilization of Fajardo’s property for
public benefit