Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. (1926) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that tested the constitutionality of comprehensive municipal zoning. The Ohio suburb of Euclid had divided its land into districts restricting uses and building types, and the landowner Ambler Realty argued this devalued its property and violated due process. By a six-to-three majority the Court upheld the ordinance as a valid exercise of the state's police power to protect public health, safety and welfare. The ruling likened incompatible land uses to a nuisance that municipalities could lawfully prevent.
It gave use-based zoning firm constitutional footing in the United States and removed the main legal threat to its spread. As a result, separation of uses by district became entrenched nationwide for a century, with lasting effects on suburban form and the term Euclidean zoning.
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