City of Cuyahoga Falls v. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation

Cuyahoga Falls (defendant) submitted a citizen petition to referendum seeking repeal of a site-plan ordinance approving low-income housing, and refused to issue building permits while the referendum petition was pending. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation and other housing developers (plaintiffs) sued under the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Fair Housing Act, arguing the referendum was racially motivated and that submitting an administrative land-use decision to a referendum was inherently arbitrary. Although a separate state proceeding found the referendum violated the Ohio constitution and it never took effect, the plaintiffs' federal claims proceeded; the district court granted summary judgment for the city, the Sixth Circuit reversed, and the city sought certiorari.