Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas
United States Supreme Court
416 U.S. 1 (1974)
The Dickmans leased their Belle Terre house to six unrelated university students, violating a village zoning ordinance restricting land use to one-family dwellings, defined as persons related by blood, adoption, or marriage, or two unmarried cohabitating people. The Village of Belle Terre (defendant) cited the house for violating the ordinance, and the Dickmans and their tenants (plaintiffs) sued, alleging the ordinance violated their equal protection rights; the district court upheld the ordinance, the Court of Appeals reversed, and the Village appealed to the Supreme Court.
Whether a zoning ordinance prohibiting groups of unrelated persons from sharing quarters is an appropriate use of the government's police power.