ABSTRACT
Police power is a shorthand term for the legislative or policy-making power that resides in each state to establish laws and ordinances to preserve public order and tranquility and to promote the public health, safety, and morals and other aspects of the general welfare. As a practical matter, the facts needed to prove a vested right or estoppel in a zoning case are identical, and the courts frequently use the terms vested rights and estoppel interchangeably. The term nuisance refers to the use of one's property in a manner that seriously interferes with another's use or enjoyment of his or her property or is injurious to the community at large. The term separation of powers refers to the notion originally expressed by the Supreme Court in the late Nineteenth century that each branch of government must be limited to the powers appropriate to its functions.
