Hey, Why Not? Trump Sues California City for Being "Stymied"

The LA Times is reporting that Donald Trump - facing probable bankruptcy for what seems like the 10th time in the face of the credit crisis and failing global economy - has sued the California city of Rancho Palos Verdes for $100 million. 

His claim?

Trump accused the city of requiring unnecessarily tough standards for developments on his 580-acre oceanside golf course on the scenic coastline.

The city is holding improvements that are “in keeping with the Trump image” hostage to extract large fees from him, Trump alleges in the suit, which accuses city officials of fraud and violation of federal equal protection rights, among other things. When the developer first purchased the property in 2002, residents and city leaders welcomed the injection of funds into a city pulling out of a recession.

But since then, Trump has been engaged in battle after battle with the city, over a street name, a row of ficus trees, then a 70-foot flagpole.

Go get em, Trump.

There have been complaints from all corners about the restrictions placed on California seaside developments.  Pebble Beach comes to mind, particularly because Trump said that this pending golf course would surpass it in terms of beauty and prestige.

As someone who is a public proponent of smart and environmentally responsible development, I think that government has an important role to play in making critical compromises between developers' wishes and environmental stewardship.  Still, there is a point where it gets taken too far by government or by those who simply are unhappy not to get their way.

Not knowing much more about the case than that Trump is unhappy, I couldn't tell you if his situation fits that bill.  Still, we'll all be entertained by a ludicriously overvalued lawsuit.