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0 pointsvkou7y ago0 comments

This was a contractual agreement, that Facebook agreed to, in exchange for allowing the office to be built.

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3 comments · 1 top-level

You can't just put any arbitrary restriction in a contract that you feel like, particularly not when the party imposing the restriction has the coercive power of government or quasi-governmental entities on its side.

The classic example of this is the old-school homeowner's association covenant that forbade selling your house to people of a certain race.

vkouOP7y ago

Race is a federally protected class, having an in-office cafeteria is not.

Just because some contracts are illegal does not make this one illegal. It may be over-reach as a bylaw, but almost certainly not as a contract.

Turing_Machine7y ago

Protected classes are just one of many examples. There are many others.

Search for "mortmain" for one that's been around in English common law since the Middle Ages. Then search for "takings clause" for one that's been around since the U.S. Constitution was enacted.

If the government forbids them from starting a cafeteria in a space where that was formerly allowed, that is a "taking". The government may (or may not, depending on the court) be able to do this, but if they do they are required to pay the landowner for the lost value.

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