746
Thomas, J., dissenting
must have the "purpose . . . to protect health and safety by preventing dwelling overcrowding." Ibid.
Of course, the majority does not contend that the language of § 3607(b)(1) precisely describes the category of zoning rules it has labeled "maximum occupancy restrictions." Rather, the majority makes the far more narrow claim that the statutory language "surely encompasses" that category. Ante, at 734. I readily concede this point.6 But the obvious conclusion that § 3607(b)(1) encompasses "maximum occupancy restrictions" tells us nothing about whether the statute also encompasses ECDC § 21.30.010, the zoning rule at issue here. In other words, although the majority's discussion will no doubt provide guidance in future cases, it is completely irrelevant to the question presented in this case.
The majority fares no better in its treatment of "family composition rules," a term employed by the majority to describe yet another invented category of zoning restrictions. Although today's decision seems to hinge on the majority's judgment that ECDC § 21.30.010 is a "classic exampl[e] of a . . . family composition rule," ante, at 735, the majority says virtually nothing about this crucial category. Thus, it briefly alludes to the derivation of "family composition rules" and provides a single example of them.7 Apart from these two references, however, the majority's analysis consists
6 According to the majority, its conclusion that § 3607(b)(1) encompasses all "maximum occupancy restrictions" is "reinforced by" H. R. Rep. No. 100-711, p. 31 (1988). See ante, at 734, n. 8. Since I agree with this narrow conclusion, I need not consider whether the cited Committee Report is either authoritative or persuasive.
7 See ante, at 733 ("To limit land use to single-family residences, a municipality must define the term 'family'; thus family composition rules are an essential component of single-family residential use restrictions"); ante, at 734 ("East Cleveland's ordinance 'select[ed] certain categories of relatives who may live together and declare[d] that others may not'; in particular, East Cleveland's definition of 'family' made 'a crime of a grandmother's choice to live with her grandson' " (quoting Moore v. East Cleveland, 431 U. S. 494, 498-499 (1977) (plurality opinion))).
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