[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Wednesday on the ability of localities to deny permission to build cell phone towers. The case of T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell [SCOTUSblog materials] concerned what it means to satisfy the “in writing” requirement of the Telecommunications Act [text]. The court’s holding provides that the denial of an application to build a cell phone tower “shall be in writing and supported by substantial evidence contained in a written record” and requires a reason for the denial to be given in writing. The reasons do not have to be included in the denial letter, but, if they are present in another written record, they must be accessible to the applicant and clearly written.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in this case in November. Certiorari was granted [JURIST report] in May to resolve a circuit split.