The U. S. Supreme Court handed T-Mobile South, LLC an important tower siting victory that will impact wireless carriers, tower companies and local jurisdictions across the country. In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court found the City of Roswell, Georgia did not meet its statutory obligations when it denied T-Mobile’s tower siting application because it did not provide T-Mobile with a sufficient or timely written explanation for why the application was denied. The Court found that the Communications Act requires localities to state their reasons for denying a tower siting application in writing and with enough clarity to allow judicial review. The Court also found that while the written explanation does not have to be included in the body of a denial letter, it must be provided contemporaneously with the written denial since applicants have only 30 days to seek judicial review of the decision.
