Roberts: Zoning Board “Is Not the Star Chamber”

January 14th, 2015

The Chief Justice’s dissent in  T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell had this gem for land-use and legal history wonks:

This concern might have force if towns routinely made these decisions in secret, closed-door proceedings, or if applicants were unsophisticated actors. But the local zoning board or town council is not the Star Chamber, and a telecommunications company is no babe in the legal woods.