Beacon Takes Permit Battle to U.S. Supreme Court

Beacon Center of Tennessee, July 2025- This month, we filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to hear a case that could have major implications for communities nationwide. Our clients sought to construct a Head Start preschool for disadvantaged kids in Ohio. Although the site was already zoned for a school, the city denied their permit, claiming the area was unsuitable for a school.

About a year later, a court ordered the city to grant the permit after finding that its denial was arbitrary and unreasonable, but the lease had already fallen through. Federal court refused the plaintiffs’ request for compensation because they had not endured an “extraordinary delay” of many years.

Our petition asks the Supreme Court to make it easier for property owners to sue over delays in the permitting process. Bureaucratic delays are a growing problem nationwide, including in Tennessee.

Read the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari here.

Top Stories