The City of Alabaster v. Shelby Land Partners, LLC, and Alabaster Land Company, LLC

Summary

The court held that the trial court improperly invalidated the City’s refusal to rezone a 19.4-acre parcel from a community-business classification to multifamily residential use. Because the existing classification was substantially related to the community’s general welfare and the City’s refusal was at least fairly debatable, the City’s legislative zoning decision was not arbitrary or capricious and was entitled to judicial deference. Justice Murdock, joined by Justice Shaw, concurred specially to explain that the substantial-relationship rule governs the legislative decision, while the fairly-debatable rule governs judicial review of that decision.