Can a city deny me a permit just because they want to?

[Joshua Hollandsworth]

I am an investor in Cleveland, OH. When opening a boarding home, the city requires you to attain a permit. Now If your home is in the proper district, and everything is up to code, can the city deny me a permit because they want to? Can the city just say "We don't want a rooming house on this street because it could negatively affect the neighborhood?" Also, we are assuming the property is not with in a 1000 foot proximity of another Residential facility. So the neighborhood would NOT be clustered with these types of homes. If they do deny my permit because they don't want more rentals in the area, what can I do to combat that? Thanks in advance.