A federal judge has blocked the Town of Johnston, Rhode Island, from taking control of a 31-acre property planned for affordable housing. The judge ruled that town officials did not have the legal authority to seize the land.
US District Judge Melissa R. DuBose overturned the town's decision to take the property near George Waterman Road. The ruling clears the way for the Santoro family and their development company, SCLS Realty LLC, to continue plans for a 252-unit housing complex. The decision ends a major legal dispute between town officials and property developers over land rights, local zoning rules and state requirements for affordable housing.
Secret condemnation and social media discovery
The dispute began when the Santoro family submitted plans to build a large residential development on their 31-acre property. Under Rhode Island law, developers can avoid certain local zoning restrictions if a town has less than 10 per cent of its housing classified as affordable. Johnston's affordable housing share stood at about 7.9 per cent. To stop the proposed development, the town government, led by Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr.
, moved to take the property through eminent domain. This legal power allows governments to acquire private land for public use under certain conditions. Town officials said the land was needed for a combined municipal complex that would include a new police headquarters, fire department headquarters and town hall. In early 2025, the town filed the condemnation paperwork, deposited an appraisal amount of $775,000 in a state court registry and transferred the property's title to the municipality.
According to legal filings in SCLS Realty, LLC v. Town of Johnston, documented in court records and reported by the Washington Examiner, town officials completed the transfer without notifying the owners beforehand. The Santoro family learned that the property had been seized only after seeing an announcement posted by town officials on social media.
Legal action and constitutional challenge
In March 2025, SCLS Realty LLC filed a federal lawsuit against the town.
The company was represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation and local legal counsel. It argued that the seizure was unconstitutional and amounted to an unlawful taking of private property. According to reports by Rhode Island Current and The Public's Radio, the lawsuit accused the town of creating its own condemnation process, breaking open meeting laws and claiming a public purpose to delay the housing project.
The Pacific Legal Foundation criticised the move as a "sham taking". The organisation argued that town officials had used their eminent domain powers to get around Rhode Island's affordable housing requirements. Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. rejected claims that the town had acted in bad faith. Speaking to local media, he said the planned municipal complex was the main reason for the land acquisition. "No, it's about building the complex," Polisena Jr.
told The Public's Radio. "I mean, that is the number one priority. I don't think there's anything more quintessential to a municipal government than providing public safety." The Rhode Island Attorney General's office later reviewed the town's initial actions and found that the town council had violated the state's Open Meetings Act during its early votes on the land acquisition. The council held another vote in March 2025 to approve the condemnation again.
However, the developers continued with their federal lawsuit, seeking to overturn the seizure altogether.
Court strikes down municipal overreach
In a ruling issued by the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island, Judge Melissa R. DuBose sided with the developers and declared the town's seizure of the property invalid from the beginning. The court found that Johnston officials had failed to follow the legal procedures required to use eminent domain.
Judge DuBose ruled that local governments cannot create their own condemnation systems to avoid the legal protections that apply when private property is taken.
The decision prevents the town from relying on the invalidated process to take control of the land. "This ruling reins in the Town's obvious abuse of power and protects every American whose land a government might decide it wants," said Kady Valois, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, in a statement released after the court's decision.
Impact on local housing mandates
The court's ruling restores ownership of the 31-acre property to SCLS Realty LLC, allowing the Santoro family to move forward with its plans for the 252-unit housing development. The decision could have wider effects across Rhode Island, where several towns have struggled to meet the state's requirement that at least 10 per cent of their housing stock be affordable. Legal experts working on land-use issues say the ruling shows that local councils cannot use land seizures to avoid state-backed housing requirements.
Johnston officials indicated after the ruling that they might consider other legal options concerning the property. However, the federal court's order prevents the town from interfering with the site through the eminent domain proceedings that have been declared invalid. The future of the proposed housing complex will now depend on the next steps taken by the developers and any further lawful action pursued by the town.