The Town of Johnston moved to seize a 31‑acre parcel owned by the Santoro family, citing the need for a new police headquarters, fire department and town hall that would sit on the same site.
Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. announced the condemnation in early 2025, filing paperwork with the state court and depositing a $775,000 appraisal, yet never notified the Santoros before the title transfer.
In March 2025, SCLS Realty LLC filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, backed by the Pacific Legal Foundation. The suit claimed the town’s condemnation was unconstitutional and a sham taking designed to skirt the state’s 10‑percent affordable‑housing requirement.
The Rhode Island Attorney General’s office later found the town council had violated the Open Meetings Act by holding a vote on the condemnation without proper public notice. A second council vote in March 2025 reaffirmed the condemnation.
Judge Melissa R. DuBose ruled that Johnston officials had failed to follow the legal procedures required for eminent domain, emphasizing that local governments cannot create their own condemnation systems to avoid state protections. "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 of the Pacific Legal Foundation.
The decision restores ownership of the 31‑acre property to Santoro family’s SCLS Realty LLC, allowing the family to proceed with its 252‑unit housing plan that would provide affordable homes for more than 1,200 residents. The ruling also signals that other Rhode Island towns cannot use land seizures to circumvent the state‑mandated affordable‑housing quota.