Hours after the town of Johnston said Monday that it planned to take a 30-acre plot by eminent domain to build a new municipal complex, the plan was challenged in federal court.
The libertarian-leaning nonprofit the Pacific Legal Foundation says it’s suing the town on behalf of the landowners, who want to build an affordable housing complex on the land. They call the eminent domain plan “a sham taking” in their legal filings and contend that the town is using the need for a new municipal complex as a fig leaf to mask their efforts to stop the apartments.
“This taking was not to build a municipal complex,” attorney Kady Valois said in an interview. “The taking was to actually go ahead and prevent much needed affordable housing in the area because they did not like the use.”
The developers — two LLCs belonging to Lucille Santoro, Salvatore Compagnone, Ralph Santoro, and Suzanne Santoro — have submitted plans to build a 252-unit apartment complex on the land affordable to low and middle-income residents.
Johnston Mayor Joseph Paulisena Jr. says the town is not planning to take the property in bad faith.
“No, it’s about building the complex,” Polisena Jr. said. “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.”
Johnston sorely needs to upgrade its police, fire and town hall facilities, which were built decades ago, Polisena said. While the plaintiffs contend in their filing that “the Town has never held any public discussions or hearings regarding a new municipal campus,” Polisena said he has been working on plans for years.
In Johnston, less than 8% of housing units are considered affordable, according to 2024 figures from HousingWorksRI. But Polisena said the apartment complex isn’t right for Johnston.
“I’ve said this to everyone I’ve spoken to: I want to see more single-family homes built, owner-occupied,” Polisena said. “I don’t think the answer particularly for a community like Johnston, and really a lot of the urban ring communities, is to have these high-density apartments.”
Beyond the housing availability and affordability issues, the plaintiffs represented by Valois and the Pacific Legal Foundation are making Constitutional arguments. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution limit the ability of municipalities to take private property unless it is for “public use,” they claim. If Johnston is really taking the land to stop construction of the apartment complex, it is not for “public use,” the attorneys argue.
“Eminent domain is an awesome power of government and it should be very judiciously used and very seldom used,” Valois said, “because you’re taking someone’s livelihood, you’re taking something that they’ve poured their energy and their life into.”
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio.
