Governments aren't supposed to steal your land just because they hate your blueprints. Yet that is precisely what happened in Johnston, Rhode Island, when local officials decided a family's 31-acre parcel was better suited for a municipal complex than 252 much-needed affordable apartments.
If you've followed local land battles, you know the script. A developer proposes high-density housing, local homeowners panic over traffic, and municipal leaders scramble for a roadblock. But Johnston didn't just deny permits or drag its feet. Town officials weaponized eminent domain, slapped a lowball $775,000 appraisal on the property, and transferred the deed behind the owners' backs.
It was a masterclass in bureaucratic overreach. And a federal judge just blew it up.
The Backroom Condemnation Playbook
The Santoro family and their development company, SCLS Realty LLC, wanted to build 252 affordable housing units on their George Waterman Road property. Under Rhode Island state law, towns with less than ten percent affordable housing stock face strict rules that bypass certain local zoning hurdles. Johnston sat at roughly 7.9 percent.
Instead of playing by the rules, Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. and town officials engineered a workaround. They claimed the land was urgently required for a combined police headquarters, fire department building, and town hall.
They filed condemnation paperwork, dropped $775,000 into a court registry, and seized the title. The catch? The Santoros didn't even get a formal heads-up. They found out their land had been confiscated after spotting a celebratory post on social media.
Honest mistake? Hardly. The Rhode Island Attorney General's office later reviewed the early votes and confirmed the town council had shattered the state's Open Meetings Act to push the seizure through in secret.
When Courts Call Out Sham Takings
Property rights advocates didn't wait long to strike back. SCLS Realty LLC filed a federal lawsuit backed by the Pacific Legal Foundation. They argued it was a textbook "sham taking"—an abuse of state power designed strictly to dodge affordable housing mandates under the guise of public safety.
During the legal fallout, Mayor Polisena insisted public safety was the number one priority. But the federal court wasn't buying the deflection.
US District Judge Melissa R. DuBose delivered a blunt ruling that voided the seizure right from the start. The court made it crystal clear: municipalities cannot invent custom condemnation procedures just to bypass state housing laws and strip citizens of private property.
Kady Valois, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, didn't mince words after the verdict, calling it a vital check on a town's obvious abuse of power. The decision hands ownership right back to the Santoros.
What This Means Beyond Johnston
This ruling sends a terrifying message to any municipality thinking about using eminent domain as a zoning veto.
Across Rhode Island, several towns struggle to meet the state-mandated ten percent affordable housing threshold. When local councils try to freeze out developers using municipal takeovers, they are now walking through a legal minefield. Federal judges are watching, and courts will dismantle shady land grabs when local governments operate in bad faith.
If you own land in a growing suburb or rural fringe, pay attention. Eminent domain was designed for roads, bridges, and true public infrastructure—not as a petty tool for mayors who don't want apartment buildings in their backyard.
Stop letting local governments treat private property like a municipal piggy bank. Check your local zoning boards, hold your elected officials accountable, and remember that even small towns answer to federal law.
