Court Blocks Johnston’s Eminent Domain Housing Blockade

Nora Whitman

So picture this you own a thirty one acre parcel of land in Johnston, Rhode Island. You are working with your family, the Santoro family, under SCLS Realty, and you decide to use Rhode Island's state housing law to build a two hundred fifty four unit mixed income housing development. You are bypassing restrictive local zoning, perfectly within your legal rights under state preemption laws. And then, suddenly, in January 2025, the local mayor, Joseph Polisena Jr, passes a sudden resolution to seize your entire property through eminent domain. His excuse? The town supposedly needs that exact plot of land for a public safety municipal complex. Right when the housing paperwork goes in.

Nora Whitman

Well, on July 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge DuBose handed down a massive ruling that completely shattered that maneuver. The federal court ruled that Johnston's sudden attempt to condemn the property was, quote, ultra vires, meaning beyond their legal authority, and void ab initio, or void from the start. Why? Because municipalities are not sovereign entities. They cannot just invent bespoke condemnation procedures outside explicit state statutory authorization. When a town wants to take your land, it must proceed strictly in the manner prescribed by state law.

Nora Whitman

I, uh, I spoke with Kady Valois, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation who represented the landowners. And she pointed out something crucial here. Local municipal charters simply cannot override state constitutional rules. You need clear statutory authority from the state legislature, you need pledged public funding already set aside, and you need strict, enforceable compensation timelines. A local city council cannot just declare a sudden emergency, invent a hypothetical municipal project, and grab private land to stop apartments from being built. Today's episode is brought to you by Jellypod AI, but let us look at why this specific legal mechanics case actually matters way beyond one town in Rhode Island.

Nora Whitman

This federal court decision sets a huge national precedent against what housing advocates call eminent domain NIMBYism. For years, states have been passing legal density mandates to force suburban towns to allow multi family housing. But resistant towns started realizing, wait, if we can't deny the building permit under zoning, what if we just condemn the dirt? What if we seize the land for a park, or a library, or a police station? Judge DuBose's ruling slams the door on using public land domain seizures as a back door veto against state affordable housing rules. You cannot just use condemnation as a loophole when state law overrides your local planning board.

Nora Whitman

Now, let us run through a few quick hits around the country where state pressure is reshaping local development. First, down in New Jersey, the state's Round 4 Mount Laurel affordable housing obligations are triggering massive suburban infill conversions. In Evesham, a four decade old office park is officially getting turned into three hundred twenty five new apartments. And over in East Brunswick, part of the Brunswick Square Mall is being redeveloped to include sixty affordable units. When state quotas hold firm, vast surface parking lots and empty office parks turn into real homes fast.

Nora Whitman

Next up, in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani just released an interactive map highlighting over one hundred city owned public lots. The city is launching annual RFPs on these properties with the explicit goal of unlocking fifty thousand new affordable housing units over the next four years. Utilizing public land for housing removes the land cost entirely, which is often the biggest hurdle in high cost cities.

Nora Whitman

And finally, out on the West Coast, Huntington Beach, California has finally adopted Phase 1 of its 6th Cycle Housing Element. City officials moved to cure their long standing compliance violations to avoid escalating state penalties, which were set to hit fifty thousand to one hundred thousand dollars per month, alongside the real threat of court ordered receivership. It turns out that when state housing preemption actually carries real financial teeth, even the most resistant suburbs eventually have to sign off on density. That is the briefing for today. Thanks for joining me, and I will talk to you next time.