PROVIDENCE (AP) – The R.I. Supreme Court has overturned a lower court decision and ruled that the state is required to follow the same rules as private developers and get the same local planning permits for building projects.
The decision issued Wednesday stemmed from local opposition to a plan by the state Department of Environmental Management to build a $7.2 million Natural Resources Center at the 14,000-acre Arcadia Management Area in Richmond and Exeter.
Both towns sued the state to halt the project, saying they had not been notified, the project did not fit with either town’s comprehensive plan and that the state never sought permits.
R.I. Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit said in a statement Wednesday the agency is reviewing the decision.
Richmond Town Council President Richard Nassaney and Exeter Town Council President Cal Ellis both told The Sun of Westerly they welcomed the decision.
The Supreme Court’s decision instructs the Superior Court to send the case to the State Planning Council for a hearing on whether the project complies with the comprehensive plans that existed when each town filed suit.
