JOHNSTON – A Providence County Superior Court judge has dismissed the town's eminent domain case amidst efforts
to seize 31 acres of land from the current landowners in a part of an ongoing legal battle.
The matter was dismissed on Monday at the request of both the town and current owners, the Santoro family, court documents show. The family's companies, SCLS Realty LLC and Sixty Three Johnston LLC, were listed as respondents in the dismissal stipulation. However, the property owner's federal lawsuit challenging the land taking is still ongoing.
As a result of the dismissal, Superior Court is now releasing $775,000 in funds held in the court's registry back to the town of Johnston. At Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Jr.'s direction, the town had placed those funds, which was the assessed value of the Santoro family's land, in escrow after briefly gaining ownership of the site following a petition filed on March 12.
Superior Court had previously granted the family's request to temporarily stop the land taking last month and ordered the property to be reverted back to the owners.
That $775,000 will now be held in the town's bank account pending the final outcome of their case in federal court, which just last month granted the Santoro's a 30-day temporary restraining order ensuring they can’t be charged with trespassing on the property.
The town of Johnston had previously attempted to order the Santoros to vacate the premises and threatened the developers with trespassing charges if they return, according to Kady Valois of Pacific Legal Foundation, who is representing the family.
The Santoro family’s federal lawsuit, filed March 10 in U.S. District Court in Providence, claims that the town unlawfully seized the vacant land at 178-200 George Waterman Road without proper notification or following legal procedures.
Online records show that a status conference for the federal case will be scheduled to take place within the next four to six weeks.
The saga initially began on Jan. 28, when the Johnston Town Council voted 5-0 to seize the land from the property owners, which consists of Ralph Santoro, his wife Suzanne, his sister Lucille Santoro, and longtime friend Salvatore Compagnone.
The Santoro's said they were unaware of the land seizure until Polisena announced it on social media on March 14, Valois said.
The family said were planning on using the land for a 252-unit unsubsidized affordable housing project, but Polisena announced
that the town had plans to construct a public safety municipal complex on the site that would include a new fire department headquarters, police station and municipal hall.
“Our police officers and firefighters have endured unsafe and inadequate working conditions for far too long,” Polisena said in a statement in late January, when the Town Council voted in favor of the mayor’s plan to stop the developer’s proposed affordable housing construction.
He said firefighters don’t have a fire alarm system or female bathrooms and showers. It wasn’t clear in January whether the mayor was referring to the fire department headquarters at 1520 Atwood Ave. or one or all of the town’s three other stations. He said firefighters are also dealing with a leaking roof, flooding dispatch room and living quarters that are “dangerously exposed” to toxic fumes.
Meanwhile, the Santoro family claims the land seizure was merely an underhanded way to stop such efforts towards affordable housing in Johnston.
Polisena has previously vocalized issues with bringing such projects to the town, citing resource issues amongst other things.
(Update: adds federal lawsuit still ongoing in 2nd paragraph)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
