JOHNSTON – Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. is threatening to challenge the constitutionality of Rhode Island’s three-decade old affordable housing law − and recent efforts to turbocharge it − in order to thwart a proposed 252-unit apartment complex off George Waterman Road.

“If you insist on moving forward with the currently proposed project, I will use all the power of government that I have to stop it,” Polisena wrote in a statement after the project’s developer brought it before the town Planning Board Tuesday night.

“If you think you’ll breeze through the newly created Land Use calendar in Superior Court, I will be forced to challenge the constitutionality of the low-to-moderate-income housing law itself to grind this project to a halt while the courts deliberate on the statute’s constitutionality,” he went on.

Background: Here’s the project he is challenging

The developer, Waterman Chenango LLC, is proposing to build the apartment complex using the state’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act, which limits the ability of towns to block affordable housing projects if less than 10% of their residences qualify as affordable.

As it stands 7.9% of Johnston homes qualify as affordable, giving Waterman Chenango the option of applying for a streamlined “comprehensive permit” instead of the typical Johnston planning and permitting process. (If built the project is estimated to take Johnston over the 10% threshold.)

To combat an acute affordable housing shortage, in 2023 the General Assembly changed the Low and Moderate Housing Act to allow developments that are entirely income restricted to include 12 additional units per acre than they would normally be allowed to under local zoning. The change was part of House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s housing affordability package.

In the case of the 31-acre George Waterman Road property, this nets out to 255 units, according to Waterman Chenango.

Growing movement against dense housing projects

While many political leaders across the state and country have adopted pro-development positions in response to soaring home costs, Polisena is among the Rhode Island elected officials to maintain a “single-family only” approach to land use and opposition to residential density.

In neither his Tuesday letter or an interview with The Journal Wednesday, did Polisena lay out a legal case for why the state’s affordable housing law, which has stood since 1991, might be unconstitutional.

“I would like not to do it, but if it is a mean to challenge this project, if it’s our only opportunity to do so, I will do it,” Polisena said Wednesday when asked whether a constitutional challenge was serious or a bargaining move. “And I’m aware that that statute’s inception was 1991, but there have been significant changes over the past couple of years … So just because it hasn’t been challenged doesn’t mean that it’s not ripe to be challenged now.”

Neighbors rally against the project

Neighbors of the would-be apartment complex on Tuesday night railed against the proposal backed up by Planning Board members including Robert Pingitore, who according to WJAR-TV said it would be the “future Chad Brown of Johnston,” referring to a Providence public housing development.

On Wednesday Providence City Councilman Justin Roias called Pingitore’s comments “blatantly racist” and a “cheap shot dripping with prejudice.”

“If he’s so terrified of affordable housing, I invite him to visit Chad Brown and meet its residents − the parents juggling jobs, the kids chasing dreams, the neighbors looking out for each other,” Roias wrote in a statement distributed by the City Council. “Spoiler alert: They’re not the bogeyman he’s conjured up.”

Is the challenge serious?

Asked about Polisena’s legal warnings Wednesday, Shekarchi said he’s aware some people do not like the affordable housing law and are welcome to go after it in court but “to the best of my knowledge it has been good law since 1991.”

Another layer to the housing debate: Johnston’s town planner is Tom Deller, who chairs a House land use study commission that has worked on several of the pro-development bills in Shekarchi’s housing packages.

Preliminary plans for the George Waterman Road development show five rectangular apartment building arranged at the end of a driveway off the street and around a 255-space surface parking lot.

Waterman Chenango was founded by Salvatore Compagnone of Providence, who died early this year. The current applicant on planning documents is Lucille Santoro.

No votes were taken and the developer is expected to return to the board with more detailed plans in the spring.

Going deeper: Why are opponents against the project?

Objections to the George Waterman Road proposal from Johnston residents and officials focus on the familiar concerns of increased traffic, crime and the cost of educating new school-aged residents who live there.

Polisena said he would eagerly support the construction of new owner-occupied, single-family homes at the Waterman Chenango site, but not rental apartments, which he does not consider reflective of the “American Dream.”

Asked how low or middle income Rhode Islanders can afford a newly built zoning compliant single-family home, which might cost $600,000, Polisena said he would also potentially entertain attached condominiums for a lower price point.

Kelley Morris Salvatore, the attorney representing Waterman Chenango had this response to Polisena Wednesday:

“It is disappointing that the town appears to be judging the proposal without having all of the information needed to make an informed decision. My client is proposing a development for much-needed housing in Rhode Island, where state law provides a clear formula for increased density where affordable housing is proposed. We are confident that our formal proposal will meet all of the legal standards required for the development. “