The Portsmouth Town Council is filing suit against the state of Rhode Island over recent housing legislation, arguing the laws intrude on the town’s constitutional home rule authority over zoning, planning and land use.
Council members and lead counsel Joseph S. Larisa Jr. will discuss the case at a press conference Thursday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 2200 East Main Road.
The suit challenges provisions of housing laws passed over the past several years on constitutional and statutory grounds, according to a notice from the town.
Portsmouth laid the groundwork in January, when the council unanimously adopted a resolution asserting municipal authority over land use and calling on other Rhode Island communities to work together in reviewing and responding to the 2025 affordable housing laws. That resolution also backed coordinated efforts to seek judicial review to clarify where state authority ends and municipal authority begins.
Other municipalities have since raised similar concerns about the laws’ effect on local planning and zoning, the town said, though the notice does not say whether any have joined the litigation.
