Home Rule Goes to Court: Portsmouth Files Suit Against Rhode Island’s Housing Mandates

What happened

On Thursday morning, Sep 24, 2026, the Town of Portsmouth filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in Rhode Island Superior Court against the State of Rhode Island, Gov. Daniel McKee, and Attorney General Peter Neronha, EastBayRI’s Jim McGaw reported. The town argues that housing laws enacted in 2024, 2025, and 2026 unconstitutionally strip municipalities of control over local zoning, planning, and development, centering the challenge on Article XIII home-rule protections and contending that 13 provisions go too far.

Relief sought: declare that certain state requirements improperly interfere with municipal authority, and block enforcement of provisions found to violate home-rule protections. Filing alone does not change the authority of the Planning and Zoning boards to deny pending applications. Co-solicitor Giovanni Cicione told reporters, “The short answer is no,” and “Filing the complaint doesn’t get us there.”

At a Thursday evening press conference outside Town Hall (~40 people), co-solicitors Cicione and Joseph Larisa Jr. (lead counsel) spoke alongside Council VP David Gleason; council members present included Mary McDowell, David Reise, and Sharlene Patton. The council had voted 5-2 on Sep 14 to authorize up to $20,000; Payero and Blank opposed. Cicione said litigation could ultimately cost $100,000+. Hopkinton is the only other town committed money ($4,000). Twelve other municipalities supported a January resolution—Tiverton, Burrillville, Hopkinton, West Greenwich, Bristol, Smithfield, Lincoln, Middletown, Westerly, Charlestown, East Greenwich, and Exeter—but that support is not plaintiff status. Larisa: “No other town has seen the complaint until today.”

Cicione: “If these laws stand… Article 13 … doesn’t mean anything”; “We’ve let the lobster boil…”; “This suit is not about LMI.” Larisa called it “a constitutional case” and said, “Several of these laws do not allow the comprehensive plan to operate.” Context from coverage: the state housing push dates to 2021; the Executive Office of Housing reported nearly 3,800 units permitted statewide in 2025—the highest since the 1980s. Critics question cost and prospects; Payero called the suit “frivolous” and prefers a legislative path; Charles Levesque challenged the solicitors at the presser; a companion EastBayRI piece notes controversy over the Portsmouth Concerned Citizens’ role.

Update (Oct 18, 2026)

Glocester has voted to join the suit. According to Uprise RI’s Oct. 17 recap of the meeting recording, the Glocester Town Council voted Thursday night (Oct. 15) to join “a lawsuit, led by Portsmouth, that challenges the state’s 2025 planning, zoning, and low- and moderate-income housing legislation.” In three voice votes, the council authorized the town solicitor to join, authorized the council president to sign a joint litigation letter agreement, and approved the town’s population-based share of costs, “not to exceed $4,332.15.” Uprise reports that when the cost motion was seconded, one member said the council needs to know where the money comes from, and that “No funding source was stated before the vote, and no one voted against it.”

Other towns. In Charlestown, the Town Council voted 5-0 at its Tuesday (Oct. 13) meeting to have the town planner and planning solicitor review whether the town has legal standing before it commits any money, Uprise RI reported. Per Uprise, an update from attorney Joe Larisa that was relayed to the Charlestown council said Hopkinton was then the only other participant; Tiverton and Glocester had the matter on their agendas; and a private group in Warren was likely to join. Glocester has since voted to join. We have not seen a report of a Tiverton vote.