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Coventry: Johnson’s Pond Meeting Pushed Till Sept. 25

[CREDIT: CRA] An image from a recent Coventry Redevelopment Agency meeting discussing ongoing mapping of the Johnson's Pond property seized from Social Holdings LLC.
[CREDIT: CRA] An image from a recent Coventry Redevelopment Agency meeting discussing ongoing mapping of the Johnson's Pond property seized from Social Holdings LLC.
[CREDIT: CRA] An image from a recent Coventry Redevelopment Agency meeting discussing ongoing mapping of the Johnson’s Pond property seized from Social Holdings LLC.
COVENTRY, RI — The Johnson’s Pond Redevelopment Area and Public Use Determination Community Workshop scheduled for Aug. 21 is rescheduled to Sept. 25, as a legal challenge to the town’s taking of the pond continues.
The  Johnson’s Pond Civic Association announced the change of plans late that Thursday afternoon, attributing the reschedule to a technical challenge attempting to post the agenda from the Town Clerk’s Office.
“The new meeting will be held on September 25th at the Coventry High School (40 Reservoir Road), and we will share a new agenda as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We look forward to seeing you in September. Thank you for your understanding,” the Johnson’s Pond Civic Association posted to their Facebook page, quoting a message from the Town of Coventry Redevelopment Agency.

Johnson’s Pond Redevelopment Follows 2024 Taking by Eminent Domain

Last year, the then-owner of Johnson’s Pond and the dam, Soscia Holdings LLC rebuffed the Town of Coventry’s $1.5 million offer for the 216 acre Johnson’s Pond property, after which the the town seized Johnson’s Pond & Dam, and associated property, 147 acres, by eminent domain, for $157,000, in late June.
Soscia Holdings, LLC, owned in part by Doug Soscia, had purchased the land, including the dam and water rights on the pond,  for $1.7 million in 2020. Johnson’s Pond Association President Marc Lemoi said the property might have been assessed higher at one time, but that was prior to unspecified alterations the owner made to the dam. In April 2024, the DEM ordered Soscia Holdings LLC to keep the water level at the dam to two feet below the top of the spillway, preventing water from ” ejecting through the spillway,” according to the DEM, which had declared the dam unsafe following the alterations.
Soscia Holdings, LLC has since contested the taking in court, arguing:
  1. The amount provided in exchange for the property is under-priced
  2. The Town claimed it was taking the Pond for recreational and public safety, but actually sought to redevelop it for economic purposes.

The lawsuit seeks “just compensation” for the taking, subject to a 150 percent multiplier, as well as damages to compensate them for the taking, including attorney’s fees, expert fees, costs, and interest, punitive damages, and also that the taking be invalidated.

According to the lawsuit, including Exhibit 14,( a transcript of the Town Council’s December 19, 2023, executive session posted erroneously on the town’s website) and state law:

  1. The amount provided in exchange for the property, $157,000, was arrived at by subtracting $3.585 million from the actual value to apply to future repairs and improvements to the dam (reportedly damaged under the ownership of Soscia Holdings, LLC)
  2. According to the Real Estate Institute of Rhode Island, private land takings can be executed for several purposes, including for creating parks, bike paths, or conservation areas and also economic redevelopment.
  3. The Exhibit 14 executive session transcript (see attached document below) shows the Town Council and Coventry officials discussed the possibility of establishing a Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) District assessing abutting pond properties to raise redevelopment funds, possibly raising $10 million that would require $1.5 million annually in debt services. No vote on that suggestion was taken in that executive session.

Coventry Town Solicitor Stephen Angell filed a motion to seal the executive session minutes and remove references to them from the lawsuit on Aug. 11, 2025, to “prohibit Plaintiffs (Soscia Holdings LLC) from using or further disclosing the minutes in this litigation or in any other forum.” Angell argued that the minutes, posted in error, are legally protected from disclosure under state law and are not legally permitted to be used in Soscia Holdings, LLC’s lawsuit. The minutes are also protected under attorney-client privilege, he argues.

Redevelopment Plan Under Construction

“Nothing has been undertaken like this in Rhode Island,” said Harold Larson, CRA chairman, during the agency’s July 30 meeting, “This isn’t like a blighted area, a mill that’s being torn down. This is a giant natural resource that we’re putting together a plan for, to benefit the residents of the town, and we want to make sure that we get it right.”
That includes a comprehensive assessment of the property and abutters’ property, rights of way, and existing public access, to determine what the town is working with and what the town-owned Johnson’s Pond property entails. According to the GZA Environmental consultants hired by the town to perform that assessment, that part of the process is nearly done, and will be discussed during the Sept. 30 public hearing.
Coventry Town Council Vice Chairman JP Verducci deferred questions about the redevelopment plan to CRA leadership. Messages sent to the CRA’s chairman, Harry Larson, and the Vice Chairman, Chris Schuler, asking how the redevelopment plan will be funded, were not returned by deadline for this story.
According to the town’s Johnson’s Pond Redevelopment website, a redevelopment plan is a “strategy for improving a specific area through coordinated actions per Title 45, Chapter 32 of the Rhode Island General Law. Such a Plan is a guiding document, and a legal requirement for the productive development of an area, providing a roadmap of improvement plans and projects.”

In this case, the plan aims to alter the Redevelopment Area around Johnson’s Pond (Flat River Reservoir) to:

  • ​Develop strategies for long-term maintenance/ state of good repair of the Dam 
  • Enhance recreational access for residents and visitors
  • Support infrastructure improvements that enhance recreational use of the Pond 
  • Foster the ecological stability of the reservoir and its surrounding environment 
  • Promote tourism and public enjoyment of natural resources
  • Restore the use and quality of residential waterfront properties

Johnson's-Pond-Taking-Lawsuit-Exhibit-14 Johnson's-Pond-Taking-Lawsuit

Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at editor@warwickpost.com with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

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