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URI reports Santilli family withdrew from proposed revocable easement at W. Alton Jones campus
Summary
University staff told trustees the Santilli family formally withdrew their intent to sign a revocable easement for an encroaching driveway and storage building after the Department of Environmental Management said wetlands would be affected and requested a memorandum of agreement.
University of Rhode Island staff updated the Finance and Facilities Committee on Feb. 3 about a long‑running encroachment issue at the W. Alton Jones campus.
Abby Benson, vice president, said the university previously negotiated a revocable easement with a neighboring family (Santilli) to allow continued driveway access while reserving URI’s right to revoke the easement if future campus needs required it. When the matter went to the state properties committee, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) reviewed the proposed easement and determined the encroachment impacted wetlands; DEM requested a memorandum of agreement between URI, DEM and the Santilli family outlining restoration responsibilities should the easement be revoked.
Benson said the Santilli family formally withdrew their intent to execute the revocable easement on Oct. 28, 2024; URI acknowledged that withdrawal on Dec. 3, 2024 and has reserved “all rights” concerning the encroachment. Benson told the committee that negotiations had not been friendly and that, while the university currently has no immediate plan to change the access, URI’s counsel has confirmed the university can take future action to protect its property interests if necessary. “In terms of being good neighbors, we’re not going to push it any further at this time,” Benson said.
Ending: The committee received the update as informational; no committee action was requested or taken.
