Rhode Island Current — ‘Do it again, but the right way.’ Judge tosses CRMC decision letting Matunuck restaurateur expand
Perry Raso, founder and owner at Matunuck Oyster Farm, Matunuck Oyster Bar, Matunuck Organic Vegetable Farm and Matunuck Shellfish Hatchery, is shown at the April 12, 2023, groundbreaking for the shellfish hatchery and research center across from his restaurant on Succotash Road in Matunuck. (Photo by Lucas Masiello for Rhode Island Current)
April 1, 2026
By Nancy Lavin — Says coastal regulators violated their own rules when they approved scaled-down scallop farm
The embattled Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council was dealt another blow last week after a Superior Court judge tossed one of its most high-profile and controversial decisions because the panel violated its own procedures.
The 48-page order from Associate Justice Joseph Montalbano reopens the longstanding battle between acclaimed restaurateur and oyster farmer Perry Raso and nearby property owners, remanding the case back to the council for additional public hearings and consideration.
Raso, originally known for the now-closed Matunuck Oyster Bar, sought to expand his shellfish empire with a scallop farm in Potter Pond in South Kingstown. The expansion spawned public outcry by property residents who argued the shellfish beds would interfere with recreational boating, fishing and other activities within the cove. A five-year standoff ended in June 2023, when the coastal agency’s appointed panel approved a scaled-down version of Raso’s original proposal, cutting 40% of the acreage and banning floating cages. The council later signed off on further modifications submitted by Raso that changed the size, layout and position of the submerged scallop nets.
Two sets of property owners took their case to the judiciary, filing two separate lawsuits in Providence County Superior Court in September 2024, later consolidated into a single case. The property owners, through their attorneys, again argued the scallop beds interfered with their ability to enjoy the cove — a point Montalbano rejected in his order.
However, Montalbano, who is on track to become the court’s presiding justice, found credence in the plaintiffs’ arguments over process. Specifically, he said the council flouted its own rules by failing to fully explain the rationale for its decision, which contradicted the recommendation from a smaller subcommittee that gave a preliminary, and more comprehensive, review. The council also violated its procedures by failing to give public notice or opportunity for additional public input in the “substantial” revisions Raso submitted after the final vote.
Montalbano rejected the property owners’ push to require the agency adopt the subcommittee recommendation, which would have rejected the scallop farm altogether. But, he agreed that the changes to the project and the statutory slip-ups required a do-over.
Montalbano’s order mandates the council hold a new public hearing on the revised scallop farm proposal, with a chance for formally recognized opponents to present new evidence.
Attorneys representing the two sets of property owners did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.
An anonymous March 27 post on the Save Potter Pond website, part of the resident opposition campaign, described the court order as a “clear win” for project opponents.
“While we would have preferred that the judge outright forbid the farm, returning the proposal to the CRMC is the next best outcome, certainly better than allowing CRMC’s previous decision to stand,” the post reads. “The CRMC will now be compelled to explain why it ignored its own subcommittee’s recommendation to deny the farm a permit, why it ignored the abundant evidence that the farm would adversely impact other water based activities in the cove, why the Council looked the other way with respect to the many safety issues raised by the farm, and why, finally, the Council ignored its own regulations and administrative procedures in an attempt to jam this project through.”
Raso, who has since launched a new dining venture in South Kingstown, Matunuck Atelier, after a fire permanently closed his original eatery in May 2025, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Laura Dwyer, a spokesperson for the coastal agency, declined to comment.
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