With the November 8th General Election fast approaching, I want to remind you of a few key dates again. The deadline to register to vote in is October 9th. If you plan to vote by mail, the deadline to submit your application is Tuesday, October 18th. Early voting will be available from October 19th through November 7th. There are candidate forums for School Committee on September 29th and City Council on October 6th, both at 6:30 pm at Innovate Newport.
This week’s City Council meeting has a relatively light docket. We have the second reading of the entertainment license for Gurney’s, which I talked about in last week’s newsletter. The meeting should be available for live streaming, although virtual participation is still not back in operation. Virtual participation in public meetings has been a game changer and needs to return – I am committed to working with the City to bring this service to our residents again.
The Carpionato Group has recently stated that they will put forward development plans for the Newport Grand property within the next two weeks. The group paused its development when the City declared a moratorium in the North End to allow for the development of the North End Urban Plan and associated zoning. In enacting the North End zoning with amendments and contributions from the Local Advisory Group, Newport became the first City in Rhode Island to enact zoning with an eye toward equitable development. We now have zoning in place that puts our residents first and will guide this development in a way that benefits the North End Community and the City as a whole. The fact that the Carpionato Group is still planning its development shows that resident-first zoning is not harmful to business; it is crucial to building a successful future for Newport.