You probably recognized that my letter on the effect of the North End zoning on Bishop’s 4th Street Diner was a continuation of a subject that I have been working on for a long time. Zoning is a tool that the City can employ to regulate and incentivize business; it applies to everything from food trucks to recreational cannabis and from short-term rentals to gas stations. It is a powerful tool that Councilors should understand and use effectively to build and protect our communities. Our actions must be guided by resident participation and reflect the values of our community.
During the Council’s deliberation on the North End zoning, residents, neighborhood groups, and businesses presented an array of proposed amendments. They shared their concerns about the potential for displacement in the neighborhood. The Council voted to forward those proposals to the Planning Board for review, and we are awaiting their response. Councilor McCalla and I have a resolution on this week’s docket directing the Planning Board to prioritize that review and give the Council a report by March 2022. These additional amendments would help to ensure that development in the North End is done in good faith with our community.
This week’s Council meeting will also include a public hearing on zoning related to the sale of cannabis in Newport. There has been movement on the State level towards the legalization of recreational cannabis, and the Planning Department is still working on their report on how legalization could potentially affect Newport. We have had a moratorium in place for some time while the Planning Department works, and we will vote on extending it until May. If the sale of recreational cannabis is legalized, Newport must have proper zoning in place to appropriately regulate where it can happen across the City.
A second public hearing is on Wednesday’s docket concerning a Community Choice Aggregation Plan, a program that would enable Newport residents to source a percentage of their energy from sustainable sources. The Council recently voted to continue the CCA process, and Wednesday’s public hearing is the result. There will be a series of meetings and public hearings to educate the public on what CCA is and how it can benefit Newporters.
We will also be appointing the members of the Charter Review Commission on Wednesday night. The last time a Charter Review Commission was established was in 2014. The appointment process for this Commission this year is that each member of the Council chose an applicant to appoint. It should be a good mix of residents from across Newport with seven total members. As a reminder, the City Charter requires that a Commission be established at least every ten years to review the Charter and recommend any changes to the Council. The Council then votes on whether any recommended changes should go before the public on the ballot.