The City Council is holding a special meeting this Wednesday, September 1, at 6:30 to take up all the items from last week’s canceled meeting. That meeting was canceled because the City Hall elevator was not working, meaning that our meeting would not be accessible to all of our residents.
We will begin the meeting this Wednesday with a public hearing on the proposed North End Urban Plan zoning amendments. When the Council adopted the NEUP in January, we knew that we would also need to make changes to our zoning in order to make the plan work. The NEUP lays the foundation for the redevelopment of the North End to be done in a way that benefits both residents and businesses. The zoning will make the plan enforceable and implement real change. The Planning Board reviewed the draft zoning and has provided their recommendation for adoption and along with potential amendments meant to make the zoning more consistent with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. When the Council hears the zoning changes, we will also discuss these proposed amendments.
Because the North End Urban Plan and the North End zoning will significantly impact the neighborhood and community, the Newport Health Equity Zone (HEZ) began working with Smart Growth America (SGA) to review the proposed zoning. HEZ and SGA created a Local Advisory Group made up of seventeen North End residents – these are residents who will be directly impacted by the zoning changes and development in the North End. The Local Advisory Group has communicated to the City Council that they believe the neighborhoods and community of the North End would be better protected by enhancing and strengthening some of the proposed zoning. They will be present at Wednesday’s meeting, and the Council must listen to their proposals and adopt the changes that will better protect our Newport. I believe that our duty as public officials is to listen to our residents and address their concerns. I look forward to hearing from our residents and to the discussion on Wednesday.
This week’s City Council meeting will be taking place at City Hall, in the Council Chambers. With COVID-19 cases unfortunately on the rise, masks are again required inside of City Hall. If you need a COVID-19 test or still need to get vaccinated, please go to covid.ri.gov for more information on how to schedule.