Newport Planning Board Regular Meeting – August 4, 2025

The Newport Planning Board met on August 4, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 43 Broadway, Newport, RI. The board took action on several items, including a favorable recommendation to the City Council on a Future Land Use Map amendment, approval of two minor subdivision applications, and continuation of the major development plan for 525 Broadway to the September 8 meeting due to extensive public testimony.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the June 2, 2025 regular meeting minutes and the June 16, 2025 special meeting minutes.

Communications

• Comprehensive Plan Update: Staff announced that an RFQ for the comprehensive plan update (current plan is 2017) was issued, and the consultant Interface was selected. The contract was signed that day, and the update is expected to be completed by the 2027 deadline. The board was invited to participate in the process.
• Online Applications: Staff reported that the city has met the state's October 1, 2025 deadline to accept planning and zoning applications online. The next step is to put historic preservation applications online.

Discussion Items

• Business A – Petition to Amend Future Land Use Map (FLUM) and Associated Ordinance (7 Seaview Ave): Attorney Matt Lees, representing petitioner Erin Flynn, explained that the board had previously held a hearing and voted unanimously to give a favorable recommendation to the City Council. As a technical matter, the public hearing was re-advertised and reopened. No members of the public offered comment. The board then voted to forward the positive recommendation to the City Council.
• Business B – Minor Subdivision, 71 & 75 Tilden Ave (App. 2025-MS-02): Attorney Matt Lees presented the application for a lot line adjustment between two substandard lots to allow each existing single-family home to have its own driveway. The applicant requested dimensional variances for lot size and lot width, and a Category 6 Special Use Permit. After a public hearing with no comments, the board deliberated and found the variances met the required standards. The board approved the variances, special use permit, and minor subdivision, contingent on final plan approval.
• Business C – Minor Subdivision, 96 & 100 Harrison Ave (App. 2025-MS-01): Attorney Tanner Jackson, with co-applicant Patrick Doherty, presented the application to adjust the lot line between two existing lots to transfer a rocky outcropping area from 96 Harrison Ave to 100 Harrison Ave to preserve the historical landscape. The applicant requested a dimensional variance for lot width for 96 Harrison Ave. Several board members expressed concern about the potential for future development on the conveyed land. The applicant agreed to record a deed restriction prohibiting further development on the transferred parcel, with enforceability by the applicant and the abutting property owner at 106 Harrison Ave. The board approved the variance with a condition that the deed restriction be recorded with the final subdivision plan and reviewed by staff. The minor subdivision was also approved.
• Business D – Unified Development Review for Development Plan (525 Broadway, App. 2024-DPR-04): This was the major item of the evening. The applicant, 525 Broadway LLC, proposes to construct two multi-family buildings with 38 one-bedroom workforce housing units on a 0.94-acre parcel (part of which lies in Middletown). The application requests a Category 1 Special Use Permit, dimensional variances for density, parking (41 spaces vs. 76 required), building height (3 feet over limit), lot coverage, and driveway access. The board heard extensive testimony from the applicant's architect (Jeffrey Monas), engineer (Lynn Small), landscape architect (Pamela Rogers), traffic engineer (Todd Brayton), and real estate consultant (James Houle). The applicant's leasing agent from Cranston Calvert, Jessica Cameron, testified to high demand for similar units. Public comment was then taken, with 20+ speakers. Many neighboring residents raised concerns about traffic safety at the intersection of Broadway and One Mile Corner, pedestrian safety, parking overflow into side streets, loss of green space, and the scale of the project not fitting the character of the North Broadway neighborhood. Several speakers supported the project, citing the urgent need for workforce housing. The board, noting the late hour (10:30 p.m.), voted to continue the application to the September 8, 2025 meeting, allowing the applicant to provide rebuttal and the board to deliberate.
• Business E – Minor Subdivision, 173-175 Coggeshall Ave (App. 2024-MS-04): This application was continued to the September 8, 2025 meeting, as requested by the applicant.

Key Outcomes

• FLUM Petition: The board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the FLUM amendment and associated ordinance to the City Council (motion by Kevin Michon, seconded by Frederick Hertzbury).
• Tilden Ave Subdivision: Approved unanimously. The board granted dimensional variances for lot area and lot width, a Category 6 Special Use Permit, and minor subdivision approval.
• Harrison Ave Subdivision: Approved unanimously. The board granted a variance for minimum lot width (96 Harrison Ave) and minor subdivision approval, contingent on the recording of a deed restriction prohibiting further development on the conveyed land.
• 525 Broadway: Continued to the September 8, 2025 meeting. The applicant will have the opportunity to present rebuttal, and the board will deliberate. The TRC will hold a further review meeting in the interim.
• Coggeshall Ave: Continued to September 8, 2025.
• Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 10:36 p.m.