OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Newport Planning Board Meeting – April 9, 2026

Meeting Portal — Thursday, April 9, 2026
BodyNewport, Rhode Island
SessionMeeting Portal
DateThursday, April 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:03:47

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

It's 6 30.

0:11

I'll call the meeting to order.

0:15

It's Monday, April 6th.

0:17

Very fine day.

0:19

Jared, do you want to call the roll?

0:21

Sure.

0:23

Here.

0:26

Richard Cromwell.

0:28

Here.

0:29

Jared Pimentel here.

0:30

Patricia Antonelli.

0:32

Here.

0:32

Frederick Huntsbury.

0:34

Here.

0:34

John Green.

0:36

Here.

0:36

Home Greavy.

0:38

And no.

0:40

Kevin Michon.

0:43

And Sunny.

0:49

We are good to go.

1:05

Okay.

1:06

So we have a quorum.

1:09

Let's take a look at the approval of minutes.

1:12

We have the February 2 2025 meeting minutes.

1:19

May I have a motion to approve those minutes?

1:24

Moved.

1:26

And we have a second.

1:29

Okay.

1:30

Any discussion about the minutes?

1:32

Any errors?

1:33

Omissions.

1:35

All right.

1:36

All in favor of approving the minutes.

1:39

Any opposed?

1:40

Okay.

1:41

Unanimously passed.

1:43

We have a letter to the planning board from the Middle Town Planning Board Master of Plan.

1:50

Application for a public hearing.

1:53

Staff, do you know something about this?

1:54

Do you want to talk about this a little bit?

1:56

Yeah, so this is uh just um a notification basically for actual project details.

2:03

You are welcome to check out the meeting materials or the Middle Town Planning Board webpage, but the property uh that is the subject of this is located at 30 Valley Road, and the public hearing will be on Wednesday, April 8th at 6 p.m.

2:22

in the Middletown Town Hall.

2:24

So it's um a notification of a master plan application.

2:28

Okay.

2:29

It's a big project, 10,000 square feet.

2:32

Yeah.

2:32

Yeah, I'm just curious why why are they telling it so we see these?

2:38

It's not on the border of Newport, is it?

2:41

No.

2:41

No.

2:42

As a group scene, they generally notify it by the communities.

2:45

Oh, it is their property button.

2:50

I mean West Main.

2:52

The miniature group.

2:54

So it doesn't go by radius, but just being the adjoining thing.

2:58

And where is 30th Valley Road?

3:00

What's it here?

3:02

It's on Valley.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection█████████████████████████████29%
Community Engagement████████████████████20%
Parks and Recreation███████████████15%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%
Procedural██████6%
Zoning and Land Use██████6%
Active Transportation██████6%
Economic Development██████6%
Transportation Safety███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Newport Planning Board Meeting – April 9, 2026

The Newport Planning Board convened on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 6:30 PM. The board approved previous meeting minutes, received a notification from the Middletown Planning Board, rescheduled its May meeting, and heard a comprehensive plan update from staff covering transportation, open space, recreation, and natural hazards/climate change. No public testimony was taken.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes (February 2, 2025): Moved, seconded, and unanimously approved without discussion.

Discussion Items

Notification from Middletown Planning Board

  • The board acknowledged a master plan application notification for 30 Valley Road (a 10,000 sq ft project adjacent to Newport). The public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Middletown Town Hall.

Rescheduling the May Meeting

  • The regular May 4 meeting conflicts with Rhode Island Independence Day (a city holiday). The board unanimously agreed to reschedule to May 11, 2026. Pending items include the comprehensive plan consultant presentation and a unified plan review for the Onshell school adaptive reuse project.

Comprehensive Plan Update Presentation

  • Staff (Becky, Sunny, Frederick, and others) presented a high‑level update. Key points included:
    • Engagement: 317 surveys completed (goal 300‑400); interviews with city staff, leaders, and community partners; collaborative map participation.
    • Transportation: Progress since 2017 includes Pell Bridge approach redesign, RIPTA route additions, Broadway traffic calming, and shareow markings. Recommendations from the League of American Cyclists (bronze status renewed 2025) call for a bike facilities manual, dedicated budget, bike‑focused staff position, and public bike share. The RIPTA park‑and‑ride lot is not yet officially launched.
    • Open Space & Recreation: Over 60 parks, trails, and parkways. The Cliff Walk attracts 1.2 million annual visitors with $200 million economic impact. Gaps exist in playgrounds, community parks, and centers within a 10‑minute walk. Prioritization themes: connected, equitable, resilient, living legacy.
    • Natural Hazards & Climate Change: Sea level is projected to rise 1–1.5 ft by 2050 and up to 7 ft by 2100. Within the 100‑year flood zone: 1,285 properties valued at $7 billion; in the 500‑year zone: $8 billion. The waterfront business district alone holds $875 million at risk. Critical assets in flood zones include the police station, fire station, water treatment plant, and combined sewer overflow facilities. The city has a FEMA‑approved regional hazard mitigation plan. Impervious surfaces cover 35% of Newport (vs. 22% in Middletown, 17% in Portsmouth). Tree canopy is 19% (vs. 18% in Central Falls and higher in other municipalities). Temperature and precipitation projections require integrated risk planning.
    • Resiliency Lens: The update will weave resiliency and water themes throughout all chapters. A separate harbor chapter is under consideration.
    • Next Steps: The advisory committee is expected to be announced by the city council. The consultant will present again in May. The draft comprehensive plan chapters will be submitted to the state for review starting in November.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved unanimously.
  • May meeting rescheduled to May 11, 2026.
  • Comprehensive plan update received and discussed. No formal votes were taken; the board will continue deliberation at future meetings.
  • Liaison reports noted (Tree & Open Space, Waterfront, Energy & Environment, Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee) with no action required.

Meeting Transcript

It's 6 30. I'll call the meeting to order. It's Monday, April 6th. Very fine day. Jared, do you want to call the roll? Sure. Here. Richard Cromwell. Here. Jared Pimentel here. Patricia Antonelli. Here. Frederick Huntsbury. Here. John Green. Here. Home Greavy. And no. Kevin Michon. And Sunny. We are good to go. Okay. So we have a quorum. Let's take a look at the approval of minutes. We have the February 2 2025 meeting minutes. May I have a motion to approve those minutes? Moved. And we have a second. Okay. Any discussion about the minutes? Any errors? Omissions. All right. All in favor of approving the minutes. Any opposed? Okay. Unanimously passed. We have a letter to the planning board from the Middle Town Planning Board Master of Plan. Application for a public hearing. Staff, do you know something about this? Do you want to talk about this a little bit? Yeah, so this is uh just um a notification basically for actual project details. You are welcome to check out the meeting materials or the Middle Town Planning Board webpage, but the property uh that is the subject of this is located at 30 Valley Road, and the public hearing will be on Wednesday, April 8th at 6 p.m. in the Middletown Town Hall. So it's um a notification of a master plan application. Okay. It's a big project, 10,000 square feet. Yeah. Yeah, I'm just curious why why are they telling it so we see these? It's not on the border of Newport, is it?

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