Planning board approves preliminary plans and special‑use permits for Waites Wharf redevelopment with conditions

The Newport Planning Board granted preliminary development plan approval and approved the required category‑3 special‑use permits for a large mixed‑use redevelopment of Waites Wharf, voting to grant preliminary approvals for both the North and South lots while attaching conditions and requiring final administrative sign‑offs.

The project and votes: The applicant's attorney, Edward (first name not recorded) Jackson, summarized changes made since earlier zoning hearings, saying the "North Building is much smaller. The total room count for the entire project has been reduced to 89." After lengthy testimony from applicant experts and rebuttal testimony from objectors, the board voted to adopt staff reports as findings of fact and approved special‑use permits for hotel (transient guest facilities) and multifamily residential uses on both the North and South lots, and granted preliminary development plan review approvals subject to conditions and final administrative review.

Why it matters: The redevelopment would replace the existing mix of marina, parking and restaurant uses at Waites Wharf with a campus of mixed uses: a hotel component, restaurant and event space, multi‑family housing, a reconstructed harbor wall and harbor walk, a public water‑taxi stop, kayak storage, and stormwater and utility improvements. Supporters said the project will rebuild wharf infrastructure and improve public access to the waterfront; opponents raised concerns about traffic, parking, scale, neighborhood character and the effect of event‑focused uses on a street with tight geometry.

Evidence and experts - Applicant witnesses included surveyor Neil Hingarani (site and wharf engineering), civil/utility engineer Joseph Malo (site utilities and stormwater), architect Harry Wheeler (building design and flood‑zone compliance), environmental scientist Jacob Butterworth (site remediation and DEM coordination), planning and zoning expert Paige Bronk, traffic engineer Lorenzo Donatis, and real‑estate expert James Houle. The applicant also submitted TRC and staff reviews and stated the project would meet zoning and DPR criteria. - Objectors offered testimony and reports from planning and traffic experts. Land‑use expert Doug McClain questioned the project's neighborhood analysis and argued that the immediate vicinity consists of a "small pocket of a predominantly residential properties" and stressed scale and context concerns. Public commenters raised issues of pedestrian safety, event traffic, parking deficits, harbor views and historic character.

Board findings and conditions Staff and the board walked through the specific and objective criteria required by the State Zoning Enabling Act and the city ordinance for category‑3 special‑use permits and the development‑plan review standards. The board adopted the staff reports as findings and approved the requests with conditions that the record either specified or the board added. Key conditions and items the board required include: - Implementation and technical sign‑offs: Final approvals are contingent on recording an administrative subdivision to merge lots and on a final administrative approval by the city's administrative officer after TRC and city engineer sign‑offs. The city engineer and technical review committee (ITC) must review and approve event and parking management plans, traffic and safety mitigation (including festival days), wayfinding signage, and any shared‑street materials at the Waites Wharf/Thames Street entrance. - Parking, loading and access: The board accepted applicant representations that parking and loading meet the ordinance and that a combination of on‑site parking, management measures and event plans will control peak demand. The applicant reported 114 parking spaces on the North Lot and 94 on the South Lot as proposed in the application; the board required an ITC‑approved parking management plan for events and high‑season activity. - Harbor and public access improvements: The board required the harbor walk improvements, a designated water‑taxi stop (with a small shelter/canopy recommended by board members), kayak storage racks, and stormwater treatment measures be secured in easements and maintained for public use. - Gate/access controls and multifamily access: The board required each new multifamily building to have controlled access (key fob gates) for residential entry/egress; the city engineer is to review gate placement and ensure safe circulation without impeding emergency access. - Deliveries, event management and noise: The board asked for a delivery window standard, to be reviewed by ITC, and event‑specific traffic management that prioritizes multimodal safety and accounts for city festival days. The board also referenced existing city noise codes as the enforcement mechanism and asked staff to ensure event‑related noise and hours are addressed in the final conditions.

Public response and board balance The hearing drew extensive public comment for and against the project. Opponents — including residents of Coddington Landing, Lower Thames and adjacent historic neighborhoods — emphasized traffic congestion on narrow one‑way Lower Thames Street, potential for wedding and event traffic to spill into residential streets, and the change in neighborhood scale. Proponents and some nearby property owners said the redevelopment would repair wharf infrastructure, increase public waterfront access and provide year‑round economic activity.

Outcome and next steps - The board approved the North Lot special‑use permits (multifamily and transient guest facility) and preliminary development plan subject to the staff conditions and the additional conditions summarized above; final administrative approval is contingent on the recording of the required administrative subdivision. - The board then approved the South Lot special‑use permits and preliminary development plan with similar conditions and an administrative final‑sign off after required engineering and TRC approvals. - The board recorded additional action items including a demolition permit decision and asked staff to package final conditions and to circulate revised plan sets before administrative sign‑off.

The votes were taken by voice and the chair recorded that the ayes had it for each final motion. The board stipulated that ITC/city engineer sign‑offs will be required for wayfinding, event parking/traffic plans, shared‑street treatments at the Thames/Waites Wharf entrance, and other technical conditions before the administrative officer issues final approvals.

Ending note Board members and staff stressed the project will require continued backend work — engineering, permitting and agreed enforcement language — before final building permits are issued. The board’s approvals were conditional and explicitly tied to the TRC, city engineer and administrative officer reviews required to ensure pedestrian safety, emergency access and stormwater mitigation are implemented.