Council refines resident‑sticker parking rules, standardizes proof and adds online mapping

The Newport City Council approved amendments to the city’s resident‑sticker parking ordinance to standardize petitions and make the process clearer for staff and residents.

The changes, developed by an internal staff working group, replace ambiguous references to “resident households” with a definable count of dwelling units, expand acceptable forms of residency verification (including DMV data and military orders), and remove an obsolete notice requirement while retaining notification to property owners that a petition is pending. City staff said the rewrite is intended to reduce administrative burden, remove conflicting language, and improve consistency when verifying petition signatures.

Hugh Moran, the city’s canvassing clerk, told the council staff found conflicting thresholds in the existing ordinance (51% of resident households versus 51% of residents) and recommended using dwelling units because that number is quantifiable and stable for verification. The ordinance also allows staff to accept multiple forms of proof of residency and authorizes a standardized verification workflow handled by the canvassing office to match signatures against city records.

The amendment authorizes the city’s GIS office to publish an interactive map identifying existing residential sticker districts; staff said the map and an online petition form will be available after the ordinance takes effect. Council members praised cross‑department work among the clerk’s office, engineering, assessor, and GIS to produce a clearer process.

Vote: The council voted to approve the ordinance changes (unanimous vote recorded in the meeting).