Planning board continues review of Girl Scouts’ Camp Rocky Farm; requires special‑event review for third‑party rentals

The Newport Planning Board on Monday continued review of a proposal by Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England to renovate Camp Rocky Farm at 160 Carroll Avenue, adopting staff findings but adding a condition that any rental of the property to third parties would require a special‑event license from the City Council.

The board voted to adopt the planning staff report as the board’s findings and to carry the Unified Development Plan review and special‑use permit request to a special meeting on June 16 for more detailed engineering and plan material.

The project, presented by Michael Monti, attorney for the applicant, would renovate an existing lodge and pavilion, replace a deteriorated caretaker cottage with a covered pavilion, add a new “Mariner Cabin” with bunk rooms and a caretaker apartment, upgrade archery facilities and install stormwater management and emergency‑vehicle access. Monti said the site has been owned by the Girl Scouts since 1950 and that the application seeks to formalize a long‑standing charitable institution use, not to create a commercial event venue. “This is intended to expand programming for Girl Scouts and related projects,” Monti said.

Neighbors raised concerns at the public hearing about potential rentals and increased traffic and noise. Rachel Connorton, who said she lives at 140 Carroll Avenue directly adjacent to the camp, told the board she had found a general organizational rental page on the Girl Scouts’ website and worried the renovated site could be marketed for weddings or private events. “My concern is if they expand the camp to house more people…how does that enforce in R‑10A that you can have weddings and reunions and corporate outings under the name of a Girl Scout camp?” she asked.

Dana Borelli Murray, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England, told the board the organization sells rentals on a systemwide webpage that covers multiple properties and said Camp Rocky Farm is not currently used as a wedding venue. “I will say that when you’re saying what we’re serving, we are a membership‑based organization. We do have adult members…so I would not want to restrict our work to only youth,” Borelli Murray said.

Planning staff recommended approval, finding the application meets the Category 2 standards for a charitable institution special‑use permit and the development plan review criteria, including stormwater, parking and emergency access improvements. The technical review committee and staff reported that the proposal will install the first on‑site stormwater treatment for the property and widen the horseshoe driveway for emergency access.

During deliberation the board adopted a condition offered in the hearing that if the property is rented to a third party it will require a special‑event license granted by City Council. The board also asked the applicant and staff to work on more specific condition language and agreed to continue the application to the June 16 special meeting so the applicant can present full engineering plans and additional detail requested by abutters and board members.

The application will return to the planning board on June 16 with revised materials and any recommended conditions drafted by staff and the applicant’s team. If approved after that meeting, final administrative items such as recording any required administrative subdivision and conditions compliance will be completed before issuance of permits.