Zoning board approves Spring Street guest house parking variance with off-site lease, annual checks

The Newport Zoning Board of Review on Oct. 27 approved a parking variance for A1 Roofing and Construction LLC to operate a five-bedroom guest house at 134——136 Spring Street, provided the applicant secures and documents four off-site parking spaces and meets several reporting and advertising conditions.

The board granted the variance after hearing that the property's configuration makes additional on-site parking physically impossible and that the applicant had arranged a conditional lease for four spaces at 130 Bellevue Avenue. "Submitted, in connection with this application is a letter from WRP Enterprises LTD indicating their willingness to lease 4 spaces at 130 Bellevue to my client," attorney David Marlin told the board. Zoning staff said the lease had been uploaded to the portal but not yet reviewed before the meeting.

Vice Chair Dave Riley moved the approval with four specific conditions: leased parking must be within a half-mile of the guest house; advertising and lease documents must state the number of spaces available and direct renters to park off-site rather than in the neighborhood; the zoning officer must confirm that the leased spaces are excess parking beyond what the host property requires; and the applicant must provide the lease annually as part of the guest-house license renewal. "Advertising and lease agreements must indicate the number of parking spaces available and that the renters would be directed to park there and not in the neighborhood," Riley read into the record.

Applicant Sean Napolitano said the guest house use is likely to be less parking-intensive than the previous long-term rental pattern of college students and year-round tenants. "We're very discreet in who we rent to. We're looking for a family non-partying client," Napolitano said. Real-estate witness James Houle told the board the site's lot size, building footprint and surrounding commercial zoning limited feasible on-site parking and that off-site leased parking within walking distance is a reasonable mitigation.

The board discussed whether the leased spaces must be physically marked at the off-site lot. Some members said dedicated marked stalls risk keeping otherwise useful public parking permanently idle; the final motion left flexibility so long as a lease guarantees availability within the half-mile radius and the zoning officer confirms excess capacity.

Neighbor Ed Shay, who had filed a conditional objection raising limited parking concerns, told the board he no longer opposed the project after learning of the proposed lease at 130 Bellevue. "If that that's fine with me," Shay said on the record.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the variance with the stated conditions. The motion requires that the project be substantially started and completed within 12 months or by any approved extension, and that outstanding public-noticing invoices be paid prior to recording the decision.