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Board denies variance for 78–80 Thames Street after neighbors raise parking and enforcement concerns
Summary
The Newport Zoning Board rejected a request to convert 78–80 Thames Street into short‑term guest‑house units with two off‑site parking spaces, voting 4–1 after neighbors testified about long‑running illegal short‑term activity, parking shortages and noise problems.
The Newport Zoning Board on Nov. 18 denied a petition to authorize short‑term guest‑house use at 78–80 Thames Street and to grant two off‑site parking spaces, concluding the application did not meet the board’s standards amid concerns about prior noncompliance and neighborhood impacts.
Applicant counsel Joshua Parks and manager Ally Grist told the board the mixed‑use building would convert a second‑floor three‑bedroom unit and lock out two bedrooms of a four‑bedroom unit for summer guest‑house use, and that the owners signed leases for two off‑site parking spaces to meet parking requirements. Park manager Amanda Feeney described a lockout plan using doors and deadbolts at the base of two internal stairways and said the property maintains a house manual and a local on‑site manager to respond to complaints.
Zoning staff reported a pattern of online advertisements for short‑term rentals tied to municipal court citations; staff said settlements had been reached with fines for prior violations. James Hoole (appearing in the record as Jim Houle) told the board the lot’s small footprint (about 2,536 sq ft) and existing lack of any on‑site parking create a hardship but argued two off‑site spaces would improve current conditions.
Multiple neighbors, including Galit Peton (Peton/Bitton in the record), Lisa Lewis and Pope Alexander, urged denial. Peton told the board the property had advertised short‑term rentals “illegally for years” and that the neighborhood is primarily long‑term residents who lack street parking; Lewis and Alexander cited repeated disturbances and police calls in the area.
Vice Chair Dave Riley moved to grant the petition with conditions requiring a one‑year assigned paid lease for the two off‑site spaces and locked doors for the two rooms during guest‑house use; after extensive deliberation the board rejected the motion in a roll call vote (Nicole Shevry nay; Mark Grimes aye; Wick Rudd nay; Russell Johnson nay; Dave Riley nay), failing 4–1. Several members said they remain concerned about enforcement history and whether proposed parking arrangements were sufficiently documented and dedicated to the property.
