Council asks staff to draft ordinance to ban new non-owner-occupied short‑term rentals

The Newport City Council voted to ask city staff and the city solicitor to prepare ordinance language and administrative policies that would ban new non-owner-occupied short‑term rentals (referred to in the ordinance context as guest houses). The resolution, introduced by Councilor Mark Romley, frames short‑term rentals as a contributing factor to the city’s housing shortage and directs administration to return with proposed ordinance text at the council’s next meeting.

Key amendments clarified the resolution’s scope. Councilor Angela Lima and others successfully narrowed the target to non‑owner‑occupied guest houses (short‑term rentals of 29 days or fewer where the operator does not reside on site), so that long‑standing owner‑occupied guest accommodations would not be impacted. The final language also includes a 30‑day reservation period for properties already under contract, purchased, or in the permitting process, to avoid pulling the rug out from projects that have made substantial financial commitments.

Councilors and public commenters framed the resolution as a two‑front strategy: stop further conversions that reduce year‑round rental supply while continuing to pursue housing creation and enforcement of existing rules. Councilor Romley said the city has ‘‘lost probably more than 14%’’ of rental stock to short‑term rentals (his phrasing), a councilor characterized as a personal estimate during debate. Supporters said the measure is intended to curb investor purchases that convert housing into transient lodging and to protect workforce housing for long‑term residents.

Public testimony included both supporters and stakeholders with operational concerns. Heather Lynch, a long‑term landlord who rents only to year‑round tenants, urged that seasonal rentals also be considered in future policy work; Shane Cooper, a local developer renovating older multi‑unit properties in business districts, asked the council to ensure that projects already under contract are not unfairly stranded by new regulation. Councilors and staff noted established zoning protections for nonconforming or vested projects and said the proposed ordinance language will need to be precise to balance legal defensibility and fairness.

Next steps: City administration and the city solicitor’s office will prepare ordinance language and an administrative policy proposal to implement the council direction and return at the next council meeting. The scope is limited to non‑owner‑occupied guest houses, per the adopted amendment.