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Residents press Newport council to enforce no‑parking rules on Sergeant Weideman Street
Summary
Two longtime homeowners told the council that repeated illegal parking on Sergeant Weideman Street — property owned by the Newport Housing Authority — is blocking driveways and emergency access and that written notices have failed to stop violators; they asked the city and the Housing Authority for clearer enforcement and written follow‑up.
Jean Peterson told the council she has owned her home on Sergeant Weideman Street for about 12 years and described “ongoing parking issues” that force her to call police and miss appointments while waiting for enforcement. She said the Newport Housing Authority had sent a newsletter reminding homeowners to follow the ground lease but that continued guest parking in posted no‑parking zones persists. “There’s about 30 parking spaces. People could park. And I have a picture of one homeowner parked right under the no‑parking sign,” Peterson said during the public comment period.
Joan McCarthy, a neighbor who said she has lived at Four‑two Sergeant Weideman Street since May 2020, told the council she has recorded illegally parked cars on a doorbell camera and said Newport police dispatch told her parking enforcement was the Housing Authority’s responsibility. “I called the police department one time and mentioned that there had been a car parked there for an hour or two. The person who was dispatched said, ‘we don’t take care of that — that’s Newport Housing’ and they hung up on me,” McCarthy said. She urged the council and the community officer assigned to Newport Housing to coordinate with the Housing Authority, to visit problem properties after hours and to provide written reports of enforcement.
Chair (speaker 3) accepted the residents’ packets and motions to receive the public comment were approved; the materials were directed to the clerk for follow‑up. The council did not adopt a binding enforcement action on the floor, but the exchange made clear residents expect a coordinated response from the Housing Authority, the assigned community officer, and the city’s police department. The speakers asked for written documentation of outreach and for clearer towing or ticketing procedures if violations continue.
The presentation included a letter from the Housing Authority (dated 05/08/2024) summarizing ground‑lease responsibilities such as compliance with noise, registration and vehicle rules. Residents said the information in the letter had not been sufficient to stop repeated violations. The city clerk acknowledged receipt of the documents and the council moved to accept them for the record and to route them to the relevant staff for investigation and next steps.
