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Council Adopts Updated Housing Chapter to Guide Future Zoning Changes
Summary
On a second reading, council approved an updated housing chapter to the comprehensive plan to set a foundation for future zoning changes aimed at producing and preserving housing; the chapter itself does not immediately change zoning.
By second reading, the council approved an updated housing chapter to the City of Newport comprehensive plan intended to guide future zoning and policy decisions on housing production and preservation.
Director Reynolds and Planning Board Chair Jeff Brooks summarized a months-long effort of workshops, consultant work and data review that produced the chapter. Brooks said the old chapter relied on 2014-era data and was “not reflective of the world we live in currently.” The chapter frames objectives such as creating rentable apartments, preserving existing housing stock, and identifying potential city-owned sites for mixed-use housing. "The chapter itself... is simply the work of months and months between our board, our housing workshop group, and again our consultants to update the chapter of the comp plan," Brooks said.
Councilors debated whether approving the chapter implied an immediate policy or zoning change; staff and several councilors stressed the chapter only sets direction and that specific zoning and ordinance changes will require separate votes. After public comments and debate, council carried the second-reading motion.
