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Planners, historians split as Newport planning board forwards Seaview Avenue FLUM petition to staff for public hearing
Summary
A petition to amend the comprehensive plan's future land use map for five parcels on Seaview Avenue prompted competing expert testimony: the applicant's planner said the lots better fit medium-density designations, while an architectural historian and a planning consultant argued the change would threaten the historic district and set a precedent for subdivision. The board voted to forward the amendment and have staff prepare an August public hearing.
The Planning Board heard a contested petition to change the future land use designation of five parcels on the south side of Seaview Avenue from low-density to medium-density. Matt Lees, counsel for the applicant, and Paige Brock, a certified planner, argued the parcels' sizes and development pattern (average lot size cited at roughly 18,818 square feet) align with medium-density districts and that the change would correct an apparent mapping inconsistency.
Opposing the amendment, counsel Joshua Parks presented expert testimony from Ronald Onorado, an architectural historian, and Doug McLean, a planner. Onorado warned that the Seaview corridor is a continuous part of the Ochre Pointe Cliffs National Register district and that inserting higher-density zoning at this edge risks eroding the district's historic character. McLean provided a neighborhood-compatibility analysis arguing the north and south sides of Seaview differ in lot size, age of construction, and pattern; he said the petition appears to be a first step toward a private subdivision and creation of a single-family home at a luxury price point, which he said runs counter to several housing chapter policies encouraging targeted multifamily or duplex development in medium-density areas.
Board members reviewed the statutory goals cited in staff materials (RIGL 45-22.2-3(c) referenced) and discussed the new housing chapter's emphasis on producing middle-income and multifamily housing while protecting architectural character. After deliberation the board voted to forward the proposed future land use amendment to staff and directed staff to prepare the amendment for a public hearing to be noticed at the August meeting. The action is a recommendation to the City Council; final adoption would follow the council's legislative process.
Erin Flynn, an owner and the petitioner, testified she has lived at 7 Seaview Avenue for decades, provided documentation of neighborhood support and said the change would let her "age in place" by enabling a modest subdivision. Objectors noted that even if the National Register does not have direct regulatory teeth, the local historic-district review (HDC) and other city regulations would still govern future construction, and they urged the board to weigh the long-term preservation consequences before recommending an amendment.
