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Newport residents expressed fears at a public hearing on Nov. 5 that the proposed North End Urban Plan will lead to unaffordable housing and will drive them out of the city.

Several dozen people, either speaking on Zoom or in signed letters, cited fears of displacement during a three-hour Newport Planning Board session.

This plan scares me, said resident Jennifer Jackson. It worries me that we are going in a direction that doesnt benefit the community.

Lauren DeSantis who has lived on Halsey Street for 33 years, talked about disturbing trends of violence from too much foot traffic, and begged the City Council and Planning Board to create a different cut-through street.

Resident Natalie Harris said, We want the best for our neighborhood. We dont want to be displaced.

The Planning Board is preparing a set of amendments for the North End plan, including addressing affordable housing, that will be finalized at a third and final public hearing on Nov. 18.

The North End Urban Plan is an innovative zoning initiative that has been studied for at least two years with the goal of creating a Newport Gateway, with state-of-the-art development, open space, better roads, and many planned amenities spurred by developer interest in nearly 50 acres of land, including the former Newport Grand Casino and acreage opened up by the Pell Bridge ramp realignment, among other undeveloped parcels.

After Nov. 18, the Planning Board will forward its recommendations to the City Council, with the hope that any recommended zoning changes can take place in the citys Comprehensive Plan before they are officially adopted in an urban plan.

Colin Scarff, founding partner of Code Studio, a national firm hired by consultants NBBJ, opened the meeting by providing a site plan that split the area into a village district and a non-village district.

When a developer comes in to redevelop these sites, they have to think about providing new blocks and new streets as part of their site plans, which is unlikely to happen in the non-village districts [due their smaller sizes generally], he said.

This includes the 23 acres of the former Newport Grand Casino property and, possibly, parcels among the estimated 25 acres that will be developed after the Pell Bridge ramp realignment.

The former Navy Hospital site may also be part of this equation. In this design, Scarff said, a large block cannot be more than 1,600 feet on the perimeter and a maximum length of 600 feet, with core streets provided every 1,000 feet.

The real distinction here between these districts is some of its form building height and width and the kind of uses that are allowed, he said.

Emphasis was placed on driveways and pedestrian walkways. We really need to be aware of how vehicles access these sites to make them as pedestrian-friendly as possible, said Scarff. Getting people out of cars and on bicycles with the kind of infrastructure [in place], maybe it makes sense to make sure there are bike racks there.

He also pointed out open space that must be part of any planned development, with tree islands and open landscaping.

Planning Board Chair Kim Salerno addressed form-based zoning codes used nationally that Newport may adopt in this mixed-use industrial/business/residential zone.

There are certain street types, and some really focus on pedestrian activity, continuity and transparency, so that you can encourage retail and other kinds of commerce, she said. And those kinds of uses may be discouraged by the shape of streets that are, say, state roads that are designed for traffic.

Patricia Reynolds, Planning and Economic Development director, said, The city is very old and our zoning is based more on a modern version of zoning, something thats basically developed for a suburban community. As a result, most of the parcels throughout the city are non-conforming, which makes any type of change to a building difficult.

Most changes involve a trip to the Zoning Board of Review, she said.

In the future, a form-based code, also called a character code because it supports the character of the area, would be applicable to other areas that are made non-conforming by inappropriate zoning. Such areas are historic districts or along Ocean Drive that have a defined character, and would do better with a code that better suits their specific needs and their current patterns of development, according to Salerno.

Planning Board member Steve Berlucchi asked about drive-through services, charging stations for hybrid or electric cars, traffic access from the bridge ramps, and other issues that were not addressed by the general zoning site plan.

When I see your rendition of what the new main roads are going to look like, they look like New York City, he said. They dont look like Newport. Sorry to say, but from what I see, your adaptations are not pleasing to me.

Alan Mountjoy of NBBJ said the additional bike lanes give the design a wider, big city feel. People are sick of the traffic. If they dont have a decent alternative, they will have to get into their cars, and we want to give them options, he said.

Salerno joined Berlucchi in this concern, asking why the streets would be so wide. She was told that the plan is to accommodate as much vehicular traffic as possible along with bikes.

The North End Urban Plan supports the citys Comprehensive Plan, said City Planner Peter Friedrichs, which addresses the housing loss. Limiting short-term rentals is another city goal, along with adding more housing units and more workforce housing.

The Planning Board received four emails with 23 written questions from members of the community. They asked NBBJ to provide more of a road map or action plan for potential growth, a possible public safety facility, better open space and affordable housing, to name just a few.

One resident asked about contamination left behind at the former Newport Grand Casino site and Pell Bridge ramp realignment. Friedrichs said that the city received a $250,000 grant from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management in 2019 to address contamination.

Other questions centered on developers contributing to a community benefits agreement or fund to better the North End, and asked about job opportunities. The so-called Blue Economy (oceans) and Green Economy (environmental) were mentioned often as to the businesses and job opportunities ideally created in the proposed Innovative Zone.

The Greater Newport Chamber [of Commerce] states the Blue Economy is identified as the greatest opportunity to create new quality jobs, Reynolds said. It already employs over 36,000 people statewide, with an impact of over $5.6 billion for the state.

Christian Belden, executive director of Church Community Housing Corp., sent in a letter stating the plan is not equitable, would drive out existing residents, and does not represent the communitys full voice.

I dont think the problem is so much with what the plan proposes, with as much as it is what the plan doesnt propose, he said in the public forum. They are expressing their concerns about being forced out of Newport.

Many of these concerns are being addressed with the plan, Friedrichs said.

Reynolds then read four amendments that will be added. The first, on equity, addresses concerns about creating community benefits. The second deals with the importance of the North End Urban Plan and its relation to economic development. The third centers on traffic issues on Admiral Kalbfus Road. The fourth amendment discusses the establishment of a design review body for our projects within the North End.

Its important to understand that this is a road map for development, Salerno said, but development will all have to undergo a review process.

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North End Residents Fear Being Driven Out - Newport This Week