Involve Newport’s City Council Preview 

The next Newport City Council meeting will be on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 6:30 pm in the Council Chambers on the 2^nd floor of City Hall. 

Members from Involve Newport’s GUTS initiative will be present and available to help attendees navigate, stay informed, and engage with City Council happenings before, during, and after each meeting.

Any individual wanting to address the Council on a subject that is not on the agenda can sign in to speak for 3 minutes in the Citizens Forum with the City Clerk prior to the start of the meeting.

This week’s City Council meeting is slated to address a number of important issues ranging from supporting state legislation banning assault rifles, street safety, sidewalk cafes, and planning board applications received in 2023; among other topics. 

Here are some items we felt worthy of highlighting:  

Public Hearings –

• Zoning Ordinance – Amending 17.112.030 “Zoning board of review-Composition” regarding Zoning board members and 17.112.040 “Zoning board of review-Powers and duties” to include information on petitions filed prior to and after January 1, 2023. 
• Capital Improvement Program FY2024-2028 – Submittal of the planning document that will be used to assist in forming the annual budget and provides details on various public health and safety projects. 

Resolutions – To Be Voted Upon by Council:

• State of RI H5300 Relating to Criminal Offenses – This resolution will state the City Council is in support of the Assault Weapons Act which “would ban the possession, sale, and transfer of assault weapons”.
• Street Safety – This resolution is in support of improving street safety through policing and enforcement by developing plans that will increase the level of enforcement, use of automated traffic speed enforcement systems, and return of the bicycle based street patrols.  
• Earth Day Celebration – The resolution declares the week of April 22-29, 2023 for the Earth Day 2023 Celebration and Aquidneck Island Earth Week (AIEW). 

Ordinances – To Be Voted Upon by Council:

• Two Tier Tax Classification (Second Reading) – Amending section 4.08.120 to include information on active-duty military members and owner-occupied two unit homes that are not used for rentals. 
• Sidewalk Cafes – Amending Chapter 5.98-TBD to include a new section on Street Cafes that would detail street cafés will only be permitted from the intersections of Gould to Farewell Street on Broadway to follow the standards set forth in this chapter and would require a permit.  
• Planning Board – Amending Chapter 2.68.020 Composition-Officers-Compensation-Meetings that would add a statement that petitions filed after January 1, 2023 would require a vote for approval by the majority of the members that are present at the time for application requests on land and subdivision development.