Newport is considering a local historic district overlay along Monmouth Street.
The Newport Historic Preservation Commission held a town hall on July 29 to gather input from property owners in the affected area. The proposed overlay would cover Monmouth Street from Third Street to 11th Street, along with several adjacent properties that contribute to the district, including Southgate House Revival.
A local historic district overlay protects old buildings, saves neighborhood style and manages exterior changes. No vote was taken at Wednesday’s meeting.
“The thing to take away is that there is not a huge difference in what we’re going to be suggesting now versus what folks have already been doing along Monmouth,” said Newport Historic Preservation Officer Jennifer Williams.
The overlay would not require owners to undo previous renovations or replace existing materials. Instead, the review process would only apply when a property owner voluntarily seeks to make future exterior changes after the district is designated. They would then have to apply for a certificate of appropriateness to make those changes.
Williams said the proposed Monmouth Street Historic Preservation Overlay is intended to better protect the corridor’s historic character while creating a clearer, more flexible review process for future renovations and development.
The city is proposing to adopt the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which Williams said would provide guidance for preserving historic buildings while still allowing property owners to modernize and invest in their properties.
“The guidelines that we’ve been applying are a bit outdated,” Williams said. “We want to ensure that we are regulating historic materials in a way that respects the materials, respects historic character, but allows for our property owners to be flexible in maintaining their properties and their businesses, especially when it comes to things like new construction.”
Under the proposal, review would primarily focus on the front, or “primary,” facades of historic buildings, along with highly visible character-defining features such as historic ghost signs painted on building sides. Williams said the goal is to preserve the streetscape that gives Monmouth Street its historic identity without unnecessarily regulating areas that are not visible from the street.
Corner buildings would have two primary facades because they face two streets.
Windows are one example city staff frequently cited during the discussion. Williams said many original wood windows from the late 1800s and early 1900s can last for generations if properly maintained, making them both historically valuable and environmentally sustainable.
“To have Monmouth Street as an overlay makes it safe from someone coming in and just taking down historic buildings,” said Newport Historic Preservation Commissioner Mary Beth Crocker. “Our purpose is to keep them as historic as possible. Try to keep the materials as historic as possible, and maintain the historic integrity of the entire Monmouth Street overlay.”
The Newport Historic Preservation Commission would review additions, demolitions, and certain exterior alterations, while most new construction would instead continue to be reviewed by Newport’s Urban Design Review Board.
Business owners asked questions during the meeting and shared some concerns.
Former Newport Mayor and Monmouth Street property owner Jerry Peluso said his concerns with the historic district overlay were about taxes and property assessments. He asked the commission to be cautious with its decision.
“My concern is taxes,” Peluso said. “When assessment goes up, we pay more taxes. When the assessment goes up, we pay more in insurance, and for someone who owns a small business, I mean that’s a killer. It really is, and I think that’s one of the contributing factors why we have so much vacant property. This could be a good thing. This could be disastrous.”
Monmouth Street property owner Jeff Schlosser said some of his concerns included the cost associated with the guidelines and the board’s reasonableness in approving changes.
“I’m in favor of this in part, but I’m not going to deny that I have some concerns about it,” Schlosser said.
What happens if a property owner violates the guidelines?
Williams said that when the city knows a violation occurred, it sets in motion a process to notify the property owner, require a response, and then move to the historic preservation commission if they are unable to correct the issue within a given timeline.
Many Monmouth Street properties are already listed on the National Register of Historic Places (in 1996), making them eligible for certain historic rehabilitation tax credits. Newport has also launched a commercial facade grant program, which Williams said she hopes will become a recurring funding opportunity to help property owners invest in historic buildings.
No vote was held at Wednesday’s meeting. If approved by the Historic Preservation Commission at a later date, the proposal would then move to the Planning and Zoning Commission before advancing to the Newport Board of Commissioners for two readings.
