Newport Commission approves Buena Vista neighborhood as local historic district

The Newport Commission voted to approve the Buena Vista neighborhood as a local historic district—something that has been a long time coming for the city. 

The city unanimously approved the item at its May 20 meeting. The commission expressed gratitude for the end to the long road that led to the historic district’s passage. 

“Staff took great pains to take all input into consideration when it came to the designation of boundaries and the rules and regulations of the district,” Newport Manager Tom Fromme said. “This was all based on input. It wasn’t drawn up in a backroom by bureaucrats or anything like that and the board took a very active role in this. I think it is a great step forward for the west side of town.”

Buena Vista, already a National Historic District, now has the added reassurance of the local designation, which ensures complete protection. 

The local designation allows the city to guide homeowners in preservation efforts, prevent exterior changes outside the city’s guidelines, and halt unnecessary demolitions that may threaten the neighborhood’s structural integrity. The effort to designate the district has faced hurdles along the way, with it being sent back to the historic preservation commission in November and the Newport Commission tabling the item in March, both due to potential legal issues. 

“What we’re embarking on here is very similar to planting trees,” Newport Commissioner Ken Rechtin said. “They said when you plant a tree, you don’t get the nuts and fruit in the same year. To get the benefits you’re planning for future generations. What we’re doing here is protecting and preserving property, architecture and a neighborhood that needs protection and preserving. So, I think, like a tree, we’re going to see benefits down the road.”

The district consists of 1,272 homes between the north end of West 8th Street, the south part of West 12th Street, the west ends of Brighton and Lowell Streets, and the east side of Putnam and York Streets.

The guidelines, which can be viewed here, are intended to focus exclusively on the exterior of someone’s home, which includes the “readily visible portion” of the building or front corners forward to the front yard. The items on a building that would fall under the guidelines include windows, doors, siding, gutters, fencing, unpainted masonry, demolition, etc.

In April, during the first reading of the historic designation, Newport Commissioner Mike Radwanski voted no; however, this time, he voted yes, noting that the city considered his concerns about limited staffing. 

“We knew long ago from public input and just from our own internal discussions that we needed to expand some roles and create some more hours dedicated to the roles here,” Newport Planning and Building Director Brian Steffen said. “So, this ordinance before you tonight is the creation of two additional positions in the planning and development department.”

One of those roles is a historian and heritage preservation officer. Steffen said the role is intended to focus more on the city’s history, including holding events and workshops. The second position formalizes Daylin Garland’s historic preservation enforcement officer position. Finally, the city is expanding Jennifer Williams’s role as a historic preservation officer. 

“As we looked at expanding into the Buena Vista district, I feel now that we have the adequate staffing to support this so that it’s as successful as possible,” Radwanski said. 

That ordinance received a first reading and will be officially voted on at the commission’s next meeting. 

“I believe that our actions will preserve one of Newport’s most valuable resources, which is our historic architecture,” Newport Commissioner Julie Smith-Morrow said. “It will definitely go a long way toward helping maintain naturally occurring affordable housing, will keep the Buena Vista neighborhood together, and maintain its diversity.”

Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said this designation was community-driven.

“Community-driven projects are among the most successful,” he said. “This started with our citizens then with our citizen’s boards. It moved to our staff, who, at every turn, carefully considered every objection and had great answers that attached to any of the issues, and I think that that’s why this is going to be so well received in the community.”