The first step in adopting Buena Vista as a Newport historic district passed the Newport Historic Preservation Commission last month but is now being sent back.
The Newport Planning and Zoning Commission was supposed to hear the case at its Nov. 7 meeting; instead, Newport Planning and Building Director Brian Steffen recommended sending it back to the Historic Preservation Commission due to legal issues.
“This request is due to a potential legal challenge and several other legal issues with the Oct. 25, 2023, historic preservation commission’s recommendation,” Steffen said. “Out of an appropriate level of caution, I am requesting a motion that this case PZ-23-12 be removed from the agenda and sent back to the historic preservation commission for further consideration.”
Steffen said he couldn’t get into specifics as to what the legal challenges were.
“Sometimes these things happen,” Steffen said. “There’s a high level of scrutiny to zoning cases, which we’ve seen not just with historic preservation issues.”
He said any notice that anyone previously received about the meeting would be sent out again, and there would be another hearing in front of the historic preservation commission soon.
“We are making every effort to fix all potential problems and will be scheduling a hearing with the historic preservation commission as soon as possible,” he said. “The city remains dedicated to preserving the Buena Vista neighborhood, regardless of the setback.”
What does naming Buena Vista a local historic district do?
The Buena Vista Neighborhood in Newport is already a National Historic District but needs local designation for complete protection.
Buena Vista consists of the areas 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 local designation allows the city to guide homeowners in preservation efforts, prevent exterior changes outside of the city’s guidelines, and halt unnecessary demolitions that may threaten the neighborhood’s structural integrity.
The guidelines 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.
