Controversial Breakers Visitors Center Hearings Postponed after Member's Recusal

Zoning Board hearings for the controversial proposal from the Preservation Society of Newport County to build a $4.2 million welcome center at The Breakers scheduled for the end of the month have been cancelled due to a lack of a quorum.

Zoning Board Vice Chairwoman Lynn U. Ceglie recused herself from the two hearings planned on Sept. 29 and 30, leaving the board with not enough members to hear an appeal of the proposal, which they approved 4-1 earlier this year.

In an interview, Ceglie said she decided to recuse herself after Tuesday’s candidate forum hosted by Alliance for a Livable Newport during which she was asked a question about the Preservation Society of Newport County, which is applying for the special use permit. Ceglie is a City Council candidate in Ward 2.

The question was whether she would, if she were a City Council member, approve a victualling license for the Marble House and The Elms.

“I said I would have, but I was thinking of it as being on the council,” Ceglie said.

Upon reflection, with the application before the Zoning Board just days away, Ceglie said she decided to recuse herself because she “wants everything to be above board.”

Fellow Zoning Board member and Chairwoman Rebecca McSweeney has recused herself because of work she has done for The Preservation Society in the past and another member will be out of town on Monday, Ceglie said. Those three absences added up to no quorum.

Ceglie said the meeting will be rescheduled at the Zoning Board’s next meeting at the end of October.

Formerly the summer home of the Vanderbilts, The Breakers is an iconic museum and tourism destination as well as the crown jewel in the collection of mansions maintained by the preservation society in Newport.

The society’s plans have faced stiff opposition from the Bellevue Ochre Point Neighborhood Association, which appealed the Zoning Board’s overturning of the Historic District Commission’s denial of the plans.

In July, Rhode Island Superior Court Associate Justice Bennett Gallo dismissed the association’s lawsuit, sending it back to the Newport Zoning Board.

The proposal was rejected by the city’s Historic District Commission on the basis that it didn’t meet historical standards in Bellevue Avenue and mansions section of the city known for its difficulty in getting new construction approved and well-heeled residents who rigorously guard its character.

In the dismissal, Gallo said the BOPNA’s complaint is “within the jurisdiction of the Newport zoning officials to determine,” noting that their request for declaratory judgement would be “inappropriate.”

The Preservation Society insists that their plans are far less grand than critics suggest.

“We share the Association’s commitment to protecting Newport’s unique residential areas, where for decades the historic house museums we operate have welcomed visitors in harmony with private homes and quiet neighborhoods,” they said in a recent open letter. “The special use permit we seek creates the opportunity to assure that Newport’s balance of community and commercial concerns is sustained. We respect the need to define the limits and standards of food service within residential districts, and together we can make sure that museum visitor conveniences never threaten the success of restaurants operating in our city’s commercial districts.

“We are not proposing a restaurant. We are proposing light refreshments--a basic, expected visitor amenity in museums around the world. We’ve offered limited fare for many years at The Elms and Marble House with zero negative impact on our neighbors. But we respect the special sensitivities of our museum locations within residential areas.”

In response, the BOPNA said the fundamental issue is that the design was rejected by the Historic District Commission, which is empowered to impart subjective aesthetic critique and the Zoning Board is not. And they believe the special use permit would grant the right to serve food to the public in all Preservation Society properites.

“This reinterpretation of zoning would apply broadly across all residential neighborhoods of Newport. They offer no indication of compromise here,” BONPA said.