Zoning Board Has Authority to Decide About The Breakers Welcome Center, State Supreme Court Says

NEWPORT, RI—The Preservation Society of Newport County still wants to build a Welcome Center on the grounds of The Breakers mansion, but a neighborhood group is fighting them all the way to the state Supreme Court.

Today, the state's highest court sided with the Preservation Society on a jurisdictional question and ruled the local zoning board does have the authority to decide the issues.

But the court didn't consider the actual question, which is whether a special use permit can be granted in this situation per the Newport Zoning Ordinance.

According to today's decision, the "Court declined to decide the issues presented in the plaintiff’s action, as they were within the zoning board’s authority."

The Bellevue-Ochre Point Neighborhood Association and members of the Vanderbilt family, whose ancestor built The Breakers, is fighting the Preservation Society over the construction.