Zoning Board Holds Final Hearings on Breakers Welcome Center this Week

Final hearings on the controversial welcome center proposed on the grounds of The Breakers will be held this week at the Pell School at 35 Dexter St.

The Preservation Society of Newport County is seeking an amendment to a special use permit to build the welcome center, which they say will offer a single location to sell tickets, offer refreshments, host orientations and provide visitors with ADA compliant restrooms.

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 highly-anticipated hearings, which will be held Monday and Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., were originally supposed to take place in September but were cancelled due to a lack of a quorum.

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.