From development to housing, Newport City Council candidates sound off on issues at forum

NEWPORT — The seven candidates vying for the four at-large seats on the City Council discussed local issues at a forum organized by Newport This Week, the League of Women Voters, the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce and Involve Newport, formerly known as Alliance for a Livable Newport.

The forum, held at Innovate Newport, was moderated by Conexion Latina Executive Director Rebekah Rosen-Gomez.

Only two of the incumbents, Mayor Jeanne Marie Napolitano and Vice Chair Lynn Underwood Ceglie, are running for re-election, opening the door for two of the five newcomers to earn a seat on City Council.

The non-incumbents are, in ballot order, Katherine Jessup, Eames Yates, Xaykham “Xay” Khamsyvoravong, Stephanie Smyth and Mark Aramli.

The candidates were given between 60 and 90 seconds to answer four prepared questions and then responded to three write-in questions posed by the audience.

Question 1: Housing and Short Term Rentals

“Are the city’s current zoning laws, including the recently adopted prohibition on short-term rentals in residential zones, an adequate means of addressing the lack of local affordable year-round housing opportunities, and do you support a tiered tax system which would tax non-owner occupied property at a higher rate than those who live in Newport full time?”

This question relates to two actions taken by the current City Council to address short-term rentals' impact on affordable housing availability throughout the city. The first, the recently adopted prohibition on short-term rentals in residentially zoned areas within the city, was an ordinance the council unanimously adopted in March this year.

More: Newport produced $40 million in short-term rental revenue. How all of Newport County did.

The second, taxing non-owner occupied properties more than full-time residential properties, was a bill proposal sent unanimously by the council and approved by the General Assembly in June. The city has yet to enact this tiered system, but is planning to discuss the item at a workshop on Oct. 25 and at the following regular council meeting on Oct. 26.

Napolitano and Ceglie said they believe both actions taken by council recently are steps in the right direction to help solve this issue. Napolitano said current councils field a lot of complaints from year-round residents about issues caused by vacation rentals and vacation homes, and Ceglie brought up the provisions in the recently adopted North End Urban Plan that incentivize developers to build more affordable housing in the area.

Aramli and Jessup agreed with the actions taken by council. Aramli said he agreed with council’s decision to restrict non-owner occupied STRs to commercial areas, but said the city should look further into the tax code for ways to increase the amount of money the city can accrue from its tourism visitors and part-time residents.

Jessup said while she appreciates the steps the current council has taken, the issue should be examined holistically to determine how Newport got to this point.

Smyth, Yates and Khamsyvoravong opted to give other suggestions for how the future councils might resolve this issue. Smyth said the city needs to look at what other cities have done in regards to enacting specific taxes and legislation on short-term rentals, such as Henderson, Nevada; Lake Placid, New York; and San Diego.

Yates suggested incentivizing short-term rental owners to offer at least one yearly lease unit on their property. Khamsyvoravong said the solutions should extend beyond STRs by building more workforce and middle-income housing.

Question 2: Proposed school district regionalization

“For current City Council members: Why wasn’t the School Committee consulted before voting to put this initiative on the ballot, and for everyone else: What pros, cons and risks do you see with this current proposal to regionalize the two school districts and do you support the proposal?”

In November, Middletown and Newport voters will decide whether to combine their school districts under one unified administrative body.

Neither incumbent answered the first half of the question. Napolitano said she supports the city’s efforts to regionalize, saying the extra money saved from reimbursements should be used to bolster the district's programs. Ceglie said she supports regionalization for the same reason, hoping to avoid the educational cuts and financial gaps she saw in previous years on the council.

More: Newport School Committee hopefuls talk regionalization, test scores at candidate forum

Yates was the sole non-incumbent who expressed approval for regionalization, saying the funds that will be made available through regionalization can be used to improve education in the city.

Khamsyvoravong said while he wants to support regionalization, he is currently undecided as there are several unanswered questions yet to be addressed. One of his main concerns is Middletown’s approach to the partnership.

Aramli said he was undecided for the same reason, adding it makes sense from a business perspective, and Jessup, as an educational facility master planner, said while regionalization is conceptually good for Newport and Middletown, there is not enough time to answer all of the questions still on the table about the proposal before early voting begins.

Smyth said while she supported regionalization when it was proposed a few years ago as a combination of high schools, she's not in favor of regionalizing district administration only. She said she was concerned about the lack of student input into the proposal.

Question 3: Development of land freed up by Pell Bridge ramp realignment project

“The Newport Bridge realignment will open up developable land, much of which the city intends to make developable for private development. What is your vision for the future for this developable land and how will this affect the residents of Newport?”

Yates and Aramli had specific visions for the area. Yates said he would prefer the space be used to introduce recreational marijuana businesses into the city, while Aramli envisioned blue tech businesses and workforce housing.

Yates, Aramli and Smyth all envisioned a remote parking destination with transit to downtown, something that already has been included in plans and designs for the Pell Bridge ramp realignment.

More: 'It’s a big eyesore, and we know this': The latest on the former Newport Grand site

Like her fellow candidates, Napolitano said she sees the area as an opportunity to expand Newport’s economy beyond the hospitality and tourism sector.

Jessup and Ceglie pointed to the plans already on the books as ways to address what to do. Jessup said there already have been several plans and studies conducted, with public input, addressing development in the North End, such as the North End Equitable Development Strategy, which can provide city council a better understanding of what residents want done with that area. Ceglie argued the North End Urban Plan could be used as a blueprint for developers working in that space.

Khamsyvoravong said, whatever the plan for the space will be, the council will have to enact that plan quickly and with a unified vision so it does not sit vacant for too long.

Question Four: Balancing tourism with quality of life for residents

“Do you feel the city of Newport’s policies currently appropriately balance the needs of the year-round community and the tourism industry? What is your vision for this balance moving forward and what policies would you propose to support that vision?”

Ceglie and Napolitano said the council works very hard to maintain this balance between the needs of residents and businesses, and promised to continue seeking a better balance in the future.

More: It's not the Sheraton, Hyatt or Gurney's. The hotel on Goat Island has a new name.

Aramli repeated his desire for visitors and tourists to shoulder more of the costs associated with running the city, as he mentioned during question one. He argued the city’s general fund is largely funded by property taxes and the city needs to finds more ways to harvest tourism dollars.

Like Aramli, Yates suggested leveraging the money tourism brings into the city, such as through taxation on second homes, as a way for full-time residents to benefit from the industry.

Khamsyvoravong said the city needs a project manager to seek grant money from federal resources for projects that will continue to attract tourists while increasing the quality of life for residents.

Smyth and Jessup said the city has focused on helping the tourism industry at the expense of year-round residents. Smyth said the pursuit of being a world-class tourism destination has led to the loss of a sense of community and support system for young residents and families.

While tourism does bring in tax revenue, Jessup said it’s time for Newport to focus on being a family community.

Quick Round: Candidates were asked a series of yes or no questions and given 30 seconds to answer

Question 1: “Will you be voting for or against the state’s licensing of cannabis businesses in Newport this November?”

Yes: Yates, Jessup

No: Napolitano, Aramli, Khamsyvoravong

Undecided: Ceglie, Smyth (gave a tentative yes, with caveats)

More: Marijuana is legal in Rhode Island, but not at Naval Station Newport or other federal land

Question 2: “Do you support reconvening the Charter Review Commission and hiring a consultant to examine language and matters of equity in the commission's numerous recommendations for changes to the city’s charter that were recently rejected, or tabled, by the current council.”

Yes: Ceglie, Yates, Smyth, Aramli, Jessup, Khamsyvoravong

Maybe: Napolitano (suggested it would be up to a council vote whether to reconvene the Charter Review Commission and said she would “let it go for a while.”)

Question 3: “Do you think the City Council should have term limits?”

Yes: Yates, Smyth, Jessup

No: Napolitano, Ceglie, Aramli (wants to extend terms), Khamsyvoravong (supports in general, doesn't believe it's realistic locally)

More: 37 changes were proposed to Newport's City Charter. Why voters will see just 5 of them.

Audience Question 1: Involving the Hispanic community and English learners in city planning

“How do you plan to involve the immigrant-entrenched Hispanic community in the growth of the city, given the crucial role they play in our tourism and service industry, and what is the status of the multilingual plan?”

Smyth said the city should reach out to those communities first to garner what methods of communication and outreach work best for them and determine what their needs are.

More: Do Newport County police reflect the Hispanic, Latino community? Take a look at the data.

Napolitano said it troubles her there aren’t more opportunities to engage with those communities, but all the solutions suggested cost money to enact. Aramli said the city should work to encourage “hard-working” immigrants to integrate into the city, but made it clear he “doesn’t believe in handouts” or a “welfare state."

Ceglie and Yates said increasing the amount of affordable housing will help the immigrant community, and Ceglie went further to say it should be the city’s responsibility to provide Spanish language resources for Spanish-speaking residents.

Similarly, Jessup and Khamsyvoravong mentioned increasing Spanish language resources for residents, with Jessup suggesting a full-time Spanish-speaking staffer and Khamsyvoravong suggesting active outreach and a study on government representation of the Hispanic community.

Audience Question 2: Increasing overall citizen engagement in city government

“If elected, how will you continue to engage residents in your work on City Council and what is one way you would like to see our city government to work better and smarter for our residents”

Like the previous question, Khamsyvoravong said increasing representatives’ physical presence in the community can help engage them in their city government. But he also said the city needs more resources to make it easier for residents to engage, such as a 311 informational phone line.

Similarly, Aramli and Jessup agreed the city should add better technology offerings to help residents engage. Aramli suggested the use of a resident-wide email service to update Newporters on city activity. Jessup, however, said technology can only go so far, as many residents don’t use technology and need face-to-face interactions.

Napolitano said the city has invested in technology to increase engagement, but pointed out a need for increased civic interest in city activity as well. In the same vein, Smyth said the city needs to reach out to residents to discern how they would like to receive city communication and information.

Yates argued for radical transparency, engaging with local news outlets and being completely available to residents. As an incumbent, Ceglie said she is already available to residents and will continue to be if reelected.

Audience Question 3: Navy Hospital property

"In the event the Navy Hospital Land becomes available during your term, what would you propose doing with it?”

Yates proposed building affordable housing in the area, while Aramli and Smyth said the area should have mixed-use development, a combination of housing, commercial and recreational uses.

More: A historical look at development projects in Newport over the past 25 years

Jessup said the city should review the plans it already had for the area in the past, and Khamsyvoravong said there should be a mix of Blue Economy businesses and recreation.

Napolitano and Ceglie agreed the area is a prime opportunity for recreation. Napolitano agreeed with Khamsyvoravong that Blue Economy businesses should be welcomed to develop there.

Audience Question Four: Examining the issue of affordable housing in a broad sense

“How do you define affordable housing and workforce housing, also known as subsidized housing, and what will you do as a city councilor to keep rents from increasing?”

Ceglie said both of those terms are defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the city should focus on increasing the amount of housing that is affordable for middle-income residents. She believes those are the residents most impacted by the lack of available housing options.

More: Newport's workforce housing is shrinking, but a study is underway to address the issue

Similarly, Khamsyvoravong suggested the need for a “pipeline” of housing, where residents in subsidized housing are able to move up to other types of affordable or low-income housing that would free up subsidized housing for more residents.

Yates argued the need to incentivize more people of different incomes to move and work here.

Napolitano and Aramli pointed out Newport has the second-highest concentration of subsidized housing in the state, and Napolitano said other communities should start shouldering the responsibility of creating more housing of this type as Newport is “built out.”

Meanwhile, Jessup and Smyth argued for the creation of an Affordable Housing Commission to explore this issue with more detail and to look at the problem holistically.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport RI City Council candidates discuss issues at election forum