Newport City Council — Transcript
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment and Interim Use Permit for Outdoor Vehicle Storage
Votes (2)
Recommendation to City Council for Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (Outdoor Vehicle Storage in River Development Overlay District)
Dissent: None recorded, vote implied unanimous among voting members present.
Moved by Unknown Commissioner [6:00] · Seconded by Unknown Commissioner [6:00]
The Planning Commission considered an amendment to the zoning ordinance to permit outdoor storage of motor vehicles as an interim use within the River Development Overlay District. Staff presented recommended qualifying criteria, including limits on storage area, screening requirements, and access from private drives. The applicant, Americ Real Estate LP, detailed the temporary nature of the need (18 months) due to a client's business consolidation and the historical issues with the property's encumbrances. Commissioners raised concerns about the consistency with the comprehensive plan, environmental impacts (dust, leaks), and the original intent of the overlay district to protect river connections and adjacent uses. Staff affirmed the temporary nature of the permit and found it generally supportive of the comp plan.
Recommendation to City Council for Interim Use Permit (Temporary Trucking Terminal and Outdoor Storage)
Dissent: None recorded, vote implied unanimous among voting members present.
Moved by Unknown Commissioner [6:01] · Seconded by Unknown Commissioner [6:01]
Following the Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment discussion, the Commission considered the specific Interim Use Permit for a temporary trucking terminal and outdoor storage for 18 months. The applicant clarified existing dust control methods (hardening spray on gravel) and justified the lack of additional screening due to the temporary duration and existing heavy vehicle traffic in the area. Staff recommended an 18-month term for the IUP to allow site reclamation to pre-development conditions. Commissioners expressed comfort with the temporary nature of the request and acknowledged the applicant's status as a long-time community business.
Notable Quotes (7)
The river development overlay district is a district we're looking at amending. um that district specifically prohibits uses whose operation and/or principal operation require the outdoor storage of materials or equipment including the outdoor manipulation of the materials or equipment. So this outdoor storage of trucking that they're looking at um would be expressly prohibited in this river overlay district.
I know you've put a lot of time and planning on this overlay district, but there's a future component. Understand that's how comprehensive plans work. Takes time to get it, but hey, that's where we want to go, but that's why you have a tool like an interim use permit that we can have a use that still works. And again, the underlying zoning would permit this, but not hinder the long-term plan for the city.
Um, also, you know, I think part of the thing with the river over overlay district was to protect the river. Um, and semis, trailers, they leak. Um, things fall off of them.Um, and so, you know, water mitigation, how would that happen?
The proposal is for an about 17,500 square ft gravel pad. Um as noted, this has already been installed on the site. So the pictures on screen are what the site currently looks like.
So the dust we have dust [snorts] trailer parking already which would be on the north and the west side of the facility. We do basically split spray a hardening component on that which eliminates any dust.
Uh if this were a permanent option for us, obviously we would go the route of looking at screening it so that it was invisible to anybody. It's it's a temporary item. So based off of the eight to 10 trailers that would be visible in that area from our perspective, it won't be any disputed visible view compared to the 300 trucks per day that are going across the front of Maxwell and in and out of there.
I'm I think that, you know, they've been a longtime neighbor of ours and um, they're asking for a really short-termum, exception and so I'm of the disposition that we should grant it for them. It's a very limited time.
Ordinances & Resolutions (6)
A proposed amendment to the city's zoning ordinance to allow accessory uses requiring outdoor storage of motor vehicles in the River Development Overlay District.
A temporary permit requested to allow a trucking terminal and outdoor storage of vehicles for 18 months, conditional on the zoning text amendment's approval.
The city's overarching plan against which the proposed zoning amendment's compatibility was assessed.
References to requirements within city code, such as landscaping for parking lots.
A specific zoning overlay district whose regulations were being amended for this project.
Another overlay district mentioned to clarify its non-intersection with the River Development Overlay District in this context.