Board grants parking‑relief for 9 Lees Wharf guest house after engineering review

The Newport Zoning Board voted unanimously Dec. 23 to grant dimensional relief for 9 Lees Wharf to operate as a four‑bedroom guest house. Owner Mark Oravec testified the property, built in 2020, contains three garage bays and an exterior parking spot; manager Jennifer Gardner described operations and guest turnover procedures.

Staff and the applicant’s traffic consultant identified five physical parking spaces on the lot but noted two spaces do not meet the strict 9×18‑foot dimensional standard. The applicant narrowed the requested relief to allow two spaces to remain dimensionally noncompliant rather than removing required spaces. Traffic testimony found the increase in trip generation modest and said backing maneuvers onto Lee’s Wharf would not create a safety issue in the board’s assessment.

Board members acknowledged the relief involved stacked/paired parking and dimensional exceptions, but they found a hardship created by the substandard lot size and concluded the requested relief is the minimum necessary. The board required that the property be rented to a single party at a time (not individual room rentals) as a condition of approval. The motion to adopt staff findings and approve the petition passed 5–0.

The applicant must complete requisite filings and observe the standard 12‑month start/completion timeline required for decisions recorded by the Zoning Office.