Newport Comprehensive Land Use Plan - Existing Conditions | Page 24

Newport Comprehensive Land Use Plan
The project website was also used to promote and notify citizens of all public workshops and hearings. A “library”
was maintained on the site for the project’s duration which included a digital copy of the current (2004) plan,
presentation and meeting materials, an extensive map atlas, a draft of the comprehensive plan, and the final Newport
Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Finally, for convenience, links to 40 websites were provided, including appropriate
local, state and federal government agencies, local and regional community organizations, and a variety of general
planning sources. Over half of these links were to local organizations, such as neighborhood groups, arts and cultural
groups and others.

Engage Newport
Engage Newport was an essential partner in the community
outreach process, providing links to the project website, social
media outreach and other notifications. These efforts greatly
expanded the potential audience for project awareness and
participation. (www.engagenewport.com)
eBlasts
An eBlast is a message sent via email to a group email. Citizens
self-select for this service by signing up either via the web page
or at a project event. These notifications were used primarily
for notifying parties of upcoming public meetings and
workshops.
Print and Digital Media
Periodic press releases and links were provided in order to facilitate and encourage local media to cover the project,
report on project events and to otherwise generate interest.

Community Workshops

Community workshops are a standard engagement component of any comprehensive planning program. Due to the
limited timeframe for plan development, state review and formal adoption, the project team identified key points in
the work program to engage stakeholders in workshop settings. These are described briefly below. Detailed
information concerning these workshops was uploaded to the project website for public review following each event.

Community Workshop #1 Introduction /Initial Visioning/ Issues Identification
Held on October 13, 2015 at the Pell School, Workshop #1 introduced the project to the public. The main objectives of
the workshop were to collect ideas about issues that the City of Newport has been facing and may face in the future.
After an introductory power point presentation, attendees participated in small group exercises focused on
developing a draft vision statement, initial issues identification and general goals and policies. This information was
essential in helping the team frame the plan’s focus and ultimately, implementation strategies.
The vision statement captures what residents hope that Newport will be in the future and is, thus, the foundation for
the goals and policies in the Comprehensive Plan. The City’s Vision statement can be found in Chapter 1 of the Plan.

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Draft Existing Conditions (March 2016)