Newport Comprehensive Land Use Plan - Existing Conditions | Page 59

5 Housing

Table 5-2 – City of Newport Housing Unit Type
Housing Units

2000 Total

2000
Percentage of
Total

2010 Total

2010
Percentage of
Total

2014
Percentage of
Total

2014 Total

1-unit, detached

4,935

37.3%

5,690

40.7%

5,684

43.2%

1-unit, attached

796

6.0%

734

5.3%

501

3.8%

2 units

2,224

16.8%

2,397

17.1%

1,691

12.8%

3-4 units

2,441

18.5%

2,527

18.1%

2,455

18.6%

5-9 units

1,265

9.6%

1087

7.8%

1,245

9.5%

10-19 units

596

4.5%

553

4.0%

686

5.2%

20+ units

963

7.3%

823

5.9%

893

6.8%

TOTAL UNITS
13,226
100.0%
13,933
100.0%
Source: 2000 U.S. Census, 2010 & 2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

13,170

100.0%

Household Size

Household size correlates to the number of people living in each individual household. As noted in Table 5-3,
Newport’s average persons per household are much smaller than the Town of Westerly and the State of Rhode Island
as a whole. This average for Newport has been declining since 2000. With a current average household size of 2.04
and a projected population of 18,758 by 2040, Newport will only need approximately 9,195 housing units—3,975 less
than the total number of housing units in 2014.
Table 5-3 – Average Household Size (Persons per Household, PPH)
Year

Newport

Westerly

2000
2.11
2.36
2010
2.05
2.30
2014
2.04
2.32
Source: 2000 & 2010 U.S. Census, 2014 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates

Rhode Island
2.47
2.44
2.47

Housing Conditions

Due to private and public initiatives in the last 20 years, the overall condition of housing in Newport has improved
greatly; however, there is one area that deserves additional
policy action: rental housing. As in other communities,
Preservation and
Newport has a problem with absentee landlords who do not
rehabilitation activity has
maintain their propert y with the same attention that an
more recently occurred in the
occupying owner would provide. This affects both the
Broadway, Fifth Ward, Kerry
activities of tenants and physical maintenance.
Hill / Van Zandt and North End
neighborhoods. The mix of
The system to monitor and upgrade the Newport housing
housing types, relative
could be strengthened. Some tenants might fear reprisals if
affordability, and
they were to report their landlord for code violations. The
socioeconomic diversity make
state and city provide mechanisms to protect the rights of
these areas of Newport some
tenants who report code violations in their buildings.
of the most attractive areas to
However, this fact might not be universally known to those
own or rent.
who could benefit from the law. Present procedures dictate
that the Newport Zoning and Inspections Division inspect a

Draft Existing Conditions (March 2016)

Page 5-5