This story has been updated to reflect the Little Compton Town Council’s decision to unanimously deny the Stone House Inn an entertainment license.
LITTLE COMPTON – Anxious brides and others who have booked weddings and events at the Stone House Inn in Little Compton were disappointed by the Town Council Thursday night. The council during a public hearing voted unanimously to deny the inn an entertainment license to supersede a court order. The Stone House had requested the hearing before the Little Compton Town Council in an attempt to fulfill its agreements with families for long-scheduled weddings and receptions.
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The Stone House was ordered by Superior Court to cease conducting such events pending a hearing or until the Town Council grants the Stone House an entertainment license. The license was denied earlier this year when Superior Court Judge Brian Van Couyghen ruled that the Stone House was in violation of a zoning ordinance for an off-site 90-car parking lot.
Neighbors had complained in the past about noise violations, but sound tests by local police found noise levels were within acceptable limits. A community-organizing group led by a Newport attorney discovered the parking statute and the judge issued a temporary restraining order forcing the venue to stop using the lot, which disqualified it for an entertainment license. According to the Town Code, the council has the discretion to waive any requirement of the entertainment license ordinance, which would vacate the court order.
The hearing was open to the public and the Stone House had advised its clients who have booked events, including 14 brides, to attend. The council had the ability to give immediate approval allowing the historic venue to conduct its remaining 2017 events. The council members within their authority could also have chosen to continue the hearing, which also would have prevented the venue from hosting scheduled events such as weddings in the interim.
Two weddings booked at Stone House were moved to the nearby Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyard, whose owners have received similar complaints about noise and crowded parking lots. Last month, a bill passed in the General Assembly that effectively allowed Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyard to continue to hold concerts and weddings by limiting the town’s ability to restrict activities of a farm on its own land. The two Little Compton venues are the only ones permitted to host such events in the town.
The Stone House is a luxury resort with an inn and restaurant on 2.7 acres near the tip of Sakonnet Point. The inn and restaurant are still open using a small on-site parking lot.
Bruce Newbury is a PBN contributing writer.
