NEWPORT — Neighbors said last night they would prefer to see the vacant Sheffield School redeveloped for low-impact commercial uses instead of affordable housing and one said he would like to move his expanding software business into the 86-year-old building.

Several City Council members expressed similar sentiments during a public workshop at City Hall on what should become of the school building. Faced with declining enrollment and the need to reduce expenses, the School Department closed Sheffield in the fall of 2006 and turned ownership of the building over to the city last fall.

Those who live near the school, which sits at the corner of Broadway and Vernon Avenue, said their main concern is preserving the quality of life in their neighborhood.

“Vernon Avenue is already a terrible cut-through street,” said resident Sue McNally. “I worry about tons more traffic coming through.”

Residents from other parts of the city said a commercial use would help expand the tax base as opposed to housing that might bring more children into the Newport and only increase the city’s public education costs.

“I watch my taxes go up every year,” said Roy Dutra, of Commercial Wharf. “I’d like to see the property put to a good commercial use.… It’s a no-brainer that a commercial use costs the city a lot, lot, lot less.”

The city sold the former Lenthal School in late 2006 to be redeveloped into market-rate condominiums, plus one affordable unit. In 2003, the Potter School was sold for $577,000, also for condominium development.

This time, the council decided to hold a public workshop to help decide the future of a defunct school, especially after AVTECH Software notified the council of its interest in the property. Michael Sigourney, president and CEO of the 19-year-old company, lives next to Sheffield and describes the building as the “only space in the city large enough to meet our current and future needs.” The 34,000-square-foot masonry and wood building sits on 1.5 acres.

Two other high-tech businesses have relocated out of Newport recently, he warned.

Last night, Mayor Stephen C. Waluk allowed Sigourney to elaborate on how AVTECH, as he put it, would create little traffic or noise and even continue to allow local churches to use the parking lot on weekends.

“I guarantee it’s nowhere near what it was when it had 300 students in it,” Sigourney told the neighbors, adding that as an abutter, “I have the same concerns as you.”

He said he hires many local college graduates, pays salaries averaging $50,000 a year plus full health coverage.

Waluk limited how much time Sigourney could speak and made it clear that the city has not entertained AVTECH’s proposal. He and other city officials emphasized that last night’s session was just the start of a public process that might involve bid solicitations and hearings on zoning and Comprehensive Plan changes.

Keith Stokes, a long-time resident of Vernon Avenue and the executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, said after the meeting that it was premature for the city to consider supporting one business or changing the zoning from residential to limited business. Such a change would allow uses incompatible with the neighborhood. A special overlay district, he said, should be considered to restrict such uses as restaurants and retail.

Paige Bronk, the city’s planning director, outlined four possible uses of the building: work force or multifamily housing, housing for the elderly, a school for the arts or trades, and professional or business offices.

“We are not talking about subsidized housing,” said Councilman Stephen Coyne, after several residents objected to housing. Compared with units aimed at people making median incomes, “There’s a big difference.”

Still, said Councilwoman Jeanne-Marie Napolitano, “What young people in this city need are jobs.”

Steven Ostiguy, executive director of Church Community Housing, said the best housing use for Sheffield would be for seniors, who own fewer cars and do not bring young children into the school system.

rsalit@projo.com