Long-Debated Salem Housing Ordinance Signed Into Effect

SALEM, MA — After three years of debate, votes, re-votes, and passages that did not reach super-majority thresholds needed to satisfy state laws that no longer exist, accessory dwelling units were signed into effect in Salem on Tuesday.

Mayor Kim Driscoll — a long-time proponent of the so-called in-law apartments — signed the ordinance after it passed the Salem City Council for a second time this spring.

"Happy Tuesday!" Driscoll declared. "Just signed the final approval of our long-awaited, all-affordable accessory dwelling unit ordinance. Super excited to have this new smart growth housing tool in our city's toolbox."

Under the ordinance, Salem homeowners will be able to divide housing units into small ADU units that can be sublet at a reduced rate. Under the Salem ordinance, the apartments can only be rented at 70 percent of the area's determined fair-market value.

Proponents of ADUs say they allow more affordable housing in a housing-crunch community such as Salem, and allow older residents to stay in their home by renting out a portion of it to gain the income necessary to stay in the city and reduce living space.

Opponents say additional units reshape the character of established neighborhoods and create more traffic and congestion.

The ordinance passed the city council twice before by 6-5 margins in the past three years, but a two-thirds supermajority was needed at the time for zoning changes. However, Gov. Charlie Baker — in an effort to make it easier for cities to create more housing — signed a state law allowing those changes based on a simple majority earlier this year.

The ordinance passed two votes of the City Council by 7-4 margins in May — still short of what used to be the old super-majority threshold.

A late attempt to send the ADUs to a ballot initiative during Thursday's city council meeting failed by the same 7-4 margin.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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