Salem Ends Parking Mandate For New Multi-Family Housing Construction

SALEM, MA —The city of Salem on Monday became the first community in the state outside of the immediate Boston area to eliminate minimum parking mandates for new construction of multi-family housing in a move officials hope will spur more housing development while reducing the reliance on cars for residents of those units.

The previous requirement, which stood for 60 years, required 1.5 parking spaces per unit of new construction. Proponents for the change argued that the mandate provided an additional hurdle to new construction amid a housing crisis, while hindering climate goals with the creation of underutilized parking spaces and fostering car dependence at a time when the city is encouraging the use of public transportation, ride sharing and other initiatives befitting a "car-light" community.

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The ordinance, which the City Council approved in a 10-1 vote last week, also creates a uniform affordability expectation in the Inclusionary Housing ordinance of 10 percent of units affordable at 60 percent area median income for eligible projects, exceeding the state standard of 80 percent of AMI.

"We have an affordability challenge here in Salem, just as many communities across Massachusetts do," Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo said at the ordinance signing event on Monday. "To make our community a less costly place to live, we must right-size our housing supply to better match demand. Until today, Salem required more parking spaces in its multifamily developments than there is demand or need for.

"Unused excess parking increases the cost of housing, exacerbates housing cost burdens for those at lower incomes who may not need or want that parking, adds to congestion and traffic by inducing the demand for car ownership, and contributes to heat and stormwater-related environmental impacts."

The Mayor's Office said a recent study indicated that of the parking spaces built for recent multi-family construction, 62 percent of them were largely occupied, while 38 percent were vacant. The city said that multi-family housing dwellers required closer to 0.85 parking spaces per unit.

The ordinance does not prohibit or discourage the development of parking for new housing, but removes it as a baseline requirement.

"Salem needs more homes and less empty asphalt parking spaces at these projects," Pangallo said.

Pangallo said the elimination of multifamily parking minimums "marks a significant milestone in addressing challenges to creating new housing."

"On its own, this policy will not solve the housing crisis, but it plays an important role in making it easier and more cost-effective to build new homes," the Mayor's Office said.

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