Politics & Government
Long-Debated Salem Housing Ordinance Signed Into Effect
After three years of discussion, votes and revotes, accessory dwelling units are allowed in Salem.
![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.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23254324/20210601/064558/styles/patch_image/public/rentkeys___01184200956.jpg)
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."
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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.
Find out what's happening in Salemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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 [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
More Patch Coverage: Salem In-Law Apartment Push Clears Bar At Long Last
Salem's Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance Back Up For Debate
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