Salisbury Looks to Classify Mobile Homes as Affordable Housing

The Daily News reports that the town of Salisbury is looking for approval to submit a petition that would classify mobile homes that have been in the same space for 20 years as permanent housing, and thus affordable housing, reported the Newburyport daily News.

Town officials first need approval in this month’s town meeting in order to submit a proposal to the Legislature. If approved, the town of Salisbury will meet the state’s affordable-housing requirements which state that 10 percent of the town’s housing must be affordable. Without the mobile homes being counted towards the total housing stock, the town only has 8.6 percent of its homes considered as affordable housing by law.  This means affordable housing developers can override certain zoning bylaws

"This is a question of fairness," said Town Manager Neil Harrington. "The state classifies all mobile homes as not part of a community's permanent housing stock because they technically can be moved, even though mobile homes in Salisbury haven't been moved in decades. Ignoring that most of these homes provide affordable housing opportunities for people flies in the face of reality. You have all these people in Salisbury living in de facto affordable units that are mobile homes, and the state says, 'you can't count those.'

The town meeting will take place on May 16th where the home-rule petitions will be proposed by town officials to the town.

Read the entire Daily News article.