Expressed as a top housing initiative by Mayor Kim Driscoll at the start of the year, Salem’s Affordable Housing Trust has forwarded an Inclusionary Zoning Ordnance for comment.
The ordinance would impact developments containing 6 or more units and require 10% of the units to be Affordable Housing. Fraction of units can either be rounded up (for example 1.8 to 2) or a cash payment can be made to the Affordable Housing Trust. The Affordable Housing units would be capped at 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). The ordinance does allow for a higher AMI restriction for the B5 district (downtown) if the developer can show that 60% would make the project infeasible. No alternative to the construction of the units (such as a Fee-in-lieu payment or off site construction) is proposed, both of which are common in other North Shore communities.
The proposed ordinance is currently with the Zoning Board of Appeals, Chair of the Planning Board, and the City Solicitor for comment.
