Housing
Housing is an essential part of what makes Salem a strong and welcoming community and is an essential part of Salem’s wellbeing; however, the market is not supplying homes that are affordable for long-time Salem residents or local Salem workers. What can Salem do about this? The City is eager to implement a housing agenda with a myriad of strategies that work towards preserving and increasing the city’s housing stock.
Addressing the housing crisis in Salem and the Greater Boston area takes many tools—including regional partnerships and strategies. Recent local planning and policy initiatives include a condominium conversion ordinance, accessory dwelling units, inclusionary zoning and leveraging publicly owned land.
The City of Salem built on its recent housing planning and policy initiatives by developing a Housing Roadmap. This document, created via a robust public engagement process, resulted in thirty (30) strategies for the City to implement to respond to our community’s housing needs across a five-year horizon. This page is being used to communicate the City’s progress on these efforts.
Housing Strategies
SPEAK UP TO SUPPORT HOUSING!
Support a project by going to a meeting. Check the City Calendar for meeting details.
Contact your City Councilor and the Mayor:
Find your Councilor (and your Ward!)
Contact the Department of Planning + Community Development about a development project or zoning amendment at 978-619-5685 or housinginfo@salem.com or send a letter to:
Department of Planning + Community Development, City Hall Annex, 98 Washington Street, 2nd fl.
Homes for Salem
To help residents better understand the housing crisis in Salem and what can be done about it, the City and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council launched Homes for Salem, a four-part video series, that explains the importance of creating affordable housing policies in Salem.
Mayor Driscoll, Cynthia Nina-Soto, Andrew DeFranza, and Deputy Chief Dionne are among the many voices appearing in Homes for Salem.
CITY INITIATIVES AND RESOURCES
Commissions and Boards
Housing Resources
MEETING SUMMARIES
Public Forums and Workshops
Advisory Committee
Nov. 26, 2018
Jan. 14, 2019
Feb. 13, 2019
Apr. 10, 2019
COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND RESOURCES
Plans, Reports, and Studies
City of Salem Reports and Studies
Collaborative for Hope: New Strategies to Address Homelessness in Salem
Public Dialogue presentation (April 2018)
Public Dialogue presentation (June 2017)
View all plans corresponding to the work of Imagine Salem here.
Many of the city’s other plans, studies, and reports—across all areas—are available on the city’s website salem.com.
The Salem News
Alyse Diamantides | May 24, 2019