Recently LWVS received two emails from members regarding previous blog posts relating to the proposed revisions to Salem’s zoning ordinances for accessory dwelling units (ADUs). If two people asked questions, it seems possible that more people had questions, but maybe did not ask them. Therefore, we’re publishing the LWVS response so everyone can see. Please send any follow-up questions to lwvsalem@gmail.com.
Note: At the 26 May OLLA meeting, the proponents of the ADU ordinance changes revealed a new revision that would require ADU rentals to be affordable housing under HUD guidelines in exchange for a tax exemption. This version of the ordinance was tabled at the 28 May city council meeting. If the ADU ordinance is to pass, it would have to have two council votes by 2 August. That does not leave a lot of time for analysis, but LWVS will see what our members might be able to do. Meanwhile, the Salem News had this article today.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Reilly, Voter Services & Civic Engagement Chair
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7 June 2020
Dear [Friend] -
I am writing in response to your letter of May 26 to Jen Lynch, the LWVS convener and the usual author of the LWVS blog posts on city council meetings. In my role as voter services chair, I act in the place of the convener when necessary. Before sending this letter, I sent it to the rest of the steering committee for review and feedback.
Thank you for taking the time to communicate your concerns to the steering committee. We take them seriously and would like to do a better job of communicating with our members and the public going forward.
To date, LWVS has not taken a position on previous versions of the proposed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance amendments. (I will just call it the “ADU ordinance” for brevity.) Thus far in our short existence, the LWVS process for taking positions on ordinances is for the interested working group to study an ordinance and determine whether it should be referred to the steering committee for a vote on endorsement or opposition. All working group meetings are advertised in our communications (emails, Facebook, website). All members of the public are welcome to come to working group meetings (not just dues-paying members), plus people can email questions and comments to the working group chair or the main LWVS email if they can’t attend a working group meeting.
LWVS only takes positions on Salem ordinances (and it does so rarely). The LWV of Massachusetts takes positions on statewide matters and the LWV of the United States takes positions on nationwide matters. LWVS may not take local positions that conflict with state or national positions. Additionally, LWV only takes positions on subjects relating to its core mission, which is summarized in the slogan “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.” When LWV takes positions on education, health care, housing, etc., it is because citizens can not fully participate in democracy if they lack education or don’t have their basic human needs met.
The LWVS affordable housing working group studied previous versions of the ADU ordinance. (The last working group meeting was January 25, pre-pandemic.) The working group studied the ADU ordinance in the context of the LWVUS and LWVMA positions on affordable housing. Quickly put, the League’s formal goal is “Access to decent housing and a suitable living environment affordable for all. (LWVUS) The League supports programs, policies and regulations to address the housing needs of low- and moderate-income families and individuals . . . (LWVMA, 2008) . . .” LWVMA’s position goes on to stress the desirability of a highly structured approach, with the assumption of government regulation or promotion of affordable housing (for example, through regulations defining income limits for subsidized housing or through laws creating Smart Growth incentives). (See pages 49-51 of Where We Stand.)
Although the LWVS affordable housing working group appreciated the intentions of the proposed ADU ordinance, the working group did not recommend to the steering committee that the steering committee vote to endorse (or oppose) the previous versions of the ADU ordinance. This was because those previous versions lacked the regulatory approach promoted by LWVMA.
The blog post of May 24 noted that the proposed ordinance (which has since been revised) did not guarantee the creation of affordable units for low- or moderate-income people (affordability was “not written into the ordinance”). It noted that the ordinance relied instead on “market forces” and commonly held economic theory and real estate rules of thumb. Specifically, the ordinance required by-right ADUs to be 800 square feet or less. Other things being equal, smaller units rent for less than larger units. Whenever a smaller unit is created, that increases the supply of smaller units, which economic theory says should decrease the price of smaller units (or decelerate price increases). This theory and rule of thumb are not one person’s opinion. They are recognizable as generalizations that need to be examined for accuracy when applied to specific situations. The blog post explained the theory of how the ordinance was intended to foster the creation of affordable housing through market forces.
The blog post of May 24 addressed only the affordable housing angle, because that is the crux of why the LWVS working group researched this ordinance. The first question, from the League point of view, was, “Will this ordinance increase the supply of affordable housing in Salem?” The answer was, “theoretically.” We presented the theories as we understood them “to Salem stakeholders so that they might deliberate and come to their own conclusions.” The blog post encouraged the public to participate in the upcoming meetings.
Because LWVS took no position on the ordinance (because the first question did not lead to an emphatic yes or no answer), we did not move on to a public forum or to an article or articles exploring all (or at least many) of the possible repercussions of such an ordinance. By presenting the first question (and noting that we had no answer to it), we did not take on an obligation to chronicle all the pros and cons.
Now, with a new revision to the ADU ordinance that would impose affordability requirements on all ADUs created, the LWVS working group may revisit the topic. It all depends on what volunteers, including yourself, are willing and able to do in the time available. Would you like to volunteer your time to assist in organizing a new working group analysis?
You also submitted several questions about the April 14 blog post, which I have added to that blog post (without attribution), along with answers. That is because other people might have the same questions and we want the answers available publicly. Our city council synopses are written by Jen Lynch, who is the LWVS city council liaison. Jen has been doing the notes for over two years now. She usually signs them (for instance May 15 and April 23), but sometimes she forgets to append her signature. That’s understandable, because after two years it’s easy to forget that what might be the twentieth article you’ve written might be the first article a new member is reading.
We (the steering committee) do allow for what might seem like a certain amount of editorializing in the notes submitted by our “observer corps” (volunteers who write meeting notes), but it is within rules of decorum and understood consensus. For instance, someone might write, “This meeting went on an hour longer than necessary and accomplished very little.” We don’t take a member vote to confirm the opinion. We just remember that the length and efficiency of city government meetings is something that has come up in LWVS conversations many times. (When meetings are long and largely unproductive, it discourages members of the public from attending.) We cheerfully correct or amend all of our blog posts when people contact us with new information or relevant feedback via email or Facebook.
Finally, we have acted on your comments about transparency. We have created a page on our web site listing our steering committee members, liaisons, and working group chairs. (That information was previously available on our Facebook page and in each monthly newsletter, but not on the web site.)
We have also created a page on our web site with links to the last year’s worth of our newsletters. Those newsletters contain the notes of all of our working group and steering committee meetings. LWVMA recently handed over management of our membership database to LWVS, in keeping with our status as a full-fledged League. According to the database, your membership began on [MM DD, 2020], but unfortunately we did not add you to our email list until a few days ago. Because of the strain of the pandemic on our volunteers, we have dropped a few balls in the last two months. We had no monthly newsletter in March or April. (We didn’t have one in February either, but that was because our volunteers needed a break that month.) The May issue was light on Salem content, because we have not had any working group meetings since February. The June issue should be out in a week or so.
Again, thank you very much for taking the time to write and for giving us the opportunity to respond and improve.
Sincerely,
Judith Reilly
Voter Services & Civic Engagement Chair
League of Women Voters of Salem