Good morning, Salem! The past couple of days have been busy. Tuesday, 13 July, the city provided a Salem Wetlands Protection Update. It was terrific and informative! Instead of recapping what was presented so well, I will direct you to please check out the Wetlands Protection Update website. There you will find a recording of the presentation, supporting materials, a timeline of the project, and most importantly, a survey, where you can provide feedback. The survey is in the form of an interactive map, where you can mark important wetlands, flood zones, or other potential areas that you feel need additional protection in Salem.
Last night, Wednesday, 14 July, the city council and the planning board convened a joint public hearing on three zoning matters. This meeting was also recorded and will be available on Salem Access TV (Channel 22 and on demand), but if you watch, get comfortable…it was a long meeting. The matters at hand were: 1) the proposed waterfront overlay; 2) gender-neutral language in zoning ordinances; 3) the citizen-proposed moratorium on permitting around wetlands.
As suspected, there were no objections to changing the ordinances to reflect gender-neutral language.
The waterfront overlay was brought forward by Councilor Turiel shortly after Prime Group, the new owners of Shetland Park, filed an application with the state to conduct an environmental impact review that referenced 1,425 apartments or condos. The proposed zoning overlay would remove the “planned unit development” use from the table in the “waterfront industrial overlay district,” which is primarily the Shetland area. The attorney and the architect working with the Prime Group spoke during public testimony and rued their decision to apply with the state, noting that it was premature. Salem residents were largely opposed to a massive development as it was laid out. Prime representatives and Mayor Driscoll noted that discussions were on-going and any development would need to be thoughtful and collaborative. There was some confusion about whether or not this proposed ordinance was “spot zoning.” As a reminder, spot zoning is when a city applies zoning to a specific parcel or parcels of land within a larger zoned area when the rezoning is usually at odds with a city's master plan and current zoning restrictions. Councilor Morsillo reminded the audience that this ordinance came about because the Prime Group eroded public trust. She also noted that zoning should not be applied as a reactionary measure.
The final, and most contentious issue under discussion was the "temporary moratorium on new construction within buffer zones of a wetland or floodplain.” This was brought forward by 25 residents and endorsed by two councilors – Councilors Dibble and Dominguez. It is the second effort by this citizens group to bring this matter to the attention of the council. The moratorium, if adopted, will prohibit all new building permits for any construction within the buffer zone of a wetland or floodplain for two years. As written, the moratorium is broad and would include all manner of construction, including homeowner improvements. This prompted many councilors to oppose the proposal as overreaching and an encroachment on homeowners’ rights. While the implication of the ordinance was to protect wetlands, Dibble attempted to modify the language of the proposed ordinance to restrict the moratorium to residential and to exempt properties under 6 units, admitting that the goal of the ordinance was to stop massive residential development. No one is opposed to protecting wetlands, but there was a tremendous amount of debate around the true goal of this ordinance, with several planning board members and residents asserting it was anti-development wrapped in environmental protection. Ed note: Salem is facing two crises - climate change and housing. Both are already here and we need to work together to resolve both matters in a thoughtful and deliberative way.
EDITED TO CORRECT: The public hearing for the waterfront overlay proposal will continue on 30 September, which will give the city time to work with the developers and owner of Shetland. The gender-neutral language ordinance and moratoriam now sit with the planning board, who will review them in light of the public testimony and make recommendations to the council. The council will most likely send the matters to committee to review the planning board’s recommendations before voting on each matter. There will still be ample time to talk to your councilors, if you have any thoughts or opinions on any of these matters.
Respectfully submitted,
Jen Lynch