Swampscott dwelling on housing tax exemption

SWAMPSCOTT — The Affordable Housing Trust weighed seeking a tax exemption for affordable accessory dwelling units (ADUs) during its meeting Monday night.

In September 2022, then-Gov. Charlie Baker signed House Bill 4300 into effect for affordable-housing units with ADUs in the City of Salem. This mandated that the monthly rent price of the units not become more than 70% of the fair market rent limit established by the U.S. Department of Housing.

Director of Community and Economic Development Marzie Galazka initially said that she did not feel pursuing this policy in Swampscott was the right decision based on how it has been implemented in Salem so far.

“They had only about 30 potential applicants, and it wasn’t as successful,” Galazka said. “It does require a home petition… so then it would have to go through the state delegation.”

Chair Kimberly Martin-Epstein suggested that she and her peers work individually to gauge the necessity of the exemption for residents. Galazka said that moving forward, she will keep track of how many ADUs exist in Swampscott through avenues such as the Planning Board, building commissioner, and property owners themselves.

“Why don’t we just have a running agenda item for the next few meetings where we check in on this?” Martin-Epstein suggested.

She emphasized that it will be important to determine if the units are being used to create affordable-housing opportunities for those who need them, as opposed to property owners potentially using the exemption for family members

The exemption has four requirements for an individual living in a community in which it has been implemented. They are a certificate of occupancy issued from the municipality’s building department, a signed copy of the lease or a signed attestation from a tenant who is not paying rent along with their contact information, a scheduled interior inspection by the municipality’s assessing department of the entire property, and the completion of an application that must be submitted annually to the municipality’s assessing department.

AHT member Joan Honig asked Select Board member and AHT Liaison Doug Thompson about the status of the Glover Farmhouse. Property developer Leggat McCall was hired to replace the house once owned by Revolutionary War figure Gen. John Glover with a new 140-unit housing complex called Glover Residences. While direct confirmation has not been given by Leggat McCall, town representatives have alluded that the partnership might have been halted.

“It’s relatively known that the project with Leggat McCall seems to have stalled at best,” Thompson said. “But I’m not the authority on commenting.”

He added that as far as he is aware, discussions are underway to make the project happen.

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