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Name: Salem City Council
Start: 2026-10-08
Location: Salem, MA

October 8, 2026 Final

Agenda PDF Official record ↗

Agenda — 19 items

In City Council October 8, 2026 ORDERED: The Mayor is hereby authorized to execute an agreement and accept and expend $5,000,000 in funds from a Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Green School Works Grant, $4,798,587 in funds from a National Grid Thermal Energy in Schools Initiative grant, and $2,483,235 in funds from a Department of Energy Resources Thermal Energy in Schools Initiative grant. The funds shall be used for the decarbonization and electrification of the Horace Mann School, including related design and project management services.
In City Council October 8, 2026 Ordered: That a petition to the General Court, accompanied by a bill for an act authorizing the City of Salem to impose an excise on short-term rentals dedicated to a Housing Stability Fund as set forth below, be filed with an attested copy of this Order be, and hereby is, approved under Clause (1) of Section 8 of Article 2, as amended, of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to the end that the following legislation be adopted, except for amendments by the Senate or House of Representatives which conform to the intent of this home rule petition: AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF SALEM TO IMPOSE AN EXCISE ON SHORT-TERM RENTALS DEDICATED TO A HOUSING STABILITY FUNDBe it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:SECTION 1. Notwithstanding section 14 of chapter 64G of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the City of Salem is hereby authorized to impose an annual excise on the privilege of operating a short-term rental, as defined in the City’s short-term rental ordinance, in the City of Salem. The excise shall be payable by the operator of the short-term rental in the amount of $1,000 per unit per year for a short-term rental of a residential unit that is not the operator’s primary residence, as those terms are defined in said ordinance, and $500 per unit per year for all other short-term rentals. The City Council may, by ordinance, adjust said amounts annually by not more than the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding year. The excise shall not apply to a short-term rental of a room or rooms within a residential unit that is the primary residence of its owner while the owner is present, or to a short-term rental located in a lodging house or bed and breakfast licensed or permitted as such by the City. The excise shall be in addition to any short-term rental registration fee, room occupancy excise, or community impact fee imposed under any other general or special law.SECTION 2. The excise authorized by this act shall be adopted by ordinance of the City Council of the City of Salem, with the approval of the Mayor, which ordinance shall establish the effective date of the excise and provisions for its collection, enforcement, and abatement.SECTION 3. Notwithstanding section 53 of chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the City of Salem is hereby authorized to establish a Housing Stability Fund, into which all revenue collected from the excise authorized by this act shall be deposited. The Fund may also receive appropriations, gifts, grants, and investment earnings. Any balance in the Fund at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund. Monies in the Fund may be expended, subject to appropriation, only for emergency shelter, transitional housing, and homelessness-prevention services, and reasonable costs of administering such programs.SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
In City Council October 8, 2026 Ordered: That the Order adopted by the City Council on May 14, 2026, and approved by the Mayor on May 18, 2026, appropriating funds for feasibility study and schematic design costs related to the proposed Accelerated Repair Project at the Horace Mann Laboratory School, 79 Willson Street, is hereby amended by deleting the words “Two Hundred Fifty Thousand ($250,000) Dollars” and inserting in their place the words “Five Hundred Thousand ($500,000) Dollars.” This amendment increases the total appropriation for the purposes stated in the original Order to $500,000, an increase of $250,000. The additional $250,000 shall be appropriated in accordance with the funding authorization contained in the original Order.All other provisions of the original Order remain in full force and effect.
Order from National Grid to relocate 1 Jointly Owned Pole on Summit Ave at the corner of Summit Ave and Eden Street.Request from National Grid to Cancel this Hearing
The Mayor's appointment of Ans Ishfaq of 58 Mill Street Apt 7, Woburn, Ma to serve as a Constable in the City of Salem for a term to expire on October 8, 2026
In City Council October 8, 2026 ORDERED: In accordance with Chapter 32, Article 5, Section 32-121 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Salem, the Salem Police Department respectfully requests authority to install temporary video surveillance cameras at several key, high traffic / high profile areas. The cameras are the property of the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and are intended as a security enhancement during the City's Haunted Happenings festivities. Anticipated removal of the cameras in November 2026 at the conclusion of the festivities.
Motion to Suspend the Rules to take a Reconsideration Vote on the Motion for Reconsideration of the City Council's September 10, 2026, vote to Adopt the Recommendation of the City Seal Task Force.
In City Council October 8, 2026 ORDERED: That the Regular Meetings of the City Council for the Month of November and December be held on Thursday, November 12, 2026, and Thursday, December 3, 2026.
Request from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem to hold the Wild Turkey 5 Mile Run on November 26, 2026 from 8am-10am.
A Request from National Grid to install 1 Single Owned Pole on Bridge Street at the intersection of Bridge Street and Flint Street.
Councillor Varela offered the following report for the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs co-posted with the Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of Data Centers. Has considered said matter and would recommend: adoption for Second Passage as amended An Ordinance Amending a Zoning Ordinance Relative to Data Centers Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Salem, as follows: Section I. Section 3.1 Table of Principal and Accessory Use Regulations of the City of Salem Zoning Ordinance is hereby amended by adding in Section D Industrial Uses, after “Contractor’s yard; landscaping business”, the following, shown in underlined and italics: Section II. Section 10.0 Definitions is hereby amended by inserting the following definition after the definition for “COOP”:Data Center: A facility, or portion thereof, primarily designed or used to house computer servers and related information technology infrastructure for the storage, processing, management, or transmission of electronic data. A Data Center may include, but is not limited to, server racks, data storage systems, cooling systems, power conditioning equipment, substations, uninterruptible power supplies, backup generators, telecommunications equipment, security systems, and associated mechanical and electrical infrastructure. For purposes of this ordinance, a Data Center shall not be considered an Office, Warehouse, Manufacturing, or Research use. A Data Center shall not include such computer servers and related information technology infrastructure that is accessory, incidental and subordinate to a lawful principal use at the same facility, or portion thereof. However, this exception does not cover a separate business providing data storage, server hosting, distributed processing, or similar technology to third parties. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Data Centers are prohibited in each and every underlying district, overlay district and special district of this Ordinance.Section III. This Ordinance shall take effect as provided by City Charter
Councillor Davis offered the following report on The Committee on Administration and Finance co-posted with the Committee of the Whole to whom it was referred the matter the Skipper Program and any contracts with Via Transportation Inc., DBA River North Transit, LLC. Of NY for an on demand rideshare program.Has considered said matter and would recommend: Action Unknown meeting happened after Agenda Deadline
Petition from the Residents of Chestnut to hold a Block Party from Summer Street to Flint Street on October 31, 2026 from 4:30pm-8pm with no rain date.
The Mayor's Appointment of the following to the Salem Cultural Council with terms to expire: Marc Miller 51 Lafayette Street Unit 604 expiring on October 6, 2029 Anthony Barente 263 Jefferson Ave expiring on June 28, 2027.This is for informational purposes only.
Held from the last meeting, The Mayor's Appointment of the following to the Taxpayer Relief Committee with Terms to Expire September 24, 2029.Joe Ferrari 33 Roslyn St. SalemKathleen Walker 2 Derby Sq. SalemJill El-Ashkar 212 Canal St. Salem
#387 Section I. Amend Section 5.1.8 Table of Required Parking Spaces by a. Deleting the phrase "Dwellings, two-family;” in the first row of the table B. Adding to the phrase "Dwellings, two-family;” to the second row of the table, so it reads:  <table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="bottom" style="width: 69.5842%; vertical-align: top;">Use</td><td valign="bottom" style="width: 30.4158%; vertical-align: top;">Required Parking</td></tr><tr><td valign="bottom" style="width: 69.5842%; vertical-align: top;">Dwellings, two-family; Dwellings, multifamily</td><td valign="bottom" style="width: 30.4158%; vertical-align: top;">None</td></tr></tbody></table> Section II. Amend Section 6.11.8 Parking and Loading a. Inserting the phrase "and two-family dwelling units" after “For multifamily dwelling units” at the beginning of the section.Section III. Amend Section 8.7.8.4 Development Standards. Parking Standards Section B. Parking Ratios, section i by inserting the phrase "and two-family dwellings" after “For multifamily dwellings”
Layed on the Table from the last meeting September 24, 2026 ORDERED: Per Salem’s Traffic Ordinance Section 20A – Experimental regulations for the purpose of trial, Dodge Street shall be one-way in an east bound direction from Dodge Street Court to Lafayette Street. This condition will be in effect from October 1 to October 31, 2026.
In City Council October 8, 2026 Ordered: That the sum of One Hundred Five Thousand Five Hundred Thirty-Four Dollars and Fourteen Cents ($105,534.14) be approved within the “Retirement Stabilization Fund-Vacation/Sick Leave Buyback” account (83113-5146) to be expended for the contractual buyback(s) listed below in accordance with the recommendation of His Honor the Mayor.Name Department Amount Ilene Simons City Clerk $53,619.85Paul DeFranco Fire $51,914.29 Total: $105,534.14
Held from the last meeting the Mayor's Re-Appointment of the following with terms to expire: Allie Carufel Food Policy Council 83 Essex Street September 24,2029 Bryan Apito Public Art Commission 11 Cleveland Road September 24,2028Jim Bostick Public Art Commission 32 Barr Street September 24,2028

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