Salem Restaurants, Entertainment Struck From Business Zoning Ordinance

SALEM, MA — A Salem zoning change designed to allow for greater walkable, small-scale business opportunities outside of downtown areas passed a first reading on Thursday with an amendment that excludes restaurants that serve alcohol and “entertainment” businesses, such as yoga and martial arts studios.

The Salem City Council passed the compromise despite a majority of members indicating they supported including those businesses in the change, but allowing they did not have the “super majority” votes to pass the ordinance without the exclusions.

The change is also aimed at creating consistency within the “B1” zones where many businesses were already grandfathered into being allowed before the current zoning ordinances took effect but were unable to be replaced with similar establishments should they go went of business.

“The motivation here is not that we should allow this because it’s already happening,” Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo told the Council Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs on Thursday. “The motivation is that we want to cultivate the opportunity for more neighborhood-scale, walkable, small businesses and microenterprises.”

Pangallo was among those who argued that small restaurants should be included in the new allowance. But a series of those who spoke in front of the committee during public comment said they opposed changes that they said would create more noise and congestion in the largely residential neighborhoods.

City Councilor Cynthia Jerzylo introduced the amendment that passed by a 7-2 vote against the restaurant, alcohol and entertainment allowance.

“Everybody keeps talking about grocery stores and how they want grocery stores,” Jerzylo said. “You saw tonight how many constituents just from Derby Street showed up to speak. I didn’t count how many emails I got that were opposed on Derby Street to this ordinance, but you saw how many people actually came out tonight and spoke against it. And a lot of has to do with more alcoholic beverages, restaurants and bars in that neighborhood that they will have to deal with.

“The burden is on the residents when there are loud people leaving at night, a lot of cars, people parking and blocking their driveways. Working on the police department for many years, I heard a lot of complaints when the Pig’s Eye was there that people were leaving drunk, loud, late at night. This is what people have to deal with night after night.”

Pangallo and multiple Councilors had noted that any business — including those that serve alcohol — would still have to acquire a special permit to open in the B1 districts, and that similar small restaurants allowed are “amenities and assets to our communities, and not detractors,” noting that “if Peabody can do it, then surely Salem can do it too.”

The ordinance as passed will allow daycare centers with fewer than six children, grocery stores smaller than 15,000 square feet, and home occupations such as tutors or those who teach art or have a law practice in their residences.

Committee Chair Patti Morsillo expressed frustration that opposition to the ordinance change came from some residents who claimed they were just hearing of it despite it going through a full process of public hearings and the planning board review and recommendation.

“I’m sorry to lose my cool on that and I try very hard to keep an even keel at these meetings,” Morsillo said. “But I just don’t know how to get everyone engaged. Not only in our work but for residents to be engaged with what we’re doing here. … So I would encourage residents in Salem to take a step forward. We are trying to push out information but residents need to take a step forward to be engaged, to keep engaged, to look at the calendar, to ask their Ward councilors questions, to be involved in the neighborhood organizations.”

Morsillo echoed Pangallo’s sentiments about the intent of the ordinance to bring small businesses of benefit to neighborhoods without adding to the traffic and congestion from those having to travel via car to commercial districts for everyday services and to eliminate the exclusionary aspects of only allowing “grandfathered” businesses in the B1 districts.

“We hear over and over that residents want to be able to walk to local amenities,” she said. “Being able to walk to a yoga, or martial arts studio would have a positive impact on neighborhoods. Being able to walk to neighborhood restaurants like Dube’s or the Tin Whistle has very much a positive impact of living in the Castle Hill neighborhood.

“If there were a few more amenities in B1 neighborhoods, maybe we could travel less by car. It’s ironic that so many complain about all the traffic in Salem while continuing to block and argue against allowing small amenities like these in our neighborhoods.”

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)