Committee approves temporary ban on narration during tours on Howard Street

The Salem City Council Committee on Licenses and Legal Affairs voted 3-0 on Oct. 8 to amend the city—ode to prohibit tour guides from stopping to give narration on Howard Street while still allowing guides to walk the street with groups.

The committee ction, offered as a narrow safety measure for Howard Street and described by the chair as an "emergency measure," would prevent guides from stopping in the street or using amplification to deliver stories on Howard Street while permitting them to traverse it. The amendment would return to the full council for second passage if the committee ecision is adopted by the council.

The chair, who introduced the ordinance amendment and said they brought the Howard Street measure forward, said the public guide ordinance has become "absolutely piecemeal," with varying rules from street to street. The chair described Howard Street as "signed as a shared street" with no continuous walkable sidewalk and said guides frequently stop in the middle of the street with groups of as many as "40 people" to tell stories about the cemetery and Giles Corey, creating what the chair and others described as an unsafe condition for residents, drivers and visitors.

Councilor Gerslow, who moved the amendment to "amend section 40-30 and add these prohibitions for Howard Street as stated," said the ordinance change was intended to be a narrow safety measure specifically posted on the agenda for Howard Street. Councilor Morsell said she had "no problem with allowing this for Howard Street" but stressed the issue exists on other streets such as Botts Court and suggested the city should consider broader, citywide rules for tour activity.

Assistant City Clerk Maureen Fisher was present to answer procedural questions for the committee. The motion to amend Section 40-30 passed on a 3-0 voice vote in committee. The committee chair said the amendment had already received first passage and, if forwarded by the committee, would go back to the council for second passage.

The committee declined at the meeting to expand the amendment beyond Howard Street; several councilors urged a separate, future review of the public guide ordinance to address amplification, hours and group-size limits across other streets.

The committee's action will be transmitted to the full Salem City Council for consideration at second passage. The transcript records no immediate changes to citywide policy, nor any additional enforcement details beyond the amended text proposed for Howard Street.