Council gives first passage to Smart Growth Overlay for LifeBridge and Harbor Light expansion; councilors ask for further committee follow-up

The Salem City Council voted to approve first passage of a Smart Growth Overlay District zoning amendment tied to a proposed project that would expand LifeBridge's shelter and add Harbor Light supportive housing units on land bounded by Margin, Endicott and High streets.

Councilor Hapworth moved for first passage with an amendment to correct a scrivener's error in the ordinance language; the council approved the correction and then voted for first passage by roll call. The vote on first passage was recorded as nine in favor and two opposed. Councilors raised multiple substantive questions about project details, service models and neighborhood impacts and agreed the measure should proceed to the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs (co-posted with the Committee of the Whole) for further review prior to second passage.

Supporters, including Councilors Marcello, Watsonfeld and Proznewski, emphasized the need for more permanent supportive housing and cited Harbor Light's existing smaller projects in Salem as successful precedents. They argued that combining Harbor Light's units with an expanded LifeBridge facility — with on-site programming, meeting and classroom spaces — would help people move from homelessness into stable housing.

Opponents and some abutters repeated concerns raised in the Planning Board joint public hearing: lack of clarity on services and daytime programming, insufficient outdoor space, and distrust stemming from past neighborhood controversies involving a former parish site. Councilor Drizzle (a retired Salem police officer) and several residents called for stronger daytime programming, caps on shelter beds, and guarantees of local representation on any board overseeing LifeBridge expansion.

Councilors asked the developer and LifeBridge to provide details on the makeup of the LifeBridge board, local-preference provisions for future Harbor Light unit allocations, and the project's open-space and programming plans. Multiple councilors said they would support first passage now to preserve momentum but expected committee-level follow-up before second passage.

What happens next: the ordinance moves to committee for additional questions and to align project plans with the overlay's dimensional and open-space requirements before a second-passage vote. Councilors said they expect additional meetings with LifeBridge, Harbor Light and neighborhood representatives.