Residents urge council to retain 4‑to‑2 occupancy rule as Salisbury Town Center lawsuit proceeds

Residents at the June 2 Salisbury City Council session urged the council to resist repeal of a long-standing "4-to-2" occupancy rule and raised a recent lawsuit challenging the sale of property tied to the Salisbury Town Center apartment project.

What happened: Robert Taylor, a Salisbury resident, told the council he had obtained a copy of a newly filed 40-page lawsuit seeking to rescind the city's sale of property connected to the Salisbury Town Center apartment development. Taylor suggested the city should question whether it is appropriate to pay outside counsel in the matter when the developer and the city are listed as co-defendants and said he would share the complaint with council members.

Separately, speakers including Lisa Gingrich (appearing in the transcript as Lisa Ganner in an earlier line) and others urged the council not to repeal a so-called "4‑to‑2" ordinance passed about 15 years ago that limits conversions in single-family neighborhoods. Residents said the rule has helped preserve neighborhood character near the university and other historic districts and that removing it would risk over-occupancy and other unintended consequences. "Rules are usually made for the lowest common denominators... I think to get rid of it is a huge mistake," one speaker said.

Why it matters: The 4‑to‑2 rule is designed to limit conversions of single-family homes into higher-occupancy uses; supporters argued it has preserved housing character and property values in neighborhoods such as Newtown. Several speakers suggested alternative strategies to increase affordable housing — for example, requiring developers who subdivide to include dedicated affordable or attainable units — rather than removing neighborhood protections.

Council follow-up and next steps: Council members and the mayor said the topic has been raised in recent coverage and that while there may be room for targeted modifications, wholesale repeal could have unintended consequences. A council member said a work session on housing issues — including accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and attainable housing requirements — is already on the summer docket and that staff will schedule further discussion.

Ending: Residents asked the council to balance housing supply and affordability goals with neighborhood preservation; the council signaled it will continue deliberations in a planned housing work session but recorded no vote or ordinance change at the June 2 meeting.