SALEM — The residential committee discussed a proposal for an audit of the city’s zoning code in its meeting Tuesday.

City Councilman and Committee Chairman Evan Newman stressed that the potential audit by Mentor-based consulting firm Verdantas was not being considered for immediate action. He said that he felt it should instead be considered as a potential item for the city’s 2026 budget cycle, considerations which he said would include the cost of the audit’s impact on the city’s operating budget and on potential external funding sources to cover part or all of that expense like grants.

“Just to be clear with everyone, this is something I’d like to look at for the 2026 budget cycle. I’d like to look at grants, so I’m not asking for any appropriation of money. I think we all are well aware we’re working with tight budgets, and the financial outlook of the city right now is something we all need to be cognizant of,” said Newman.

Newman said that a potential audit of the city’s zoning code was viewed as a potential step to address housing concerns in the city long-term, and to be prepared for potential impacts of pending legislation and potential tariff on the city’s and surrounding community’s manufacturing base.

“We’ve come up against housing struggles in the city. There are some folks interested in potential new opportunities for housing but there’s not much available so what’s the future of housing in the city going to look like? There’s been a lot of conversations around the country about when some of these new tariffs and laws come into play and what the downstream effect of housing needs will be,” said Newman. “If there is a manufacturing boom as a result. Given that we are a manufacturing-based community and we have a few manufacturers in the area…if there’s 20,000 jobs added to a manufacturing facility, or a new facility added to the community, how do we address some of these housing concerns.”

Verdantas Community Planner Sarah Jammal said that a potential zoning audit would begin with a “kickoff” with city council and the city’s zoning officials to “really dive into [their] concerns” and collect all necessary data for the audit, like frequently occurring variances in the code and zoning complaint. Following that event the full audit would begin, with “best practices” and options shared to address frequent issues.

“We can kind of let you know some best practices, some options. We have no agenda; I always say that as a planner. We’re looking for you to thrive and for residents and council to work together to benefit the community, but we’re looking to give you a lot of different ways to get there,” said Jammal. “The first formal document we would give you would be a memo of findings and an updated framework for the zoning code if you wish to go forward with that as well as any recommendations for altering the zoning map…then we would finish up that memo process and identify any specific section you might want to update or rewrite.”

Jammal said that while she was not typically very involved with building, that typically for a community of Salem’s size the audit would cost approximately $7,000. This doesn’t include the cost of re-writing individual sections of the code, which she said would be quoted on an “a la carte basis” depending on the nature and magnitude of the update.

Jammal also said that Verdantas can also help a community seek grant funding to help cover the costs of its services, noting that they have a team of seven full-time people who pursue funding opportunities. Newman asked how the city could best prepare to seek potential grant funding and Jammal said that following pending legislation and “having a thumb on the pulse” of funding discussions at the state level would be a good place to start. Newman also asked what the timeline for an audit would be if the city did decide to move forward with the proposal in the 2026 budget and Jammal said it would take approximately three to four months after approval is received to complete.

Newman said that he felt that a zoning audit, and potentially targeted re-writes of certain sections of the zoning code, would help address several of the city’s housing issues. No formal action was taken; however, Newman said that he would like to further discuss the proposal and its potential budgetary impact with all city council members in a meeting of the committee of the whole.