Melrose Earns Safe Harbor Housing Status Through September

MELROSE, MA — The city announced that it has been granted “safe harbor status” by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities through Sept. 2 of this year.

The status allows the Zoning Board of Appeals to deny permit applications for potential affordable housing developments during the next six months. The status was granted due to the city’s progress in its Housing Production Plan and the amount of developments that are considered affordable by being sold at the rate of the area median income or less. A community must have enough housing units affordable to low- and moderate-income households that are eligible for inclusion on the Subsidized Housing Inventory that have been produced in one calendar year in order to be granted safe harbor status by the EOHLC. According to Mayor Jen Grigoraitis, the city’s application was approved due to its developments on 199 through 201 Essex St and 556 Franklin St., which both combine for more than 100 units.

“This certification by state housing officials shows that Melrose is doing its part to meet the regional housing crisis by adding an appropriate number of affordable units to our local housing supply,” Grigoraitis said. “I’m very grateful to the city’s planning and community development staff and officials for their hard work in documenting this status and achieving compliance, which will help ensure that our local planning and zoning boards have the appropriate level of input into and oversight over the kinds of projects that can be built in our community.”

The ability to deny new permits does not work retroactively and cannot alter any 40B applications submitted prior to its effective date. The Melrose Housing Production Plan began in 2022 and will be used to guide the city’s housing efforts through April 2027. The plan features the goal of developing approximately 250 affordable units in total.

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