“Here is Home:” New initiative announced for affordable and accessible housing in Salisbury

SALISBURY, Md.- The city of Salisbury is trying to address making housing more affordable and accessible, specifically for those who are homeless.

That’s where the “Here is Home” program comes into play.

“I believe that this legislation could probably have the greatest impact on the city since I’ve been on the council,” Jack Heath, City Council President, said.

There are many pieces to the puzzle addressed in this package of legislative housing solutions.

First, Mayor Jake Day explains to address the supply shortage they need to drive new development.

“This is a piece of legislation that would create a temporary waiver of all fees to develop or annex residential development into the city,” Mayor Day said.

“The housing that we do have, the housing stock they have incredible waitlists to get into those because there’s such a need,” Christine Chestnutt, Housing and Homelessness Manager for Salisbury, said.

The second piece tries to address the affordability crisis.

Developers creating new affordable housing can apply for a tax break from the city.

“So, what that means is that instead of building two to three homes a year, perhaps we can build six homes, that’s extremely impactful for the families that are waiting, we have a waiting list right now of 9 partner families,” Molly Hilligos, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity, said.

Hilligoss said not only will this allow them to acquire more property and double their capacity, but adding each new house has a huge lifetime economic impact on the community.

She says according to the SU Beacon, the lifetime economic impact of each new house, in 2020, was $1,780,938, and the one time economic impact of each new house was $236,973.

And, the last part of the plan deals with building a tiny home village for those who are experiencing homelessness.

“For people to be able to have a place to lay their head, for people to have a place to keep their belongings safe, they can go in and lock their door, to have heat and air conditioning that’s something that everyone deserves,” Chestnutt said.

We’re told there’s still a lot of work to be done, and communication will be key, but leaders are excited to keep moving things forward.