[Added by the 1989 Town Meeting; amended by the 2017 Town Meeting]
A. 
Accessory apartments are allowed in all districts that permit single-family dwellings.
B. 
To increase housing alternatives while maintaining neighborhood aesthetics and quality, one accessory apartment within a detached single-family dwelling shall be permitted, provided the following conditions are met:
(1) 
Maximum of one accessory apartment per single-family dwelling.
(2) 
The property owner must occupy one of the two units.
(3) 
The exterior appearance and entrances of the dwelling shall be consistent with a single-family residence.
(4) 
Only two bedrooms are permitted in the accessory apartment, and the apartment may not exceed 950 square feet of floor space.
[Amended by the 2020 and 2021 Town Meetings]
(5) 
Adequate provisions for water supply and sewage disposal for the accessory unit shall be made in accordance with RSA 485-A:38.
(6) 
Off-street parking shall be provided for at least four vehicles. Garage and "piggy-back" parking is encouraged.
(7) 
The structure and lot shall not be converted to a condominium or any other form of legal ownership distinct from the ownership of the existing single-family dwelling. Accessory apartment use shall be recorded by deed addendum.
(8) 
An accessory apartment shall not be permitted in addition to an in-law apartment or a family day-care center.
(9) 
Variances from this section shall be contrary to the spirit and intent of this chapter.
(10) 
Detached accessory apartments are not allowed.
(11) 
An interior door shall be provided between the principal dwelling unit and the accessory dwelling unit.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 490-802, In-law apartments, as amended by the 1993, 2000 and 2006 Town Meetings, was repealed by the 2021 Town Meeting.
No wall, fence or other structure* and no tree, shrub or other growth on the property shall so obstruct the view as to cause danger to traffic in the street. (*Note: Includes recreational vehicles in the Residential and Rural Districts.)
[Amended by the 2010 and 2015 Town Meetings]
No structure shall be constructed within 40 feet from the high-water mark of any lake, stream, or surface water system, except that no structure shall be constructed within 50 feet from the high-water mark for the protected shorelands defined by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services in accordance with RSA 483-B. The high-water mark shall not be moved or disturbed without Planning Board approval. No septic tank or leach field may be constructed closer than 75 feet to any surface water body, as defined by NHDES. The minimum distance between a septic tank and surface water may be reduced to 50 feet if NHDES regulations are met.
[Added by the 1983 Town Meeting]
A. 
In the interest of public safety, all homes, buildings and other structures shall clearly display, at a location that provides for unobstructed viewing from the street, the identifying building name and/or street address as recorded in the Town Assessor's office.
B. 
The size, type and location of the identifying building name and/or street address must be approved by the Salem Fire Chief or his designee and must conform to § 490-702, Signs, of this chapter.
C. 
Effective April 1, 1983, any home, building or other structure which requires a permit from the Building Department shall be required to comply with the building identification requirements of this section. Any property which is transferred after April 1, 1983, shall be required to comply with the building identification requirements of this section within 60 days of the date of the transfer.
[Amended by the 1988 Town Meeting]
No lot in the Residential, Garden Apartment, Rural, Recreational, or Manufactured Housing Park Districts may be used for the outside storage of more than one unregistered and/or uninspected motor vehicle. No more than one unregistered boat shall be permitted on a lot.
[Added by the 1983 Town Meeting]
The parking, but not occupation, of one recreational vehicle shall be permitted in the Residential, Rural, and Recreational Districts, subject to the following requirements:
A. 
Parking is permitted inside any enclosed structure, which structure otherwise conforms to the zoning requirements of the particular district where located.
B. 
Parking is permitted in the rear yard or side yard, provided that the recreational vehicle is located such that it conforms to the lot line setbacks of the particular district where located.
C. 
Parking is permitted outside on a driveway, provided that:
(1) 
Space is not available in the rear yard or side yard or there is no reasonable access to either the rear yard or side yard.
(2) 
No part of the recreational vehicle may be any closer than five feet to the street line.
(3) 
The recreational vehicle shall be parked perpendicular to the street line.
D. 
Parking is permitted for storage purposes, and any recreational vehicle shall not be:
(1) 
Used for dwelling purposes.
(2) 
Used for storage of goods, material or equipment other than those items considered to be part of the recreational vehicle or essential for its immediate use.
E. 
The recreational vehicle shall be owned by the resident on whose property it is parked for storage.
In instances where a dwelling located in the Residential, Rural, or Recreational District has been damaged by fire or other catastrophe and is being rebuilt or repaired, it shall be permissible to occupy one house trailer or motor home on that lot for a period not exceeding 90 days while the dwelling remains unoccupied, and up to an additional 90 days if the Building Inspector deems it advisable.
[Added by the 1994 Town Meeting; amended by the 2005 and 2022 Town Meetings]
A. 
Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, for any single-family or duplex dwelling originally constructed by a lawfully issued building permit, the Chief Building Official, Planning Director, and Building Inspector may together issue an administrative waiver of any setback violations, provided that the waiver may not be issued for any encroachment exceeding 10% of the required setback distance.
(1) 
In determining whether to issue such a waiver, the Chief Building Official shall consider the following factors:
(a) 
The potential causes for the original noncompliance.
(b) 
The effect on public health, safety and welfare created by the encroachment.
(c) 
The effect of nonenforcement of the required provisions on surrounding complying properties.
(2) 
No approval may be given for setback encroachments on both of the opposite sides of any structure.
B. 
If the Chief Building Official, Planning Director, and Building Inspector together should deny such waiver request, the property owner may file an administrative appeal of such a decision with the Zoning Board of Adjustment or may alternatively seek a variance from the terms of the underlying setback requirement.
[Added by the 1992 Town Meeting]
A. 
A person shall be permitted to expand otherwise permitted uses on premises subject to site plan jurisdiction of the Planning Board, notwithstanding the fact that said premises may not conform to lot coverage or setback requirements otherwise applicable to new uses, provided such expansion does not further diminish the lot coverage or increase the area or volume of the structure or uses which encroach into required setback areas.
B. 
Alteration or expansion of nonconforming structures. Alteration or expansion of a structure which is nonconforming solely because of dimensional requirements is permitted without Zoning Board of Adjustment approval, provided that:
[Added by the 2016 Town Meeting]
(1) 
The present use, a changed use, or an additional use is permitted in the district; and
(2) 
The alteration or expansion will not further violate setback dimensional requirements. Any new encroachment cannot come closer to a property line than the encroachment into the normal setback area made by the existing structure.
[Added by the 1992 Town Meeting]
Regular or sustained operation of equipment or unattended operation of vehicles which causes noise exceeding 45 dBA between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. or 55 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. at any dwelling (house, apartment or other permanent residence) in any district wherein such dwelling is a permitted use shall not be permitted in any district. Site development and construction, agriculture, forestry, maintenance of real property, and government operations are exempt from this requirement.
[Added by the 1997 Town Meeting]
Residential exterior lighting shall be installed or arranged in a manner which prevents direct light or glare, vertical or angled, from shining onto any public street or adjacent property so as to constitute a nuisance. Direct or indirect lighting shall not cause illumination in excess of 1.0 footcandle when measured at any point vertically above the boundary of any residential property or right-of-way of any public way.
Motor vehicle fuel may not be stored or dispensed in any district, except as follows:
A. 
Motor vehicle fuel may be stored and dispensed in Commercial-Industrial Subdistricts A, B, and C and in the Industrial District, at:
(1) 
Motor vehicle service or filling stations which serve the general public, except that no new motor vehicle filling stations may be constructed or installed or located within 1,320 feet of the Surface Source Water Protection Area as delineated by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services on a plan titled "Public Water Supply and Drinking Water Protection Areas of the Town of Salem."
[Amended by the 2003 Town Meeting]
(2) 
Commercial enterprises, for vehicles owned or operated by that enterprise for business purposes. The provisions regarding filling stations contained in § 490-501B(3)(b) shall not apply to such fuel dispensing facilities operated by such commercial enterprises.
B. 
The Board of Adjustment may grant special exceptions to permit storage and dispensing of motor vehicle fuel in any district, for the exclusive purpose of fueling motor vehicles (and equipment) operated on the same lot for agricultural purposes, provided that the Board of Adjustment finds that such storage and dispensing will not adversely affect the public health, safety or welfare.
[Added by the 2008 Town Meeting]
Pursuant to RSA 674:21, I(b), to ensure that the rate of growth of new dwelling units does not unreasonably interfere with the Town's capacity for planned, orderly, and sensible expansion of its services to accommodate such growth, the construction of new nonsenior multifamily housing units shall be phased so that no more than 50 units shall be built in any one project per year.
The following additional restrictions shall govern motel uses in the Commercial-Industrial Subdistrict B and the Industrial District:
A. 
The minimum lot and land area shall be three acres.
B. 
The minimum lot frontage shall be 300 feet, and the minimum lot depth 200 feet.
C. 
No building or structure shall be closer than 50 feet to any lot line.
D. 
A space of not less than 20 feet wide, grassed or shrubbed and prohibited for parking, shall be maintained along each lot line, except at driveways.
E. 
The maximum percentage of land area of each lot which may be occupied by buildings shall be 25%.
F. 
Each motel shall consist of not more than 20 units per acre of land area.
G. 
Each motel unit shall have one paved parking space adjoining its entrance.
[Added by the 1988 Town Meeting]
The following restrictions apply to child-care centers in Commercial-Industrial Subdistrict B:
A. 
Planning Board site plan approval is required.
B. 
Stockade fence and/or evergreen vegetation shall buffer all neighbors from children play areas as determined by the Planning Board.
C. 
Where municipal sewer is not provided, the septic system shall meet State Water Supply and Pollution Control Division (WSPCD) requirements for the permitted use.
D. 
An off-street area shall be provided for the loading and unloading of five vehicles.
E. 
The number of students attending the center is limited to 35.
F. 
All relevant state laws shall be complied with.
G. 
All other restrictions for the district shall be complied with.
[Added by the 2021 Town Meeting[1]]
At least 10% of the total dwelling units in all new multifamily housing projects which exceed the density allowed in the underlying zoning district shall be dedicated as affordable to moderate-income households, defined as being available at a cost of no more than 30% of gross household income of households at or below 60% of the Lawrence, MA PMSA - NH Portion median income as reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
[1]
Editor's Note: With the addition of this section, former §§ 490-817 and 490-818 were renumbered as §§ 490-818 and 490-819, respectively.
[Added by the 1992 Town Meeting; amended by the 2007 Town Meeting]
A. 
Purpose and intent. It is the purpose of this section to establish reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent the concentration of sexually oriented businesses within the Town of Salem, and it is the intent to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of Salem through regulation of the location of adult retail establishments, and it is the intent of this section that the regulations be utilized to prevent problems of blight and deterioration which accompany and are brought about by the concentration of sexually oriented businesses, and it is the intent of this section to address secondary effects of increased crime, urban blight, public lewdness, and spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and it is the intent of this section that the regulations be utilized to preserve quality of life and preserve property values and the character of the surrounding neighborhoods, and the provisions of this amendment have neither the purpose nor the effect of imposing limitation or restriction on the content of any communicative materials, including sexually oriented materials, and it is not the intent nor effect of this section to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented materials protected by the First Amendment, or to deny access by the distributors and exhibitors of sexually oriented entertainment to their intended market, and neither is it the intent nor effect of this section to condone or legitimize the distribution of obscene material.
B. 
Definitions. See § 490-107.
C. 
Allowed locations and location restrictions of sexually oriented businesses.
(1) 
Sexually oriented businesses, as defined, shall be permitted only in Commercial-Industrial Subdistricts B and C, provided that all other regulations, requirements, and restrictions for the district in which the sexually oriented business is to be located are met, and no sexually oriented business shall be permitted:
(a) 
Within 1,000 feet of another existing sexually oriented business or one for which a building permit has been applied for, on the date of the passage of this amendment;
(b) 
Within 750 feet of any Residential, Rural, Garden Apartment, Manufactured Housing or Recreational District;
(c) 
Within 750 feet of any church, place of worship, parish house, convent, public, parochial, or private school, kindergarten, state-approved day-care center or public sports/recreation parks;
(d) 
Within 750 feet of the Town boundaries; and
(e) 
Within a building, premises, structure or other facility that contains a sexually oriented business as defined in § 490-107.
(2) 
Measure of distance. The distance between any two sexually oriented businesses shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures, from the closest exterior structural wall or temporary or permanent physical divider between each business.
D. 
Additional reasonable regulations. The Planning Board is empowered hereunder to review and approve permit applications for sexually oriented businesses and impose reasonable restrictions for buffering, outdoor lighting, parking, adequate ingress and egress from the site off of and onto public roads, and pedestrian movement and to provide for appropriate landscaping and building aesthetics in the Site Plan Review Regulations of the Town of Salem, New Hampshire, and to avoid site development layout which may result in negative environmental impacts.