Essex launches first Housing Production Plan with affordability data showing deep deficit

ESSEX -- January 30, 2025, Essex begins its first Housing Production Plan with affordability data showing most residents cannot afford to buy a home in town. The Essex Affordable Housing Trust held a public webinar January 30 at which Metropolitan Area Planning Council planners John Cruz and Emma Udlovich presented findings showing Essex's subsidized housing inventory stands at just 2.58 percent, far below the 10 percent state threshold, and that roughly 70 percent of households cannot afford a conventional mortgage on a home in Essex today, which requires an annual household income of approximately $200,000. Cruz, MAPC's senior housing and land use planner, told online participants that "no municipality in Massachusetts has ever been successful in getting their SHI numbers reduced," dismissing the possibility of a lower target for constrained communities. He said large apartment complexes are "a non-starter" for Essex given its wetlands, flood zones, and limited sewer infrastructure, and that MAPC's site recommendations will focus on small-scale multifamily near existing water and sewer lines. The plan is targeted for adoption at a joint Planning Board and Board of Selectmen meeting in December 2025.