Schablein: Salisbury’s density amendment is key to our community’s future

As we enter a new year, the housing crisis stands out as both urgent and deeply personal. It’s not just a national emergency. It’s happening here in Salisbury, where the future of our community depends on what happens next with the Density Amendment being debated by the Salisbury City Council.

Right now, powerful landlords are fighting to block new housing while charging rents so high that many people can no longer afford to live there. This troubling pattern is playing out across the country, leaving countless young people without the resources to strike out on their own.

Consider this: 45% of people aged 18 to 29 live at home with their parents, the highest rate since the 1940s. Over the past two years, more than 60% of Gen Z and Millennials have had to move back home due to skyrocketing housing costs. This housing crisis is strangling opportunity, mobility, and independence for an entire generation.

I consider myself fortunate. I live alone in Downtown Salisbury, a privilege made possible by housing developments like the Powell Building, built when then-Mayor Jake Day started the push to build more housing downtown. Without that progress, I would likely still be living with my parents, too. This personal experience is why I’m speaking up in favor of the Density Amendment. Everyone deserves the same chance to live independently, build their future, and thrive.

But this debate isn’t just about housing units, it’s about people and the choices we make for our community’s future:

• Will your kids and grandkids be able to live nearby, or will they be forced to move hours away—or across the country—to find affordable housing?
• Will Salisbury continue to face shortages of doctors, nurses, and teachers because they can’t afford to live here?
• Will Salisbury’s college graduates stay to invest in and grow our community, or will they take their skills and resources elsewhere?

These are the stakes of the Density Amendment. If we don’t act, big landlords will keep manipulating the housing market, buying off politicians, and charging unsustainable rents that put working families in impossible situations. We can’t let this happen.

We have a choice: to build a better future for everyone in Salisbury or to allow powerful interests to maintain the status quo at the expense of our community’s growth and well-being. It’s time to pass the Density Amendment, build more housing, and create opportunities for everyone to succeed right here at home.

Salisbury deserves leadership that prioritizes people over profits. It’s time for the Salisbury City Council to pass the Density Amendment and for Mayor Taylor to stop putting his profits and the profits of his landlord donors ahead of working Salisbury families.

Jared Schablein
Salisbury resident
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.