If you want to improve or build on your property but cannot meet a development standard in the Salem Revised Code (SRC), you can seek an adjustment. Adjustments provide an alternative way to meet the purposes of the SRC and provide flexibility to allow reasonable development of property where special conditions or unusual circumstances exist.

Adjustments cannot be granted to:

1. Allow a use or activity not allowed under the Unified Development Code SRC Chapters 110-900
2. Change the status of a use or activity
3. Modify a definition or use classification
4. Modify a use standard
5. Modify the applicability of any requirement
6. Modify a development standard specifically identified as non-adjustable
7. Modify a development standard that contains the word “prohibited”
8. Modify a procedural requirement
9. Modify a condition of approval placed on property through a previous planning action
10. A design review guideline or design review standard
11. The required landscaping in the Industrial Business Campus (IBC) zone

Step 1: Determine Your Application Type

There are two types of adjustments:

• Class 1 adjustments allow limited deviations of up to 20 percent from numerical development standards. For example, a Class 1 Adjustment could be requested to reduce a setback from a property line from 20 to 16 feet.
• Class 2 adjustments allow deviations of more than 20 percent from numerical development standards or deviations from other types of development standards. For example, a Class 2 Adjustment could be requested to reduce a setback from a property line from 20 to 15 feet or to allow a sight-obscuring fence where the code does not allow it.

If you need help determining what type of adjustment you need, you can talk to a planner.

Step 2: Apply for an Adjustment