MALDEN CITY COUNCIL ROUNDUP: Councillor Spadafora proposes increasing owner-occupied homeowner tax break; Council approves special permit for new Malden Sq. cannabis retailer

City Assessor will make a future presentation on how proposed increase from 30% to 35% of an exemption would affect taxpayers, city finances

By Steve Freker

Malden could possibly join the cities of Somerville and Boston and become the third community statewide to offer the highest property tax break allowed by state law for owner-occupied residences.

Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora at the most recent Malden City Council meeting offered a resolution calling for the city to raise its owner-occupied property tax exemption from 30% to 35% for the next rate-setting fiscal period. The residential exemption is a reduction in real estate taxes for all those homeowners who occupy their property as their principal residence. The residential exemption amount is a reduction of a given percentage of the average assessed value of single-family residential properties.

The property tax rate is set by municipal governing bodies and is announced near the end of each calendar year after a public hearing. Malden’s property tax rate for residential properties is $11.33 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Malden is one of only 17 communities that consistently approve – through their elected officials – of the residential exemptions. Some of the others are Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Marlboro, Nantucket, Somerset, Somerville, Tisbury, Waltham and Watertown. The communities differ with respect to the percentages of residential exemptions. Boston and Somerville have set their residential exemption percentages at 35%, the highest allowed. The other municipalities, including Malden, are at 30% for the residential exemption.

Spadafora said the prime reason he was promoting this change “is to discourage absentee landlords who aren’t doing the right thing.”

“We can’t control the value of the houses, but maybe we can incentivize homeowners to stay [in Malden],” Councillor Spadafora said. “We want to also encourage people who do not own a home to become homeowners.”

For Malden residents, an increase to a 35% property tax residential exemption from 30% would save the average single-family homeowner about $447 in their annual property tax bill.

According to figures supplied by Assessor Nate Cramer at the November 2024 Council public hearing where the members voted to set the FY2025 property tax rate, the average assessed value of a single-family home in Malden was $792,121. Using the 30% owner-occupied residential exemption, that means the average Malden homeowner – with a residence assessed at just under $800,000 – would have a property tax bill of approximately $6,283.

If the residential exemption is increased to 35%, the property tax burden for average Malden owner-occupied single-family homes would be reduced to $5,834, a savings of about $447. The non-owner-occupied single-family homeowner would pay $8,975 annually in property tax in Malden.

Both Spadafora and Kramer pointed out that the residential exemption, in Malden, does not apply to single-family homes assessed at $1.2 million or more. Kramer reported at the February 11 meeting there are 13 single-family homes valued at $1.2 million or higher and at the November 2024 meeting said there were just 8,000 homes in Malden that did qualify for the residential exemption.

Councillor-at-Llarge Carey McDonald, who also serves as the Council’s Finance Committee chairperson, stressed that increasing the residential exemption to 35%, if the Council ultimately goes that route, would not affect municipal revenues. “It’s a zero-sum game. The tax burden would shift to those properties not owner-occupied,” Councillor McDonald said. “I would like to be able to support it. There’s a lot of lead time to look at it.”

Ward 6 Councillor Stephen Winslow said, “It’s worth discussing.” He said, “Some [homeowners’] taxes will go up, others will go down, if the residential exemption rate changes.”

“It will be like a seesaw. It might seem easy, but we would be reducing taxes for a lot of people, but raising them for a lot of others,” Winslow said. “It depends on where you are in the seesaw.”

The Council has until before the end of the 2025 calendar year to set the FY2026 property tax rate, residential and commercial. It is usually voted on in November.

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City Council approves special permit for new Malden Sq. cannabis retailer

The Malden City Council at its last regular meeting on February 11 unanimously approved the issuance of a special permit for a new cannabis/marijuana retailer to be located at 36 Charles St., on the close outskirts of Malden Square. Voting unanimously, 10-0, in favor of granting an amendment to the original special permit – which dates back to 2022 – for DMS Trinity LLC, dba Trinity Naturals, were City Councillors Peg Crowe (Ward 1), Paul Condon (Ward 2), Amanda Linehan (Ward 3), Ari Taylor (Ward 5), Stephen Winslow (Ward 6) and Chris Simonelli (Ward 7) and Councillors-at-Large Carey McDonald, Craig Spadafora and Karen Colón Hayes. Ward 8 Councillor Jadeane Sica was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

Trinity Naturals also operates a marijuana retailer in Chelsea at 270 2nd St. The outfit first applied and was approved for special permit to operate in Malden in 2022. A series of stops and starts in its moves to remodel the interior of the 356 Charles St. building have resulted in a nearly three-year delay, leading up to the February 11 vote of approval.

The Councillors voted to approve the special permit as long as the petitioner, Trinity Naturals, adheres to a list of 20 specific conditions suggested by the Malden Planning Board and supported by the City Council. The 20 conditions are as follows:

The Planning Board recommends to the City Council approval of the petition to amend the special permit granted in Case #233-23, only provided subject to the following twenty (20) conditions:

1. Peer review petitioner’s Response to Traffic Peer Review Comments dated February 25, 2022 and implement any recommended mitigation.
2. This special permit authorizes marijuana retailer use of only 5,524 SF of the first floor, as per plans, and specifically: 1,676 SF for retail space, 1,455 SF for loading, delivery area and indoor trash storage, and the remainder, approximately 2,393 SF, for vault, accessory offices and common areas. All other areas of the building shall remain vacant and shall be used for no purpose whatsoever, including storage by the marijuana retailer, and any use or occupancy shall require an amendment to this special permit.
3. The loading and delivery area may be used for parking during retail hours.
4. Install bicycle parking onsite for four bicycles, accessible to customers and employees.
5. Repair or replace sidewalks, driveways and perform necessary incidental work, adjacent to the property, to the satisfaction of DPW Director.
6. Implement Transportation Demand Measures regarding rideshare and parking attendant.
7. All development shall be as per plans, including landscaping of the northwest portion of the lot, except as modified by these conditions.
8. The special permit is non-transferable and non-assignable.
9. Design and implement a Security Plan approved by the Malden Police Chief and Malden Cannabis Licensing and Enforcement Commission.
10. Consumption of Marijuana and/or Marijuana Products is prohibited at or within 500 feet.
11. Smoking or burning of Marijuana and/or Marijuana Products is prohibited on the premises.
12. Marijuana in any form, including plants, and Marijuana Products shall not be visible from outside of the building.
13. Any outside storage of any kind is prohibited.
14. Any outside display of any kind is prohibited.
15. Incorporate odor control technology and provisions and ensure that emissions do not violate M.G.L. c.111 § 31C, including but not limited to those specified for odors.
16. Prior to issuance of any final occupancy permit, submit copies of the following licenses and approvals: a) A valid license issued by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, as defined herein this Ordinance; b) A fully executed Community Host Agreement with the City of Malden, as defined herein this Ordinance; c) Any required license and/or approvals issued by the Malden Cannabis Licensing and Enforcement Commission; and d) Any required license and/or approvals issued by the Malden Board of Health.
17. Mitigation based on preliminary peer review and after the six-month traffic study is conducted.
18. The Petitioner shall work with the City and the abutting property owners to connect the Spot Pond Greenway Project to the bike path.
19. Provide twelve (12) off-site parking spaces.
20. The hours of retail operation shall be 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.