Essex, Massachusetts — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Essex during 2025.
Essex County indexed 1,163 projects with at least one decision in 2025, leading to 1,332 approved and 28 denied actions. Approval ran at 97.9%, in line with the high-approval baseline most Massachusetts jurisdictions show. Activity was relatively distributed across Methuen Town (351), Salem (228), and Gloucester (164).
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
1,163
Projects with decisions
1,332
Approved actions
28
Denied actions
97.9%
Approval rate (of actions)
By city
| City | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amesbury Town | 72 | 93 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Andover | 66 | 81 | 1 | 98.8% |
| Gloucester | 164 | 186 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Haverhill | 35 | 36 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Lawrence | 52 | 55 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Marblehead | 146 | 164 | 1 | 99.4% |
| Methuen Town | 351 | 439 | 3 | 99.3% |
| Nahant | 34 | 38 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Newburyport | 3 | 5 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Rowley | 11 | 14 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Salem | 228 | 221 | 21 | 91.3% |
| Swampscott | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.0% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities are included.