The Belmont City Council unanimously approved the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan, closing a significant chapter in the approximately four-year-effort aimed at improving the city’s outdoor recreation spaces over the next 15 years.
Julia Mates
The PROS project picked up toward the end of 2020, and the document lays out the plans and strategies for Belmont’s parks and environmental sustainability commitments.
“This is a very readable, usable plan,” said Mayor Julia Mates. “I want to encourage input from our community as we implement this plan and go forward. We should be proud of this document, and we should go ahead and use it to the fullest extent.”
But the project hasn’t come without its challenges. The council held off on implementing an initial draft plan about a year and a half ago, and pushback remained even up until last month, when some public commenters derided city staff, accusing them of disregarding the mountain lion population at Water Dog Lake, and sparred with mountain biking residents at the commission meeting. The Parks and Recreation Commission still moved forward with the plan, and the City Council ultimately voted for its adoption at the meeting Tuesday, March 12.
Some of the key initiatives in the plan include improvements to park amenities — such as park restrooms and sports facilities — enhancing ADA-compliant accessibility, adding more traffic calming measures in the city’s park trails and updating recreation centers, particularly the Barrett Community Center.
While all councilmembers voted in favor of adopting the PROS plan, Councilmember Davina Hurt pushed for more tributes to the city’s indigenous presence, referencing other city parks with trail-adjacent plaques documenting the area’s history. Councilmember Tom McCune added recommendations for more specific policies, such as those related to single-use trails and electric bikes.
“I can support this, and I can vote for it as a high level, strategic foundational document that leads to some of those more detailed operational decisions, but I don’t want them to fall off the edge of the world and never happen,” McCune said. “I can support it on that basis, but there’s more work to do.”
Belmont currently has a little more than 400 acres of parks and open space, comprising about 14% of its overall area, according to the plan, and the document identifies ways to optimize current land uses to make room for anticipated population growth. The document is also a component of the city’s General Plan, a more comprehensive document that focuses not just on a city’s public spaces but also critical housing, safety and transportation policies over the coming years.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
Daily Journal staff
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Discover India with Us! Read moreIndia Community Travel: Virtual Information Session
What the Constitution Means to Me Read moreWhat The Constitution Means To Me
Navigating Senior Care, Estate Planning, & Funeral Planning Read morePeace of Mind with a Piece of Cake
Karl Sonkin said:
Love the column Mark, memories of Caen resplendent
Connie Weiss said:
Thank you, Taso. So perfectly stated.
Mark Simon said:
Thanks and all the best for you and your family.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.