Belmont hones downtown plan

Chair Julia Mates acknowledged the time and level of depth to which city staff and officials have examined draft zoning rules for the reimagined downtown in an 80-acre area surrounding the intersection of Ralston Avenue and El Camino Real and including the city’s Caltrain station. By charting out housing, office and retail development that can be accommodated in the coming years, the plan accounts for proposed changes to the city’s streetscape and parking as well as new and updated infrastructure needed to accommodate the changes.

“We do look at this plan with an eye toward the future,” she said. “I think it has a good mix of things that could be done soon and then things that need to be looked at over time.”

Aimed at integrating a variety of uses with an emphasis on housing, connecting multiple modes of transportation and establishing the guidelines for the downtown style and character, among other goals, the plan provides estimates for the increase of residences and jobs to come should the maximum amount of housing, office and retail space be realized. According to the plan’s buildout analysis, the total number of housing units provided in the plan area could hit 890 by 2035. The plan also accounts for an increase of 1,000 downtown jobs to hit 2,450 by 2035.

The plan also includes proposals for new bulb outs and designated bike and pedestrian routes, among other changes, at major intersections included in the city center. An extension of Fifth Avenue to Ralston Avenue, a pedestrian and bicycle connection under the Caltrain tracks at O’Neill Avenue and a bicycle loop on parts of Sixth Avenue, O’Neill Avenue, Hiller Street and Masonic Way were among the possible changes included in the plans.

Resident concerns

A number of people showed up at the meeting to address their concerns about a variety of issues such as shared open space, traffic and safety. Alice Mansell said she used to come to the Belmont ice rink some three times a week before it closed in 2016, and encouraged the commission to consider tying designated public resources, such as open spaces or recreational facilities, to projects increasing the density in the city. She emphasized the importance of marking spots where open spaces or public recreational facilities could be built to preserve space for them instead of loosely including them among the community benefits a developer could provide if a project exceeds zoning standards.

“If you don’t set them aside now on your maps, you then leave it to the discretion of the City Council and whatever they decide,” she said.

City Attorney Scott Rennie said a park impact fee would capture the type of contribution a developer could make toward creating public open space downtown as it would create a fund the city could use toward improving existing parks or identifying space where a new park could go. Sophie Martin, a project consultant of the firm Dyett & Bhatia, said including several council priorities among the community benefits a developer could provide would afford the council flexibility to dedicate resources to them as they rise to the top over time.

Belmont resident Deon Teeple implored the commission to consider traffic calming measures such as roundabouts for Sixth Avenue, which she said many use as a cut-through street to avoid driving on El Camino Real. She said she and her neighbors have become concerned with the increased volume and speed of cars on the road, where they have also had trouble parking as nearby restaurant customers often park in front of their homes. Resident Christina Mantel expressed concerns about how new developments would affect Hiller Street, where she lives. She said the street’s increased use as a cut-through has posed dangers for school children being picked up and dropped off at Nesbit Elementary School at 500 Biddulph Way.

Mark Spencer, a principal with W-Trans, a firm that studied the area’s transportation, said the effects of developments and street improvements would be monitored as they are phased in so corrective measures or adjustments can be made as elements of the plan are built. Community Development Director Carlos de Melo added the plan gives residents an idea of what’s to come by including proposed changes, but doesn’t dictate exactly what or how elements will be built.

“The plan doesn’t build it, the plan sets it up,” he said. “Over time, the plan may come to fruition exactly as we talked about or it may not.”

A long process

Commissioner Thomas McCune acknowledged the long process to develop the plans, and said he was glad city officials relaxed the parking ratios initially included in the plans to allow for more cars to access offices and businesses. He said he wished the region could be less dependent on cars, but noted the challenges employers have had with encouraging employees to use public transportation in recent years.

“In the real world that we live in, the automobile is still a fact of life,” he said.

Commissioner Steve Simpson suggested planners keep an eye out for how increased density could affect enrollment in the city’s schools. He commended planners for including forward-thinking elements and a bold vision in the plan and joined other commissioners in voicing strong support for it.

“This is no small plan and I think that’s good,” he said. “I think being a little on the bold side is a good thing.”

The City Council will consider the downtown plan for adoption at its Nov. 14 meeting. On Oct. 24, the council will consider the commission’s Oct. 2 recommendation to adopt the city’s 2035 general plan, interim zoning for areas expected to change in the coming years, climate action plan and environmental impact report aimed at accounting for the effects of all the changes.

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