At the Jan. 6 Belmont Planning Commission meeting, I voiced concerns about the single-family zoning and design review revisions proposed by the City Council and staff. There are 37 proposed zoning revisions, but I limited my comments to what I consider to be three profound and reckless changes. Each of these zoning changes taken independently might have limited impact. But, like the numbers of a combination lock, when entered together these three changes unlock the development potential of every single-family lot in Belmont.
1. Maximum Floor Area: The current cap of 3,500 square feet (or 4,500 sf in some zones) will be eliminated and maximum home size will be based on the size and slope of the lot. Seventy-five percent of lots will have increased building potential.
2. Garages: Garages will not be required. Regardless of size, homes will require only a carport. Existing garages can be converted into living space and replaced with a single-car carport.
3. Second Units: Any lot over 5,000 square feet will be entitled to add a second home (attached or detached) up to 1,200 square feet. That's equivalent to a spacious two-bedroom/two-bath home.
Sounds harmless? In my sampling of 40 representative lots from all Belmont districts, I found that 75 percent of lots will have increased building potential, and most lots will accommodate a 1,200-square-foot second unit. The combined effect of these changes is a de facto rezoning of all single-family neighborhoods to duplex-type housing, paving the way for an enormous increase in residential density.
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This violates the current General Plan's residential density standards. Further, staff and the council propose to implement these changes without studying the economic and environmental impact of this population increase — in my opinion, a violation of California’s environmental law. As a Belmont planning commissioner, I stated that I could not vote to support these potentially illegal actions.
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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.