Belmont open space, parks

He owns a house in the Hidden Canyon housing development that was built next to Waterdog open space. Back in 1994, the City Council required the developer of that tract to set aside a 5.6 acre parcel of land to be developed into a city park (See https://ecmx.belmont.gov/Image/DownloadPdf/133919).

For 28 years, that 5.6-acre parcel has been an empty dirt lot. Mr. Braunstein has a vested interest in keeping that city park lot barren and unappealing, because improving it would increase traffic somewhat in his neighborhood. Unsurprisingly, during Mr. Braunstein’s tenure as mayor and councilmember, there was never any progress in getting it improved. Now, the PROS plan envisions finally developing that empty lot into a nature-focused community amenity, including outdoor classroom space. Mr. Braunstein is doing everything he can to delay the PROS plan to keep this potential gem of a community park an empty dirt lot. You would think a professional educator, like Mr. Braunstein, would welcome the addition of educational resources to the city of Belmont. Apparently, that’s not the case.

Scott Sisemore

Belmont