Fighting for our interests

I guess Steve touched a raw nerve, eh? @Dirk you sound like a broken record. Whenever someone sends in a letter on either open space or Stanford, you post a comment that those issues aren’t important to keep Belmont voters up at night. If those issues are so trivial and unimportant, then why were Stanford and open space policy chosen as two of the four topics chosen by Chamber San Mateo to ask the mayoral/city council candidates at the Candidates Forum? https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/s4-gbZ7sbUiZeElP9J1i8UhvyDX1W0BhZkVjlsefuxdbSMxO8y5H5X4peOCCJfeL86gaAyx3_9bVDDXL.pOhittUxuKJpQbwl

Belmont’s open space is what makes our city unique, and many people choose to live her precisely because of our amazing open space trail system. There are very few cities in the Bay Area with great trails where you can hike, mountain bike, and walk your dog in close proximity to dense housing areas.

You know what’s truly preposterous? Trivializing Stanford’s acquisition of NDNU. NDNU is a dying university on the verge of bankruptcy. Stanford is a thriving, expanding, world-class university that plans nearly three quarters of a million square feet of development on the NDNU campus - a campus that directly abuts neighborhoods of single-family homes and apartments, as well as Ralston Ave., the main traffic artery in Belmont - which already has significant traffic issues. Stanford is notorious for expanding into areas and dodging its fair share of tax revenue. See https://almanacnews.com/news/2022/09/16/stanford-wants-educational-tax-exemption-for-faculty-homes?fbclid=IwAR3IUHnmWkO1XHNYOfXDBho-9hL9R-qaPsS3aYb_DPLLfl8WOFuvtaUon7A&mibextid=li3ck7

The enormous expansion of the NDNU campus smack dab in the middle of Belmont will fundamentally change our city and will have enormous impacts - mostly positive, but with many significant potential negative consequences. So I agree with Steve that Lieerman’s decision to run for Mayor with a known conflict of interest on Stanford was selfish and not in the best interests of the city.

Nobody knows when the purchase documents will be finalized and when construction will start. But we do know that negotiations are starting now, and members of City Council are already meeting with Stanford officials. The current Mayor and City Council will absolutely be vital in the negotiation process. Right now is the crucial stage, not 5 years from now when the documents are all signed and the construction workers are swinging hammers. The negotiations that will lead to the agreement are happening now.

Thankfully, the voters who actually understand the important issues facing our city - unlike you three - have voted in the best person for the job.

Dirk--I agree. Stanford is years off from purchasing NDNU, and most citizens I know are concerned bout the many real issues Belmont is facing. The least of which is Stanford/NDNU.