Housing equity concerns

January 2023 Update:

On January 30, 2023, Belmont’s City Council voted unanimously to certify the revised 2023-2031 Housing Element and Environmental Impact Report, and will now send the final Housing Element to the state in time for the January 31 deadline.

The state's Housing and Community Development department (HCD) will have a 60-day period to review the city's Housing Element for final acceptance.

For those involved in this summer's debate about the Service Commercial sites along Old County Rd, Marine View Ave, and Mountain View Ave, the city ultimately decided to remove these Service Commercial sites from the Housing Element's list of housing opportunity sites, based on both extensive community input and on the fact that the city could meet its state housing requirements without those sites. This means those Service Commercial parcels will stay zoned as Service Commercial for now (and are not being rezoned for high-density residential, as was initially proposed in an earlier draft of the Housing Element).

July 2022 Update:

We got a big win! On July 26, 2022, the City Council supported our request not to re-zone Old County Road service/commercial lots into 6+ story housing.

They endorsed the Planning Commission’s recommendations to remove those sites from the new housing element plan and to keep existing height limits in other East Belmont parcels on the housing map.

We’re not done forever: We still need to watch the Housing Element when it comes back from the state with feedback, to make sure there is equitable treatment of East Belmont during any revisions.

Please join our email list to stay informed about future meetings and actions related to the Housing Element.

Original post:

Belmont’s 2023-2031 Housing Element plan puts 100% of new 6-story high-density buildings in East Belmont (Sterling Downs, Homeview, El Camino) with none in Western Belmont.

That means more than 8,000 people could be added to East Belmont over the next decade.

Tell the city: Remove the megasite on Old County Road. Spread new housing EQUALLY in Belmont.

Make your voice heard before it’s too late!

What’s happening?

The city is considering a housing proposal and zoning changes (2023-2031 Housing Element Plan) that would allow more than 8,000 new residents to be added in 6-story high-density buildings to East Belmont over the next decade to meet state housing requirements, without making any significant changes to the western part of the city.

Why are we concerned?

Nearly all of the 8,000+ new residents to be added under Belmont’s proposed 2023-2031 Housing Element Plan would reside in East Belmont in high-rise, high-density buildings, as shown below:

East Belmont (Sterling Downs, Homeview, El Camino):

*99% impact: Add 3,265 multi-family units, ~8,100 people

West Belmont:

1% impact: Add 35 single family homes, 100-150 people

Are we totally anti-housing and anti-development?

No, we are not anti-housing or anti-development at all. We specifically want to see more affordable housing in our city! What we do not want is for 99% of new housing growth to occur in 25% of the city’s land area. We also don’t want to see 6+ story buildings backing up to single-story buildings. And we want to see our city council show that they are planning ahead for mitigations like traffic improvements, more parks space, and a plan to avoid overloading our local K-8 school (Nesbit School).

We are against policies that unfairly burden East Belmont while requiring little to no changes to the western part of our city. Having more balanced development across the city would benefit everyone by sharing the burden on infrastructure, traffic, schools, and amenities more evenly.

Where else could the city add new development?

In communications with the city’s planning commission and city council, we have specifically proposed other commercial sites that could accommodate over 1,600 units of new housing in Western Belmont, in the area near the intersection of Ralston and Alameda. Click on the image below for more site details. Unfortunately, city staff have repeatedly told us they will not add western Belmont sites to the Housing Element now because they did not include these sites for evaluation in the city’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

What impact could the Housing Element have on East Belmont residents?

• Proposed height increases would allow 6-story, high-density high-rise residential buildings next to single-story homes.

• Increased traffic congestion and parking problems

• Loss of privacy and sunlight for homes near new high-rise buildings

• More noise and air pollution

• Congested parks and schools

What can we ask of City Council?

Here are a few specific changes that you could request when contacting City Council and the Planning Commission:

1. Remove all Old County Road service commercial sites from the Housing Element, as 3 out of 4 planning commissioners recommended in their July 19, 2022 meeting. Please remove the “megasite” on Old County near Marine View Ave and Mountain View Ave, and the smaller site at Dale View Ave. 

2. Keep existing building height limits instead of raising them, as recommended by the Planning Commission in their July 19, 2022 meeting.

3. Be equitable: Spread new housing equally across Belmont. Include western Belmont commercial sites in the Housing Element.

4. Reduce the burden of new housing on nearby residents: Require transitional step backs in all directions (not just from the fronting street) on all housing opportunity sites to mitigate the impact of 4-6 story buildings on adjacent 1-story and 2-story homes.

Feel free to share your own thoughts and feelings regarding new development in Belmont and what you think will make this a great place to live for current and future residents.