In the upcoming two months, the work of the Planning Board will be extra important to Belmont’s future under the MBTA Communities Act (3A). The Board will be listening to final public comments, examining the results of the state’s preliminary review of draft by-laws and maps, and assessing consultants’ findings on housing affordability and economic impacts under those drafts. All this will go into decision-making that will determine the package that moves forward to Town Meeting in November.
I have attended multiple previous meetings and public hearing sessions on 3A held by the Planning Board, starting in April and extending into August. I assume there are a fair number of other residents who could say the same. But I can’t know for sure, because these meetings are remote-only and use seminar mode: only board members and staff can see who is attending.
Our way forward under MBTA Communities deserves a more visible airing! Let’s see the Planning Board hold Zoom hybrid meetings and sit in person, with live attendees. This is routine for the Select Board; what good reason has the Planning Board for only doing otherwise?
The next Planning Board meeting is Sept. 10. We strongly urge that it be a hybrid meeting. If others reading this letter agree, send a note to the chair at taylor.yates@sloan.mit.edu or Town Planner Chris Ryan at cryan@belmont-ma.gov.
Helen Bakeman, Lexington Street