2024 was a big year at the Planning Board. Belmont fulfilled its state requirement to pass the MBTA Communities Act by year-end. I’m proud of the long hours and late nights many people put in to make that law a success and allow good housing development in Belmont.
2025 may be an even bigger year at the Planning Board. We will begin to develop a 10-year comprehensive plan, draft zoning overlays for Belmont Center and Brighton Street, and draft a hotel bylaw.
The comprehensive plan is a document that outlines what changes we want to make (or not) over a decade across the major functions of the Town. Coalescing around a forward-looking document allows Town leadership to seize the initiative to shape our future. Further, it is the blueprint for a desperately needed zoning bylaw rewrite.
The Belmont Center and Brighton Street overlay zoning will address two of our most important commercial districts. Rezoning can attract the kind of investment we want that improves our commercial tax base, streetscape vibrancy, and quality of life. Ultimately, we need to do a zoning overhaul, but in the meantime, these overlay districts will generate a tailwind for these neighborhoods.
A hotel bylaw would allow hotels in Belmont, which comes with two benefits. First, hotels
generate a lot of tax revenue that the town desperately needs through property, meal, and
room taxes. Secondly, hotels can be a community amenity that comes with restaurants, cafes, and even event spaces.
It’s an exciting time for Belmont at the Planning Board. We will get an opportunity this year to consider our future and decide how we can best position ourselves for it. We encourage you to visit our website to follow and hopefully participate in these initiatives belmont-ma.gov/1451/Planning-Board
Taylor Yates, Chair, on behalf of the Belmont Planning Board