I am an abutter to Town Center, writing to express my strong support for the Belmont Center Overlay Plan: a critical step as Belmont looks to empower local businesses and strengthen our strained local budget.
From my home on Cross Street, I walk the two short blocks to Belmont Center many times each week. You’ll find me with my laptop working at the Bellmont Café. I bank at Citizen’s, dine at the restaurants, purchase sports gear at Champions and books at Belmont Books; and indulge in pastries from Quebrada and Butternut.
But my visits to Belmont Center are clouded by signs of economic decline. There are “going out of business” signs at stores like Irresistables and vacant storefronts: Bank of America, Trinktisch, Shine’s Fresh Asian, and so on. That’s why the Overlay Plan is so important. The product of years of research and frequent engagement with abutters and the larger community, the plan creates guidelines for developers to construct accessible and attractive mixed-use buildings. Pedestrian-friendly and architecturally consistent with Belmont Center, they are the foundation for a prosperous future: invigorating Belmont Center with both retail and commercial businesses and their shoppers and employees. For Belmont residents, these new, privately funded investments will provide much-needed new services and vital sources of tax revenue for our economically strained town government and public schools.
Change is hard. But denying needed changes will foreclose on a brighter future for Belmont Center—one our current commercial offerings can’t deliver. As a community, we must embrace change and live our best life. The Overlay Plan is a critical step on that path. I urge you to join me in supporting it and to ask your Town Meeting representatives to vote to approve the Overlay Plan.
Paul Roberts, Cross Street