As a member of the Planning Board, as well as an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and small business owner I am strongly supportive of passing the zoning overlays at Belmont Center and on Concord Avenue.
Belmont has a structural deficit that grows by approximately $2 million annually (there are many factors, but this is the good ballpark figure).
Our expenses exceed our revenues every year.
Belmont has a choice
(1) cut services
(2) supplement with ongoing overrides or
(3) expand the commercial tax base by being business and commercial friendly with smart and balanced zoning. The zoning recommendations will not eliminate the need for overrides in the short-
term, but over the long term, it will:
(1) make the town more financially stable by increasing our commercial tax base
(2) make Belmont Center a more vibrant business district
(3) create more diverse housing options for our seniors and younger residents.
Any of these benefits would warrant adopting the overlays, and all three would be a triple win for the town. It is a first step of many that the town needs to consider.
Delay isn’t an option. Being more business friendly isn’t an uncharted path – our peer communities Concord and Lexington have already adopted similar strategies. Both Concord and Lexington derive significant revenue from hotels. We do not permit hotels in Belmont today, and as a result, investors/developers look elsewhere. If we never zone for a hotel, we will never get one.
Zoning doesn’t guarantee development, it opens the door for investors and developers to build market-driven development proposals, and to work with the town to ensure a successful development. The zoning plan proposed has gone through extensive discussion, evaluation, and community input. I urge town meeting members to vote yes on the overlays.
Steven Weinstein, Cedar Road