Opinion: Belmont Needs Business-Friendly Zoning

 Construction and Housing, Newsletter, November/December 2023, Parking  Comments Off on Opinion: Belmont Needs Business-Friendly Zoning
Nov 012023
 
Opinion: Belmont Needs Business-Friendly Zoning

By Taylor Yates and Paul Joy Belmont has zoned itself into a financial corner. Fiscally healthy towns balance their tax bases between commercial and residential real estate, Belmont does not. Belmont receives only 5% of its property tax revenue from commercial real estate, whereas fiscally strong towns receive 20% or more. We receive so little revenue from commercial real estate because the few areas in town where it is allowed suffer from overly burdensome regulation. The Economic Development Committee and Vision 21 Implementation Committee were charged by the Select Board to review Belmont’s zoning bylaws and to look for ways [READ MORE]

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Belmont School Traffic Needs Attention

 Bicycles and bike paths, Parking, September/October 2023, Traffic  Comments Off on Belmont School Traffic Needs Attention
Aug 312023
 
Belmont School Traffic Needs Attention

By Larry Link The figures still catch my breath. A 2018–2019 pre-HS/MS construction study documented nearly 2,000 cars traveling down Concord Avenue from the snarl at the underpass (by most experienced hands, “unsolvable”) in Belmont Center to the High School-Middle School site opposite Goden Street, in just the morning 7 to 9 AM rush.  Of all vehicles clocked in that special Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) study using automated license plate reader information, 75% entered and left Belmont within 15 to 20 minutes but were registered/garaged in other towns! While we don’t have a new count yet, many Goden Street [READ MORE]

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Opinion: Parking, People, and Money

 July/August 2023, Parking, Town Committee Meetings  Comments Off on Opinion: Parking, People, and Money
Jun 302023
 
Opinion: Parking, People, and Money

By Max Colice A typical parking space takes up about 300 to 350 square feet. In Belmont, if you want to open a retail business or office, you’ll need one parking space per 250 square feet of retail or office space. That’s right: in Belmont, your parking lot will have to be bigger than your business. If you want to open a restaurant, you’ll need one parking space for every two seats. Again, that’s more land for parking than for people.  Providing all of this parking makes opening a business in Belmont more expensive than it should be. Consider how [READ MORE]

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School Claims Parking is “Educational Use”

 Climate Change, Construction and Housing, Environment, January/February 2023, Open Space, Parking  Comments Off on School Claims Parking is “Educational Use”
Jan 032023
 
School Claims Parking is “Educational Use”

By Justin Roe Belmont Hill School submitted their long-awaited plan for the Belmont Hill woodlands area to the planning board in October. The response from Belmont’s residents was instantaneous and overwhelming in opposing the proposal.  Within three weeks, Belmont’s Select Committee and Planning Board have received hundreds of letters voicing town opposition to the project. A petition in opposition has attracted over 2,200 signatures, and hundreds of lawn signs and banners are popping up in every district in Belmont. School action groups from Lexington and Waltham are taking an active role. All within a few weeks.  The school presented its [READ MORE]

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Letters to the Editor: Belmont Hill Plans, Bike Trails

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Climate Change, Environment, November 2022, Open Space, Parking, Plants  Comments Off on Letters to the Editor: Belmont Hill Plans, Bike Trails
Oct 312022
 

To the Editor: New England in the fall is renowned for its beauty—the trees are blazes of color, birds, squirrels, and other animals are busily preparing for winter, and the occasional whiff of woodsmoke floats in the air. Driving up Prospect Street, one is met with the pleasant sight of the pristine lawns and stately brick buildings of the Belmont Hill School—a self-described educator of “men of good character,” where “boys are expected to collaborate and become part of something larger than themselves.” Which is why it’s such a shame that the Belmont Hill School is apparently ignoring its own [READ MORE]

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Letter to the Editor, September 2022

 Construction and Housing, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Sept/Oct 2022  Comments Off on Letter to the Editor, September 2022
Sep 092022
 
Letter to the Editor, September 2022

To the BCF editor: Anne Paulsen’s recent column [“Do We Need a High School Parking Lot?” BCF Newsletter, July 2022] argued that if parking were eliminated west of Harris Field, then there would be “plenty of room for tennis courts and some open space as well.” Whether tennis and a rink could both fit has been studied intensively by numerous informed parties: the High School Building Committee, a sports architect from Perkins+Will, rink architect Ted Galante, the Select Board, the School Committee, and the Preliminary Rink Design Committee.  None of these efforts found a layout that could accommodate a rink, [READ MORE]

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Town Plans Sustainable Library

 Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Sept/Oct 2022  Comments Off on Town Plans Sustainable Library
Sep 092022
 
Town Plans Sustainable Library

By Marty Bitner and Clair Colburn  The proposed new library, designed by Oudens Ello Architecture, is an all-electric, highly sustainable building, but what are those sustainable features? What is the process of designing a holistically sustainable building? Right-Sizing Buildings contribute to 40% of global energy consumption and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Since heating buildings is the largest source of carbon emissions in Belmont, the first goal in sustainability is to make sure that our new library is no larger than it needs to be. Having the right size building means that space is not being unnecessarily heated and cooled [READ MORE]

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Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2022, Newsletter, Parking, Solar Power  Comments Off on Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?
Jun 202022
 
Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Additional material—including calculations of how much energy could be generated—is available in the full version . Below is the version which appeared in the print newsletter. – Ed. The imminent arrival of the Belmont Community Path prompts the question: what other productive uses might be devised for the Fitchburg Line corridor? One possibility is siting  a south-facing solar photovoltaic (PV) array along the tracks.  Conditions for a PV array Aspects of path layout relevant to design of a PV array include length, orientation to the sun, and the presence of a substrate to which PV panels can [READ MORE]

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Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot?

 July-August 2022, Newsletter, Parking  Comments Off on Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot?
Jun 202022
 
Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot?

By Anne Paulsen Belmont is a small town and space is limited. Land use planning is key to maintaining a town that is walkable and bikeable with shopping, services, recreation, educational opportunities, and open space close at hand. The key is how to make the best use of this limited space. The town is now planning the completion of the high and middle schools, and plans are underway for a new skating rink and library. Parking is a big part of the plans. For the last 50 years, off-street surface parking in the area west of Harris Field has been [READ MORE]

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Belmont’s Seniors Have Transport Options

 Newsletter, November-December 2021, Parking, Transit  Comments Off on Belmont’s Seniors Have Transport Options
Nov 022021
 
Belmont’s Seniors Have Transport Options

By Nava Niv-Vogel Belmont’s adults over the age of 60 and people of any age with disabilities can get around without driving thanks to transportation services provided by the Council on Aging (COA). Most rides are provided by well-trained COA-funded drivers, and the three-vehicle fleet has many safety and disability-friendly features. In the era of COVID-19, COA drivers have also been practicing special safety protocols. The vehicles are routinely cleaned for airborne and surface germs.  The rides offered are curb-to-curb. The passenger needs to be able to walk or otherwise get themselves to the van. Drivers are not permitted to [READ MORE]

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