Belmont Center Overlay Zoning Set for October 20 Special Town Meeting Vote

BELMONT — August 18, 2025 — Belmont center overlay zoning advances toward an October 20 special town meeting vote. Planning Board Chair Theron Donham and Director of Planning and Community Development Chris Ryan appeared on Belmont Journal on August 18 to outline the proposal, which would create a new optional zoning layer along the Leonard Street corridor allowing buildings from two and a half to six stories depending on sub-district, with the first two floors of every building required to be commercial. Preliminary fiscal modeling shows revenue gains ranging from "around a half a million to multiple millions of dollars" annually across all scenarios tested. The overlay contemplates between 200,000 and 400,000 square feet of commercial space, roughly 250 or more housing units, and a boutique hotel of 250 to 350 rooms along Concord Avenue. The municipal farmers-market parking lot was removed from the current phase after public opposition. A Planning Board meeting on September 9 will present fiscal, parking, and traffic analyses, followed by a public forum September 11 at the Beech Street Center; the October 20 vote requires a two-thirds supermajority of town meeting members.