Belmont Select Board unanimously backs zoning overlays, rejects all 12 parking amendments

BELMONT -- February 9, 2026, Belmont Select Board unanimously backs two Belmont Center zoning overlays and rejects all 12 proposed amendments ahead of the March 4 Special Town Meeting. The two-member board, Chair Matt Taylor and Vice Chair Taylor Yates, voted to recommend favorable action on Article 2, a mixed-use overlay for the Leonard Street corridor requiring only a simple majority under state law, and Article 3, a center gateway overlay district requiring a two-thirds vote. Town Counsel Mina McCary of Anderson & Krieger confirmed via Zoom that the two articles cannot be combined because doing so would violate state law. The board voted to recommend unfavorable action on all 12 amendments submitted by Precinct 1 Town Meeting Member Bob McGaugh, including proposals to replace entire zoning sections with the word "reserved" and to raise minimum parking requirements from 0.3 to one or two spaces per dwelling unit. Yates said the "replace with reserved" motions were effectively designed to kill the articles: "I do believe that a lot of the criticisms are meant to sow enough doubt that the whole bylaw will be defeated." The Warrant Committee's fiscal analysis found a likely annual revenue benefit of $127,000 to $857,000 under Article 2. Separately, the board received a town administrator's report showing the governor's FY2027 budget proposes roughly $250,000 less in Chapter 70 aid than Belmont had projected, while five educators and school support staff affiliated with the Belmont Education Association addressed the board to announce a work-to-rule action over a contract that has been expired for six months.