After Decades Of Wishful Hopes, First Portion Of Community Path Hits Milestone With Board’s Approval

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The Belmont Select Board signing the documents to begin the construction phase of the first portion of the Belmont Community Path with a completion date in late-summer 2029

For more than two decades, the idea of a Belmont Community Path, a bike and walk way running through town from Cambridge to Waltham, was seen as a far-fetched hope of advocates and town officials, its reality being far off on the horizon.

That changed this week.

Monday. Aug. 10 was the red-letter day for the long-awaited path as the Select Board signed five documents that open the door for the state to seek bids next month to begin construction this time next year.

“We’re gonna have a path!” said Select Board member Matt Taylor, who has been the board’s representative on the Community Path Project Committee and has been heralding the path for years. 

With the final approvals in hand, the project has a tentative opening day for Phase 1 sometime mid-summer of 2029.

Phase 1 of the Belmont Community Path runs from the Fitchburg Cutoff Path at the Belmont and Cambridge line to the Clark Street Bridge off Pleasant Street. A major component of the first phase is a pedestrian tunnel at Alexander Avenue and St. under the commuter rail track to allow access to Belmont High School and Concord Avenue.

Monday’s main task was acquiring the property rights to do the work formally … to be certified to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and to be funneled to the Federal Highway Administration. 

“The Town’s job is to acquire rights of way, work with the engineers to make sure that the project is planned out, and then the funding gets unlocked through the state government,” said Mina Makarious, Belmont’s town counsel, who presented the documents to the board.

The five acquisitions and uses the Board approved Monday included:

  • Final MBTA lease for Phase 1 along the commuter rail line.
  • Permanent and temporary easements on private property with compensation determined by an independent appraiser.
  • Accepting the donation of land along the commuter rail from the Belmont Citizens Forum.
  • License to use Department of Conservation and Recreation property.
  • Vote for use of School Committee land.

“Taken together, it gives you the acquisition rights for all things you need for the path,” said Makarious. 
“With the unanimous vote, the state will put the path project out to bid on Sept. 5.”

With the approvals and funding in place, a project timeline has been released.

  • Jan. 2027: State puts out bids in early September 2026. It will select a winning bid before the start of 2027.
  • Jan. 2027-Sept. 2027: Construction submittals, including data, drawings, or physical samples provided to architects and engineers for approval before buying or installing materials. 
  • June 2027-June 2028: The procurement process will start including hiring specialized trade subcontractors and ordering material that have long lead times to deliver. 
  • July 2027-August 2028: Preliminary path construction.
  • August 2028: The construction of the Alexander Ave. pedestrian tunnel, which will take one week, during which commuter service on the Fitchburg line will be suspended.
  • August 2028-July 2029: Finishing the path’s construction.

“There’ll be a lot of coordination with drawings, site visits, and walks, and plan review for much of the first six months of 2027,” said Taylor, 

It’s has been a long and dedicated process since the summer of 2019 when Nitsch Engineering was selected to design the Belmont portion of the 104-mile Mass Central Rail Trail that began when its first segment was opened in West Boylston in 1999.

In July, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation approved the town’s $48 million request in the current state Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The community path is part of a rolling five-year capital plan (2027 to 2031) that includes all highway, road, bridge, and transit projects scheduled to receive federal funding within a specific regional planning area.

According to Taylor, putting the final pieces of the community path puzzle in place before a July deadline was dicey, as calculating the easements was conducted late in the process, and this year’s annual Town Meeting, which, as Taylor noted, “was kind of the roller coaster ride” as members were presented a surprise $1 million bill for the easement of a small spur of Alexander Avenue to provide access to the pedestrian tunnel. 

If any of the appraisals and easement determinations were not completed on time or funded by Town Meeting, it was a certainty federal and state funding would have been denied and the path – despite having finished construction blueprints – would have had to restart the process, which would have been a death knell for a future path.

But a late push resulted in the appraisals being completed in July and letters of just compensation to property owners being sent on July 9th. And Town Meeting showed its overwhelming support for the path by digging deep and funding the Alexander Avenue spur.

Sitting in the boardroom Monday was Holly Muson, chair of the Community Path Project Committee, which has overseen the project’s progress. After saying it was an important accomplishment to move a part of the project into the bid process, Muson noted the second phase – from the Clark Street Bridge through Waverley Square to the Waltham city line – will need to go through a similar process with a greater level of complexity in terms of design and obtaining right-of-way easements. 

“But today shows that we keep moving forward,” said Muson.

Belmont Names Roads To Be Resurfaced In 2026 Pavement Management Program

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Road work has already begun on Marlboro Street and Unity Avenue.

Seventeen Belmont streets have been selected to be repaved in the 2026 road pavement season that started on April 15. 

The $2.6 million pavement management project contract presented to Newport Construction beginning July 1 was signed by the Belmont Select Board at its Monday, April 27, meeting, according to Tom Hodgson, the resident engineer of the DPW’s Engineering Division.

Flyers and notices were sent last month to abutters of impacted roads. 

The money comes from the state’s annual Chapter 90 appropriation, a formula-based state fund provided to all 351 municipalities for local transportation infrastructure improvements. 

Hodgson said the work “has already started roads that we didn’t finish last year” and once the new contract was signed, Newport can begin the 2026 season. The road work will continue through the summer and well into the fall before winter starts.

According to Hodgson, Belmont will see more roads reclaimed this year due to policy changes at the DPW. Speaking to the Belmontonian after his presentation, Hodgson said in past years, the town road consultants would push for full reclamation of all roadways “at a significantly higher cost.” But with additional staff this year, “the town can walk and eyeball the streets, and we can tell by the shape of the street and driveway what we need to do.”

“So we can now do ‘mill and pave’ instead of grinding it altogether, which creates more work and therefore more cost,” he said.

Street From To

BARNARD ROADTRAPELO ROAD BELMONT STREET
BENJAMIN ROADBEECH STREETSLADE STREET
BETTS ROAD (In progress)SCHOOL STREETGROVE STREET
DREW ROADSLADE STREETBEECH STREET
FREDERICK STREETALL
JONATHAN STREETBELMONT STREETBARTLETT STREET
LAUREL STREETLEXINGTON STREETWATERTOWN TOWN LINE
MARLBORO STREETFAIRVIEW AVENUEBELMONT STREET
OLIVER ROADBRIGHTON STREET44′ w OF LODGE ROAD
ORCHARD CIRCLEORCHARD STREETSTONE ROAD
ORCHARD STREETSTONE ROADORCHARD CIRCLE
ORCHARD STREETCONCORD AVENUESTONE ROAD
ORCHARD STREETORCHARD CIRCLESCHOOL STREET
SHAW ROAD (In progress)SCHOOL STREETLIVERMORE ROAD
SHERMAN STREETDEAN STREETCHANNING ROAD
STONE ROADORCHARD STREETSCHOOL STREET
SYCAMORE STREETALL
UNITY AVENUE (In progress)OXFORD AVENUEPARK ROAD
WORCESTER STREET (In progress)FAIRVIEW AVENUEBELMONT STREET

Last Minute Withdrawal Of Citizen Petitions Sideswipes Annual Town Meeting Lineup

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont Select Board (from left) Taylor Yates, Matt Taylor, Carol Berberian.

Mere minutes before the Belmont Select Board was to review and vote Friday, April 17, on the 38 articles in the annual Town Meeting Warrant, they – along with the Town Clerk and Town Moderator – received a briefly worded e-mail from Paul Joy (Precinct 7), who authored six citizen petitions on the warrant.

“I am ready to officially inform you and town meeting members of my intention to withdraw the following citizens petitions. Article 9, Article 10, Article 12, Article 13, and Article 14,” said Joy, with no further explanation. 

Joy did not explain his decision to the email’s recipients or the Belmontonian. 

Coming less than three weeks from the May 4 start of the town’s legislative body, it would appear Joy’s action would be received with a sigh of relief, as removing five likely time-consuming articles would cut one or two of the eight nights scheduled to debate and vote on the historic number of articles.

But in reality, Joy’s last-minute retreat had pulled the rug from under the town’s preparation after spending nearly a month carefully constructing the meeting’s schedule. With the citizen petitions being some of the first of the articles brought before the 288-member assembly, their removal so close to the opening night has thrown the meeting’s agenda way out of whack.

According to the town, simply moving up the articles in a “next man up” approach will not work.

Select Board Chair Matt Taylor said the placement of the citizen’s petitions was based on the detailed arguments and communication and documents from the petitioners, where “we made plans to accommodate and support every resident’s right to submit a petition article.”

The board purposely scheduled the citizens petitions – which are traditionally more contentious articles that take time to explain and debate – in early May, which would allow town committees and boards still working on important budgetary and bylaw articles the additional time to allow the necessary work to “get their things done,” said Taylor.

“We’re doing what we can with the information you have, but I can’t move anything up that’s not ready. We could do the [town] budget right now, but the Warrant Committee – Town Meeting’s financial “watchdog” – is not ready, and that’s based on where the petitions are,” said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin. 

Adding to the disarray, “[w]e’re going into a school vacation week where some people are unavailable or have made other plans,” further contracting the time [the town and boards] can commit to the articles,” said Taylor.

“We spent a considerable amount of time on the articles with the Town Council. We had two meetings [with the Town Moderator Adam Dash] to discuss order,” said Garvin. “It’s just the amount of work that’s just been committed to the meeting that’s in two weeks.

“I’ve said repeatedly over the years that citizen petitions are not just these simple things that come before us. It’s hours of work involved, hours of work that aren’t even focused on other things [in the administrator’s office],” said Garvin.

“Now it’s completely blown apart,” she said, adding that she doesn’t know how the town and she can meet the pace.

Joy’s act has the town scrambling, forcing an extraordinary meeting with the Town Moderator, Select Board, and Town Administrator on Patriots’ Day Monday holiday to undo the damage.

Joy introduced his citizen petitions as an attempt to increase transparency and citizen empowerment.

  • Article 14: Home Rule Petition to Elect the Planning Board 
  • Article 9: Annual ‘State of the Town’ Report and Public Forum.
  • Article 12 Resolution Urging Increased State Aid to Municipalities. 
  • Article 10: Mandatory Independent Audit and Public Presentation
  • Article 13: Full Disclosure of Revolving Funds

In Friday’s email, Joy said he is standing by Article 11, which would require a fiscal impact statement and public hearings for zoning articles. Joy added he anticipates two friendly amendments in the following days to accompany the measure but would not reveal who those authors are or what the . 

What Joy did reveal at Monday’s meeting was the article is being backed by an ad hoc residents group that failed in its effort to defeat the Belmont Center Overlay District article at a Special Town Meeting in March.

“I will say that the residents that were a part of For Better Belmont Zoning were quite supportive of this given proposal, and they also felt that it was incredibly important, especially as it related to future potential zoning articles and proposals that would come before Town Meeting,” Joy told the board.

The Belmont Center Overlay District was approved 172 in favor, 82 opposed, with 7 abstentions.

While Joy did not give an explanation for the withdrawal when contacted by the Belmontonian over the weekend, an encounter on Monday, April 13, was a likely catalyst for the removal of five of his six articles. Joy appeared before the board Monday to present each article in what was seen as an informational overview.

Paul Joy (Precinct 7) at the 2025 annual Town Meeting

“Why am I proposing these changes?” said Joy, addressing the board. “Too many residents feel unheard. Public comment is limited to 15 minutes. Meetings start at 5:30 p.m., when families are rushing home from work or after-school activities, and for more than a year, residents have really been unable to comment on the vast majority of public agenda items at this board.” Joy said his petitions are “the embodiment of citizen empowerment. They are our way as citizens [that] it’s time to separate people from issues and the challenges of the assumptions that I feel are holding us back.”

Joy proceeded to give an account for each article. An elected Planning Board, which the majority of Massachusetts municipalities employ, which “creates competition [seemingly referring to neighboring communities] which we desperately need in this town”; a yearly town summary requiring a “clear” report on finances that will be live streamed so residents can ask questions; a non-binding resolution that urges the state to “raise municipal aid to 30 percent”; the full disclosure of revolving funds that mandates annual and/or quarterly reports showing every fund’s purpose, its balance, its revenue, its expenditure, and its vendors for more than $5,000. As an example, Joy pointed to the field maintenance revolving fund, which included $11,500 for goose control.

“I found myself asking, who do you pay $11,500 for goose control? I don’t know the answer. And if I don’t know, then how is an ordinary resident supposed to know?” queried Joy. 

But rather than simply being a passive listening post, the board took on the persona of Prof. Kingsfield grilling a first-year Harvard Law student. Under an unexpectedly severe cross-examination, the board’s probing questions left Joy at times struggling to defend his proposals. 

The board and Garvin pointed out a State of the Town report would simply be duplicating existing facts and statements while forcing the already thinly staffed administrative office to produce a very labor-intensive report with little new being presented.

“There’s tons of data. It’s how it’s organized or not organized. Curating that data is a full-time job,” said Taylor, as Garvin said since more than 60 percent of the town’s budget is under the School Committee’s purview, it would be very difficult to create without its “buy-in.”

After the board and Garvin dismantled Joy’s overture for an extensive disclosure of the town’s revolving funds, Yates bluntly said, “I don’t really understand the particular interest in revolving funds. This feels like a fishing expedition, and I’m not sure what it’s for.”

“A lot of the revolving funds are quite small. So I guess the question is, what problem are you trying to solve?” said Garvin.

“Maybe if there’s a problem you’re trying to solve, maybe start with the Warrant Committee or the Town Accountant,” said Yates.

The night also included Joy’s article that remains in the Warrant, requiring a fiscal impact analysis and public hearings for new zoning articles. Joy attempted to bring up Ira Morganstern (Precinct 7) to present the article as a “co-sponsor,” only to be rebuffed by Taylor, who said, “We’re working with you, the official submitter.”

“Don’t we want to get to the right answers?” said Morganstern. The answer to his query was simple and matter-of-fact: ‘no.’ “We’re not taking public comment,” said Taylor.

Joy said the article would require the town administrator and finance director to create a report that would estimate short-term (1 to 3 years) and long-term (5 to 10 years) effects on town revenue, costs to the town, and their net fiscal impact. The Planning Board would be required to hold a public meeting dedicated to the report.

It did not take long for the board and Garvin to begin to disassemble Joy’s argument, pointing out the proposed report’s nebulous framework to determine a currently unclear verdict.

“How would you measure the impact of zoning by law in a one-to-three-year time frame? Asked Taylor. After Joy gave a non-specific answer, Taylor zeroed in on the real issue with the article.

“How would you measure that? Or who in town is qualified to make that assessment?” he asked Joy.

“It’s not for me [to find the] department, said Joy, although he did believe the Office of Planning and Building or the Town Administrator, in his opinion, would be acceptable.

“So you think the town administrator is the qualified person to do this?” asked Taylor, as Garvin non-verbally expressed her doubt Joy’s answer was what Taylor and the board were seeking.

Taylor then exercised the article, using real-world examples to pinpoint the difficulty of reaching a comprehensive result.

“We have trouble projecting our budgets out five years, given the variance and stuff. Zoning is quite tricky, because we’re in a competition with all of our neighboring towns,” said Taylor, referring to Joy’s resolve for an elected Planning Board.

“I guess if we view it as a competition with other towns, what kinds of zoning changes would make us more competitive with other towns in your assessment? Reduction of parking requirements? What about taller buildings?”

Vice Chair Taylor Yates asked Joy how he would determine the fiscal impact of altering a setback, which typically is the minimum distance – usually just a matter of feet – between a building and a property line. 

“Who has the final say on the fiscal impact analysis? There are a bunch of different ways to do it. You have a set of assumptions. I have a set of assumptions. Matt has a set of assumptions. Carol [Berberian, Belmont’s newly elected board member] has a set of assumptions. Ira has a set of assumptions. Whose set of assumptions fulfills this requirement?” Yates asked Joy.

Garvin, who will be doing most of the heavy lifting in creating the report, said an unintended consequence of the article would require financial analysis on major structural zoning articles in this year’s warrant, including Site Plan Review and Construction Management.

“How would I go about doing a financial impact study on Site Plan Review?” asked Garvin.

When Joy said the report would determine any major increase in school-age children or revenue loss to the town, Garvin countered that she could “make a financial argument for anything you want.” While Joy was talking about zoning that leads to development, Garvin saw it impacting “the process of how the town works.”

Yet it was not all critical reflection of Joy’s arguments. Berberian, who is a former Planning Board member, asked if the board and town can “build off what we have in place.” 

“Could we improve on the financial modeling? Probably, if we look at it in a slightly different direction. I think that there’s always the opportunity to improve some of what I had heard about this, the viability of our zoning in terms of the financial impact. I do think there is some relevancy to that,” said Berberian.

After approximately an hour-long grilling, the writing was on the wall as the citizen petitions had scant support from the executive branch.

And in a final ironic moment, the Select Board reached out to Joy to prevent what he would do five days later.

Because of the high level of work required of town staff, “we ask residents to please work with us, work with the staff, because there may be an answer to what you’re trying to accomplish that already exists,” said Taylor. 

“Please have a conversation with us, because we’re juggling a lot. We’re trying to do a lot with a little. And this is a case where I think if you had coordinated with town staff, we could have addressed this without a petition and without the additional reports from Town Council.”

Berberian said she appreciated the intent behind a lot of what Joy brought forward, “and I do think that we can do a lot with collaboration with you.”

“The door’s always open,” she said.

Town Meeting Passes Belmont Center Overlay, Hotel Bylaw; Rejects Move To Postpone Controversial Measure

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Select Board Chair Matt Taylor (left) and Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne offer congratulations as the measure creating the Belmont Center Overlay District passes at the March 4 Special Town Meeting

After an hours-long debate, a Special Town Meeting on March 4 approved creating a Belmont Center Overlay District, which town officials and supporters believe will spur needed development and revenue growth and housing opportunities in the town’s business hub.

The vote margin on Article 2 – 172 in favor, 82 opposed, with 7 abstentions—was surprising to many who attended the meeting in the Chenery Upper Elementary School auditorium and online believed a late social media push by those opposing the measure would result in a long night with an uncertain outcome that Kalshi would have given even odds.

But a healthy majority of Town Meeting Members rejected the attempt by critics to indefinitely postpone the vote and see the article return in the fall, after undergoing an extensive revamping to further modify down the height of structures and identify “realistic” parking solutions allowing Belmont to continue to uphold its “our small-town feel.”

But the maneuver was dismissed by backers, with one overlay supporter saying it “[was] just a warm and fuzzy way to kill [the plan].”

“All of us, regardless of which side we’re on, should want to get back to [our constituents] with a yes or no answer,” urged Julie Crockett (Precinct 5), saying that “[Town Meeting] wouldn’t be voting on this proposal that we’re all intimately familiar with. It would be something else.”

And just before 10:30 p.m., Town Meeting stood behind the town’s and the Planning Board’s construct.

“I’m shocked [at the size of the yes vote],” said Chris Ryan, Belmont’s town planner and chief architect of the form-based plan, who counted himself as one who felt the decision would be a nail-biter. “I’m pleased and proud of the citizens for their vote of confidence,” said Ryan as he accepted praise from supporters on Wednesday.

A day later, on Thursday, March 5, the Special Town Meeting voted approval of Article 3, which places an overlay on three parcels along Concord Avenue that could open a way for a lodging house to come to Belmont, which hasn’t been home to one since the Wellington Olmsted Tavern, which was demolished in 1897.

The lopsided margin of the 261 members voting yes over the two nights is being touted as a historic vindication of those who developed and campaigned for the Overlay District, revealing that residents are eager to take bold steps to revitalize other areas of town.

“I think we are now living in a different dynamic,” said Taylor Yates, the Select Board’s vice chair, who spearheaded the board’s efforts supporting the measure. “Belmont is saying ‘yes’ to things.
I think we’re trying to be more positive and proactive as we watch the surrounding communities change.”

Thayer Donham, chair of the Planning Board, said the members decision proved the body has faith in the board’s deliberative process, which will benefit future projects.

Dionne echoed Yates and the Planning Board on the importance of passing both bylaw measures.

“This is an inflection point,” Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne said of the articles’ sweeping passage. “This is pivotal. And I don’t want to say that it’s only symbolic. It’s a relatively simple plan because it’s small and contained. If we couldn’t get this across the finish line, we couldn’t get anything across the finish line.”

“Every time we try to create one of these plans, it requires a huge investment of time, staff, and money for consultants; we can’t justify investing that again if we were unable to finish this. So this lays the groundwork for everything else that the town wants to do,” said Dionne.

‘Yeah, we get it’

In the view of supporters, not many voters were swayed by the two nights of debate, as campaigners had made a successful pro-Overlay pitch to undecided members months previous. 

“There was one constant since January 2025. The more we talked to residents about the plan, the more they said, “Yeah, we get it,” said Yates. 

Dionne – who held informational meetings at her house for members from each precinct to explain the plan in late 2025 – was also not surprised by Town Meeting’s sweeping endorsement of the new bylaws.

“I thought we’d get there because my experience was that once people came into my house and I explained the plan, it wasn’t this big, scary plan. A lot of people came in skeptical but left saying, ‘I like that. That could actually be really nice.'”

The Belmont Center Overlay is designed to address three main concerns of the town, said Donham, who presented Article 2 to the assembly: maintain Belmont Center as a vibrant downtown, meet the needs of downsizing seniors and others who want smaller housing options, and begin addressing the financial challenges of a town with a minimal commercial tax base. 

“[T]onight, we’re presenting a real opportunity to begin generating more revenue. More effective zoning will attract private investment into our community while the town maintains control of the finished product,” said Donham.

The overlay district allows structure heights within the four zones varying from two-and-a-half stories in Zone 1 to five stories in Zone 4. At least two stories of commercial space are required in all zones, with limited residential development required, helping establish a built-in customer base for Belmont Center businesses.

While presenting details of the district, Ryan noted the center’s existing zoning code is limiting, allowing by right only two-story structures and 28 feet in height, “and that’s why nothing happens here.” 

The new form-based zoning code will give Belmont “more control over the appearance of the buildings and the streets. It’s a proven planning tool that’s been used around the country and in communities across Massachusetts” including Brookline, Watertown, and Littleton.

Ryan told members the Planning Department and Planning Board held 30 public meetings and listening sessions in the past 14 months, incorporating public input and altering major aspects of the plan, including reducing maximum heights and excluding the Claflin Street Parking Lot from development. Traffic and parking studies and a financial analysis were conducted.

When debate commenced – with nearly 30 members waiting before two microphones – those opposing the zoning change were the first to speak, and they sent out one of their heavy hitters, former Town Moderator Mike Widmer (Precinct 5).

“I’ve never seen an issue with this scope come before Town Meeting with so many questions,” Widmer told the 140 members who attended in person, adding that “[n]o comparable town in Massachusetts has undertaken anything of this magnitude in such a concentrated geographic area.” 

Widmer said the main concern focused on the proposal’s financial viability, pointing to the analysis from three financial experts that a fully built-out district will produce, at best, modest revenue gains.

“If we delay, we might be able to develop a viable proposal that actually produces financial benefits in the short term,” he said. We owe it to the town to try to come together in the fall and approve a plan with reduced scale and questions answered.” 

One area of the opponent’s concern was the impact of increased housing and retail development on the Center’s parking and traffic. Larry Lenk (Precinct 1), a former member of the town’s Transportation Advisory Committee, focused on cars, saying it was highly unlikely that only a third of those living in the new residential units, at 500 units and 750 new residents, would own a vehicle. He envisions 400 residents’ vehicles and about 1,000 additional cars driven by employees of new retail under the new zoning.

“The only real place for parking the excess cars will be the two to three residential blocks surrounding this new village,” said Lenk. 

A vote for a win, win, win, win

Supporters argued the status quo or a watered-down overlay plan would condemn Belmont Center to limited to no growth potential for years to come. Rachel Heller (Precinct 3) said the district proposal placed in front of the members was “a win, win, win and actually a fourth win”: for housing production – “the number one issue in the state”- as it provides a range of options including for downsizing elders wanting to stay in town; reliable foot traffic for the new Center businesses; a magnet for state grants to improve infrastructure as state goverment provide funding to towns with growing mix-use developments; and a win for Belmont to stay in the drivers seat by achieving the 10 percent affordable housing threshold on the Subsidized Housing Inventory to prevent “unfriendly” 40B projects. 

Travis Frank (Precinct 5) said those seeking a delay to rightsize the overlay’s size, finances, and traffic and parking plans, which often means a smaller proposal. 

“But my understanding is that as we reduce scale, we reduce our revenue. And my principal interest is to help the fiscal budget of the town,” said Frank, noting over the past year and two months the original proposal, “we have already reduced it to the point where now … there are estimates that we have really small financial benefits. “This is our one opportunity [at financial rewards], and I’d rather go big or go home … to actually change the ratio of residential vs. commercial tax revenue.”

The decision on Article 2 was foretold in the procedural amendment to indefinitely postpone the plan, going down 121-145-3, showing – by a narrow margin – that pro-growth would carry the night. 

Thursday’s vote – with barely 120 members in attendance of the 260 attending – on Article 3, dubbed the Center Gateway Overlay, which was designed to allow one of three types of hotels: boutique-style hotels of 26 and 100 rooms and a business class operation with 150 rooms. Ryan said while the three parcels east up Concord Avenue from the US Postal Service building could be developed into commercial or senior living, a hotel was preferable as it is a “triple threat” for town revenue – room, meals, and property taxes.

Opponents said the parcel area being proposed was far too small to develop a hotel and expressed concerns about the necessary parking for employees and guests. They also argued that a 70 percent occupancy rate was highly unlikely, as there’s nothing interesting nearby that would attract travelers.

But supporters argued that it was not the role of Town Meeting to determine the financial viability of the site. It would be hotel investors and developers who would make that decision. Town Meeting “job” was only to open the door for any interested party. The measure was passed by more than the necessary two-thirds margin, 196-52-8.

Yates said the Town and Planning Board should follow the script that proved successful in Belmont Center with the upcoming zoning changes . “So I think the same thing will apply elsewhere. The more more people learn, the more they like it and because, and part of that is because we have a really good Town Planner and a really good Planning Board, and they do really good work.”

Select Board All In On Overlay, Gateway Articles, Seek ‘Favorable’ Action At Special Town Meeting

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Special Town Meeting on the Belmont Center Overlay District

The Belmont Select Board has crossed the Rubicon on the controversial Belmont Center Overlay and Gateway district articles to be presented at the Special Town Meeting on March 4, at its Monday, Feb. 9 to advise “favorable action” on the proposed zoning changes.

On Monday, the die was officially cast by the town’s executive arm as the three members voted to support the overlay plan, created by Chris Ryan, the town’s Director of Planning & Building, with the assistance of consultant RKG and the Planning Board. 

The board’s action came as no surprise, as the Select Board has been actively promoting the adoption of Article 2, the “form-based” revisioning of the town’s principal commercial district along Leonard Street, and Article 3, a Gateway section on Concord Avenue where a hotel is envisioned. While first proposed to come before Town Meeting at the annual get together in June 2025, it was delayed twice before settling on a spring Special Town Meeting.

See what Article 2 and Article 3 will be before the town meeting.

Just as with their vote, the motivation to support the articles has been consistent since the first architectural charrette to review the consultant’s initial concepts held in January 2025. 

“[It’s] to replace the town’s Frankenstein zoning bylaws, internally incoherent, section piled upon section whose purpose is to downzone and stop any kind of economic progress in town,” said board member Elizabeth Dionne. 

“The town repeatedly told us [the pro-development overlay] is what they want,” she said, reiterating her past statements that each of the board members was primarily elected to promote commercial/retail growth to lessen the property tax burden on residential homeowners.

Board Chair Matt Taylor noted the significance of new revenue that optimistically can come due to overlay: The Multi-Year Budget Advisory Committee noted that just an additional $200,000 in new growth in Belmont Center can reduce the anticipated Prop. 2 1/2 override request by $2 million. 

“That’s what we’re talking about,” said Taylor. 

Residents opposing the overlay plan question the assumptions provided by the Planning Board and the town’s consultants, RKG, which developed a modified Fiscal Impact Analysis of several buildout scenarios, as well as parking and traffic analyses by DESMAN Inc. and BSC Corp., respectively. In addition, several “copy editing” amendments have been attached to the articles challenging the validity of the bylaw changes.

But while supporters and critics have quibbled over the data the studies propose, and what the board describes as “scrivener’s error” within the existing bylaws, the overriding feeling among the board members is that after 13 months of crafting the proposal, pulling it back for another round of revisions will not improve the document on the existing warrant.

For the board, the time has come to move the measure forward. “We will never have a perfect solution that pleases everybody. We just won’t,” said Dionne. “If we get enough people who are happy, then it makes sense to move forward.”

Dionne Stepping Down From Select Board, ‘Doesn’t End My Commitment To Public Service’

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Elizabeth Dionne

Elizabeth Dionne, who helped transform the Belmont Select Board into a more business friendly body and who actively supported a pro-economic growth agenda for the town, announced she will not seek re-election to her post in the coming Town Election in April, 2026.

“Serving on the Select Board has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Dionne said in a press release dated Nov. 17. “This community’s trust has meant everything to me, and I am immensely proud of the work we have accomplished together.” 

Dionne – who is in her last year of her first three-year term on the board – said she expects to complete her current term.

While she did not elaborate her reason for leaving the board, “it doesn’t end my commitment to public service. I will be announcing future plans shortly.” Speculation of Dionne’s next move range from a run for higher office or a move to a state agency.

“Elizabeth will be hard to replace. She’s a reformer who believes that Belmont can and should tackle its most deep-seated problems,” said fellow Select Board member Taylor Yates.

An attorney who advocates for special education students, the Wellesley Road resident made a name in town as a member of Town Meeting, Warrant Committee and as chair of the Community Preservation Committee before joining the Select Board in 2023 winning the seat unopposed.

During her tenure, Dionne said she brought “thoughtful fiscal stewardship, commitment to transparent government, and [a] focus on long-term planning for Belmont’s financial health and infrastructure.” A central theme of Dionne’s stewardship has been revamping the zoning bylaws to promote a “friendlier” environment for businesses and developers by promoting commercial investment.

“I remain deeply committed to Belmont and its future,” Dionne added. “I look forward to supporting a smooth transition and to continuing my work as an active and engaged resident. This town is full of talented, passionate people, and I am confident the next Select Board Member will continue building on the significant progress we’ve already made.”

With Dionne’s exit, the first question many are asking is who is likely to run for her seat. When asked, many residents well versed in local politics responded that there is no clear front runner, and those who would be seen as a potential candidate have opted out when approached.

“The election to replace her may well be about whether or not we’re willing to continue making the changes needed to fix our Town,” said Yates.

Select Board Designates Belmont Police Chief Screening Committee; Q&A With A Member

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Mark Paolillo returns to serve on his second Police Chief Screening Committee

The Belmont Select Board on Wednesday, Oct. 22, selected the final three seats on the 2025 Police Chief Screening Committee, to fill the position after the retirement of Chief James MacIsaac.

MacIsaac, who announced he was leaving on Aug. 7, is now the director of Campus Safety and Security at the Middlesex School in Concord, MA. Assistant Belmont Police Chief Mark Hurley was named the department’s interim head by the Select Board on Aug. 21.

The members of the Screening Committee are:

  • Didier Moise, president of Belmont Against Racism and a member of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee,
  • Mark Paolillo, former four-term Select Board member who served on the last Police Chief screening committee in 2019,
  • Roy Epstein, former two-term Select Board member,
  • Patrice Garvin, Belmont Town Administrator,
  • Dr. Jill Geiser, Belmont Schools Superintendent,
  • Thomas Browne, current Chief of Police in Burlington,
  • Mauro Lance, Formally on the Board of Directors, current member of the Foundation for Belmont Education and the YMCA of Metro North.

Some residents put in their two cents into the selection process.

Ira Morgenstern, Precinct 7, voiced his “concern” about the makeup of the [screening] committee as it ignores the problems created from the department’s “poorly handled exit” from the Civil Service system in 2024.

“I ask the Select Board review the candidates for the selection committee and get feedback from the police rank and file” before it finalize that committee,” he said. Garvin corrected Morganstern saying it was incorrect to say the removal of civil service created the level of vacancies in the department, as the last three hires under the town’s Civil Service have left, each keeping their civil service positions.

The board each were the recipiants of an old fashion “poison pen” letter – which has a rich history in Belmont politics – directed at Epstein, “impugning … his integrity and honesty.” But this old-timey spitball to influence the board was cast aside with a collective eyeroll.

“Even when I disagree with [Epstein], I’ve ended up respecting him more. I absolutely meant that as an extremely high compliment,” said Matt Taylor, board chair.

Mark Paolillo knows something about Police Chiefs: He’s the son of one, Cambridge Police Chief Anthony Paolillo, and he help hire Belmont’s most recent chief, James MacIssac, as the head of the selection committee. Paolillo gave his view on the process facing the committee and what he’ll be looking for in a candidate during the break in the second night of Special Town Meeting.

Belmontonian: What’s your expectations being part of this committee, having been a veteran of the previous one?

Paolillo: “I think we’re going to find the best candidate possible. I don’t know whether we’ve gotten direction from the Select Board as to whether it’s just internal candidates or external or both. When I was on the screening committee (in 2019), my colleagues, Adam Dash and Tom Caputo, and I established the criteria that we were looking for, the type of individual that we wanted to assume this responsibility. We agreed to look at internal candidates first, And we thought, if we don’t find those qualifications, we’ll go external. So it sounds to me as though I haven’t been told that this is both internal and external. I think that’s the right approach.”

Belmontonian: What qualities and qualifications are you looking for in a candidate?”

Paolillo: “I’m looking for someone that can do the job, similar to what Chief McIsaac did and also Chief Paul McLaughlin. I think what’s so important within our town, because it is such an activist community, is someone that reaches out to the community, listens to the concerns and has a presence in town. And particularly individuals who are empathetic to what’s taking place at a national level. We’re all against, of course, any ICE agents coming into our community and trying to do what they’ve been doing in other communities. I would hope that would be someone who would listen to our concerns about that as well.”

Belmontonian: There has been talk about low morale in the department. Will having someone who can tackle that a priority for the committee?

“I think that’s absolutely the case. I don’t know what the situation is, but if there is a morale issue, I think that’s what a new person needs to address. I’m really concerned about that. I don’t know where the new [salary and benefits] negotiations are at this time. Perhaps that’s part of the issue that’s taking place here. If it hasn’t, that needs to be settled. I think we need to address that matter. These men and women put their lives in line every day for our for our public safety, and I think we need to sort of ensure that they’re taken care of. The new chief, whoever that might be, understands that needs to be addressed.”

Belmont Seeks Members For Police Chief Screening Committee As Search Begins In Earnest

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont Police patches and shield.

With the Select Board preparing to choose a consulting firm to conduct the search for Belmont’s next police chief, the town has begun seeking applicants for the 2025 Police Chief Screening Committee.

To be considered, select the “Police Chief Screening Committee – 2025” on the town’s Volunteer Opportunities web page to express interest in serving on this committee.

Patrice Garvin, Belmont Town Administrator, told the Select Board at its Monday, Sept. 29 meeting, that two firms – John Parow, Consulting & Assoc. and Municipal Resources, Incorp. – responded to the town’s Request for Proposal for consulting services to recruit the replacement for recently retired Police Chief Jamie MacIssac.

Garvin believes the growing complexity of the position requires the town to seek the assistance of an outside firm to lead the process.

“Policing has changed in 30 years,” said Garvin. No longer simply an administrative position, “a chief encompasses a lot more skill set than of the past, including budgetary issues, personnel issues, union issues, ranking. It runs across the board, and you’re looking to encompass all of those skill sets.”

“The consultant really helps us guide through the process, to not only to do assessments [of potential candidates] but to help with the screening committee, but also with the recruitment. Sometimes these firms have people in mind,” said Garvin, noting MacIssac was hired using a consultant.

“None of us were on the Select Board the last time we did a police chief search,” said Select Board Chair Matt Taylor. “And these firms often specialize in these kinds of positions, they go through it a lot, and have a much more updated, fresh vision of what this process is like, what the market is like, and what kinds of things to look for.”

The two firm candidates will be interviewed by the board at its Oct. 6 meeting, after which a winning bid will be selected hopefully that evening, said Garvin.

The screening committee, will be appointed sometime around Oct. 20. which Garvin said was “good timing, as it will come after the close of Special Town Meeting when the town can “really focusing on the police chief.”

Jennifer Hewitt, Architect Of Belmont’s Current Budget, Financial Structure, Set To Depart

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Assistant Town Administrator/Financial Director Jennifer Hewitt

Jennifer Hewitt, who as Belmont’s financial director was a lead architect of modernizing town budget process and who unified the town’s financial framework, announced last week she would be leaving her post as assistant town administrator.

Hewitt next career stop will be as CFO of the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the Massachusetts-run health insurance agency responsible for delivering coverage to state and local government employees.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work here,” said Hewitt. “I definitely came wanting to make a difference, and I feel like I have accomplished that.”

“I can’t express what [Hewitt] brought to the town in terms of her abilities, her skills and work ethic. It’s just amazing,” said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin as she announced the news to the Select Board and the public at its Aug. 25 meeting.

With the hiring of Hewitt in 2022 as the town’s financial director – a crucial recommendation by the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston’s review of the town’s financial structure – and chair of the town’s new Financial Management Team, “we finally had a position that was dedicated for [the] purpose [of updating town finances], which we didn’t have before. I think [Hewitt’s hiring] was a game changer to get us on the right track now,” said Garvin.

Despite her short tenure, Hewitt’s legacy will be long lasting in the forming of future town budgets, now based on an agreed-to revenue expenditure forecast that directs the town-wide budget process.

“In her three years, [Hewitt] was able to formulate and coordinate an idea of how the budget should go. She worked with staff and everybody, to bring those ideas along, which in the past, for whatever reason, we couldn’t bring it all together,” said Garvin after the end of the meeting.

“In a lot of ways that may not be obvious for people who don’t follow the budget process, it helps us take a giant step forward in both the following and caliber of the discussions,” said Board Chair Matt Taylor. “There’s been a lot of cleanup and modernizing efficiencies that have been found” through Hewitt’s efforts.

A major accompishment was a significant overhaul of the town’s financial structure, creating with successive select boards and Town Meetings a body that currently works in concert with town budget and fiscal objectives.

“I’m particularly proud of being part of building that team and helping with the transition from elected Treasurer, Collector and the Board of Assessors to the now appointed group. And I think that is will live long and have a positive benefit for Belmont for years,” Hewitt said.

“I wholeheartedly agree that you’re leaving us in a better place than you found us, and that sets up our whole community for better, for looking to the future,” said Board member Elizabeth Dionne.

Garvin said the town will begin a job search for Hewitt’s replacement after the town’s Special Town Meeting in mid-October.

At The End Of A Raucous Meeting, Select Board Names New Rink ‘Belmont Sports Complex’ With A Mention To Skip

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The Belmont Select Board

At the end of a raucous meeting infused with catcalls and taunts directed at the members of the Belmont Select Board from a bellicose crowd of mostly senior residents, the board voted unanimously to name the new $32 million recreation facility on Concord Avenue the ‘Belmont Sports Complex.’

The name will be placed on a sign outside the structure along the Concord Avenue with the words “Home of the James ‘Skip’ Viglirolo Rink” below. In addition, the board approved two permanent acknowledgments inside the facility honoring Viglirolo.

The inclusion of Viglirolo’s name throughout the structure is a victory for the Viglirolo family who have campaigned for the past two years to have their family member’s name transferred to the new complex.

The former rink was named after Viglirolo, a long-time town employee and youth hockey coach, in 1998 by a vote by the Recreation Commission and the Select Board without public debate or input. The former rink – which was in disrepair for the most part of three decades – was demolished in 2023 to make way for the new rink that town voters approved in a $29.9 million debt exclusion in April 2023.

The naming controversy took over most of the conversation in town this summer beginning when the Select Board approved a Town Naming Policy in July, a few weeks before an unusual mid-summer Town Meeting where a non-binding citizens petition to name the rink after Viglirolo. Members approved the article by a 56-44 percentage margin.

More to come.