Belmont Planning Commission Meeting - July 1, 2025
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Belmont Planning Commission Meeting - July 1, 2025
The Planning Commission met on July 1, 2025, at 7:00 PM in City Council Chambers. Commissioners present: Adam Kevich, Kramer, Twig, Jagala. Absent: Majeski and Chair Coolich. The meeting covered approval of minutes, two public hearings for single-family design reviews, and a staff update on future meetings. Both design review applications were approved unanimously (4-0).
Consent Calendar
- Approved the meeting minutes of June 3, 2025, as presented (4-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- 1505 Pine Knoll Drive: Multiple neighbors spoke in opposition. Evangeline Courtencamp Brown (1510 Pine Knoll) expressed distrust of the applicant (contractors/developers), alleged unpermitted grading and dumping of dirt, and objected to the scale. Leon and Jenny Courtencamp (1507) cited privacy invasion and inappropriate size, describing the proposed two-story as a "watchtower." Min Zhu (1501 Pine Knoll) submitted a written objection on June 28 citing concerns about unpermitted grading, solar access, privacy, construction disruption, and CEQA exemption status. Additional neighbors via Zoom (Jay Zoo, 1624 Mantanita) raised concerns about views and privacy. Neighbors at 1500 and 1511 Pine Knoll also expressed opposition through representatives.
- 2942 San Juan Boulevard: No public comments were received via email or in person. The applicant (Mark and Anahita) indicated they were available for questions but did not make a presentation.
Discussion Items
- 1505 Pine Knoll Drive – Single-Family Design Review: Staff presented a proposal for a 409 sq ft ground-floor addition and a 1,646 sq ft second-story addition (total 2,055 sq ft) to an existing 1,302 sq ft home, resulting in 3,357 sq ft total (max allowed 3,362 sq ft). Lot size 6,356 sq ft, slope 10.95%, FAR 0.529. The project met all setbacks and height limit (28 ft). Staff noted that privacy and solar access are not criteria in the design review findings unless the project seeks a floor area exception. The applicant’s outreach summary indicated general support, but a late email raised concerns. The commission discussed the CEQA exemption (Class 3 – new construction of small structures), the grading concerns, and the adequacy of conditions of approval. The commission noted that privacy is not a finding under current code. After deliberation, Commissioner Twig moved to approve the resolution, seconded by Commissioner Adam Kevich. The motion passed 4-0.
- 2942 San Juan Boulevard – Single-Family Design Review: Staff presented a proposal for a 602 sq ft second-story addition to an existing single-family residence, resulting in a total of 2,555 sq ft (max allowed 4,133 sq ft). The lot slope is 0.39 (staff noted a typo in the report). The design includes a "wedding cake" stepback. No questions or concerns from the commission. Commissioner Twig moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Jagala. The motion passed 4-0.
Key Outcomes
- 1505 Pine Knoll Drive: Approved (4-0). Decision appealable within 10 calendar days to the City Council.
- 2942 San Juan Boulevard: Approved (4-0). Decision appealable within 10 calendar days to the City Council.
- Consent Calendar: Approved minutes of June 3, 2025 (4-0).
- Staff Update: No July meetings; next meeting scheduled for August 19, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Ready? Yep. All right. Uh good evening. Welcome to the Belmont Planning Commission meeting for Tuesday, July 1st, 2025. We're meeting here in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, one twin Pines Lane. Those who wish to participate, there are several ways to do it. Obviously, in person here, if you want to address something to the uh body, please we will request that you fill out a uh speaker slip. They're over in the corner there. Uh and we are broadcast live on Comcast Cable Channel 27 and streamed live at the city's website at Belmont.gov. And there is also a link there to participate in the Zoom meeting. Um you can call in and the phone number is 66900 683. Phone number is uh 6690 683. Uh and we recommend using star sixty-seven if you're calling in if you want to keep your phone number uh hidden. Um and with that, let's uh could we have a roll call, please? Yes. Uh Commissioner Adam Kevich present. Kramer? Here. Twig? Yep. Jagala? Here. Thank you. And absent today we have Commissioner Majeski and Chair Coolich. Right. So let's move on to the Pledge of Allegiance. Please join me. I believe to the flag of the United States of America. Okay. And to the Republican. One nation. Under God in individual with liberty and justice. Thank you. And now we move to item three, which is the community forum. This is a section of the meeting where people can address the uh commission on anything that's not on the agenda. If you want to talk about agenda items, we ask that you wait until they come up in the agenda. Uh um is there are there any speaker slips for the community forum? Or anything? Um speaker slips for this item of the agenda. Okay. Anything on C devil. We have nothing on the C dev website. We have received uh at least an email or two related to one of the agenda items, but nothing for this portion. Okay. Very good. So let's move on to commissioner announcements and agenda amendments. Do any commissioners have announcements? Agenda amendments. No agenda amendments from staff.
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