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Record of Proceedings

Belmont City Council and Planning Commission Joint Study Session on Housing Laws & Regular Meeting - October 28, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, October 28, 2025
BodyBelmont, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:56:06

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
8:37

All right, good evening.

8:39

This is the City of Belmont City Council's special meeting agenda.

8:43

The dice looks a little bit different this evening.

8:45

This is actually a study session that we are having this evening with the City of Belmont Planning Commission and roll call, please.

9:02

See, I'll get this right.

8:53

That's me.

9:04

Councilmember McCune.

9:06

Present.

9:07

Pang Manganaris, President Jordan.

9:10

Here.

9:11

But I did it again, I'm sorry.

9:13

Laudamarlo?

9:14

Yeah.

9:14

Mayor Mates here.

9:15

All present on council.

9:18

Planning Commissioner Twig.

9:06

Yeah.

9:21

Adam Hoods.

9:22

Here.

9:22

Majesty.

9:23

Here.

9:24

And Jadala?

9:25

Here.

9:26

Thank you.

9:26

All present.

9:27

Great.

9:27

And thank you all for being here tonight, kind of all sitting shoulder to shoulder.

9:31

So with one nice tight happy family.

9:34

We are going to have item two as a study session.

9:38

Again, joint meeting with planning commission and city council.

9:42

We're going to receive a housing law update, and we're going to receive this on an informal basis on state housing laws and their implications for the city of Belmont.

9:50

And I think we have our assistant city manager with us this evening, Kathy Kleinbaum to kick us off.

9:56

All right.

9:56

Good evening, everyone.

9:58

Thank you so much for making it here at this hour.

10:00

So we're going to have a presentation tonight.

10:03

Two sort of separate presentations.

10:05

The first one will be from the California Public Policy Group, who is a consultant to the city, and they will be providing an overview of the trends in state law and in the state housing market.

10:17

And then we will move over to Barb Kaufman from Goldfarb and Litman, who will go into more depth about some laws that have been on the books most recently, as well as some that have been in place for about a year or so that are really changing the way that the city processes our housing development applications.

10:35

So with that, I will hand it off to Dan Kerrig from the California Public Policy Group who is joining us tonight by Zoom.

10:55

Hopefully shortly.

10:58

Good evening, Dan.

11:01

There you go.

11:02

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

11:09

I'm waiting for my colleague Dane Hutchins to join.

11:12

Oh, there he is.

11:15

And I'm gonna be participating, but I know Dane is gonna help uh lead our presentation.

11:22

Good to see you, Dane.

11:24

Hi, uh good evening.

11:25

My apologies for being a few minutes late.

11:28

Um technical issues resolved now.

11:33

Uh Dane, the uh uh mayor and uh assistant city manager just introduced the topic, and we are uh keyed up to go and give them an update on uh some of the trends.

11:48

And my understanding is you'll be sharing your presentation directly.

11:52

So I think Dane, we can't hear you.

11:54

Sorry.

11:57

That is correct.

11:58

My apologies.

12:00

You're all good now.

12:00

Thanks.

12:01

Okay.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████33%
Land Use Planning███████████████████████████████31%
Procedural██████████████14%
Arts And Culture█████5%
Economic Development████4%
Public Engagement████4%
Workforce Development██2%
Community Engagement█1%
Public Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Belmont City Council and Planning Commission Joint Study Session on Housing Laws & Regular Meeting - October 28, 2025

The City of Belmont City Council convened a special meeting featuring a joint study session with the Planning Commission to review state housing law updates, followed by a regular agenda including a library report, public comments, and several business items.

Consent Calendar

  • Routine approvals were passed unanimously with no separate discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Juliano Carlini and other residents highlighted dangerous cycling conditions and urged the city to prioritize safe cycling infrastructure.
  • Speakers expressed support for housing development, noting the need for more homes in Belmont.

Discussion Items

  • Housing Law Update: Consultants from California Public Policy Group (Dan Kerrig and Dane Hutchins) and attorney Barbara Kouts from Goldfarb and Lipman presented on recent state legislation. They detailed laws like SB 79 (transit-oriented development), density bonus provisions, and ministerial approvals, emphasizing reduced local control. Speakers expressed concern that cities are forced to approve housing projects despite community impacts, and noted the legislature's failure to address underlying issues like corporate home ownership.
  • Library Annual Report: Community Library Manager Chris Liu presented the fiscal year 2024-2025 report, highlighting increased visitors, circulation, and successful programs after library upgrades.
  • Appeal of Planning Commission Approval for 500-580 Masonic Way: Deputy Community Development Director Laura Russell presented staff's analysis, recommending approval based on compliance with state housing laws. The appellant, Doug Ricketts, argued the project violated the Belmont Village Specific Plan's active use requirements and other objective standards. The applicant, Prometheus Real Estate Group (Don Peterson and Alan Jones), defended the project as providing 140 units including affordable housing and complying with legal mandates.

Key Outcomes

  • The appeal was denied, and the project at 500-580 Masonic Way was approved by a 5-0 council vote.
  • The council approved amendments to employment agreements for the city manager and city attorney.
  • Other actions included advancing the 1301 Shoreway development agreement terms, setting a public hearing for local building code amendments, and declaring surplus land for city-owned properties.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good evening. This is the City of Belmont City Council's special meeting agenda. The dice looks a little bit different this evening. This is actually a study session that we are having this evening with the City of Belmont Planning Commission and roll call, please. See, I'll get this right. That's me. Councilmember McCune. Present. Pang Manganaris, President Jordan. Here. But I did it again, I'm sorry. Laudamarlo? Yeah. Mayor Mates here. All present on council. Planning Commissioner Twig. Yeah. Adam Hoods. Here. Majesty. Here. And Jadala? Here. Thank you. All present. Great. And thank you all for being here tonight, kind of all sitting shoulder to shoulder. So with one nice tight happy family. We are going to have item two as a study session. Again, joint meeting with planning commission and city council. We're going to receive a housing law update, and we're going to receive this on an informal basis on state housing laws and their implications for the city of Belmont. And I think we have our assistant city manager with us this evening, Kathy Kleinbaum to kick us off. All right. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for making it here at this hour. So we're going to have a presentation tonight. Two sort of separate presentations. The first one will be from the California Public Policy Group, who is a consultant to the city, and they will be providing an overview of the trends in state law and in the state housing market. And then we will move over to Barb Kaufman from Goldfarb and Litman, who will go into more depth about some laws that have been on the books most recently, as well as some that have been in place for about a year or so that are really changing the way that the city processes our housing development applications. So with that, I will hand it off to Dan Kerrig from the California Public Policy Group who is joining us tonight by Zoom. Hopefully shortly. Good evening, Dan. There you go. Good evening, Mayor and Council members. I'm waiting for my colleague Dane Hutchins to join. Oh, there he is. And I'm gonna be participating, but I know Dane is gonna help uh lead our presentation. Good to see you, Dane. Hi, uh good evening. My apologies for being a few minutes late.

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