Belmont Planning Commission Meeting – June 2, 2026: Safety Element and CIP Approval
Belmont Planning Commission Meeting – June 2, 2026
The Belmont Planning Commission met on June 2, 2026, to consider a public hearing on the Safety Element Update and a finding of consistency for the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Capital Improvement Program. The meeting included approval of previous minutes and staff announcements.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from April 21, 2026: Motion passed with four ayes and two abstains (Commissioner Jadala abstained). Note: The chair announced four ayes and two abstains, but the roll call recorded three ayes and one abstain, an inconsistency in the transcript.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made on any agenda item.
Discussion Items
- Safety Element Update (Public Hearing): Staff presented revisions to the Safety Element and Conservation Element of the General Plan based on feedback from the April 21 Planning Commission meeting and the May 28 City Council meeting. Key revisions included clarifying wildfire standards for new vs. existing development, expanding emergency alert system information, addressing cascading hazards (e.g., simultaneous wildfire and earthquake), adding policies for sanitary sewer resilience, and planning for unknown hazards. Commissioners offered several minor suggestions: incorporating the Twin Pines retention basin in the Conservation Element, updating outdated air quality data (12 years old), adding explicit mention of gas pipeline earthquake risk as a cascading hazard (referencing the San Bruno fire), specifying erosion-prone areas, and confirming the definition of a warm night (58.5°F, based on 1961–1990 historical data). Staff indicated they could incorporate these changes if the commission reached consensus.
- Capital Improvement Program (CIP) FY 2026-27: Staff presented the proposed CIP consisting of 87 projects and requested a finding of consistency with the Belmont 2035 General Plan and Belmont Village Specific Plan. The item is a pro forma step between City Council introduction on May 26 and expected adoption on June 23. A commissioner asked for clarification on bond payments from past projects; staff noted they are handled in the operating budget, not the CIP. No public comments were received.
Key Outcomes
- Safety Element Update: The Planning Commission adopted a resolution (6-0) recommending that the City Council amend the Safety Element and Conservation Element, incorporating the commissioners' comments from the meeting. The resolution will go to City Council on June 23, 2026 for formal adoption.
- CIP Consistency Finding: The Commission voted unanimously (6-0) to adopt a resolution finding the FY 2026-27 Capital Improvement Program consistent with the adopted General Plan and Specific Plan.
- Staff Announcements: The current Community Development Director is leaving in early September; Laura (last name not given) will become the new Community Development Director. Other staff changes were noted, including the Chief of Police serving as interim city manager and changes in the assistant city manager role. The Charles Armstrong School groundbreaking event took place earlier that evening.
The meeting adjourned at 7:38 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Alright, thumbs up. I think we're good. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to tonight's meeting of the Belmont Planning Commission. Excuse me. Let's say the city council, but that's not us. Okay for a motion. The meeting of the planning commission. Today is Tuesday, June 2nd, and let us go through some preliminary instructions for meeting participation and attendance. So folks can attend tonight's meeting by watching Comcast Cable 27. Also, the meeting is being streamed live via the city's website at Belmont.gov. And of course, the meeting is available via Zoom, and the instructions for accessing the meeting over Zoom are included in the agenda. For public comment, a member of the public can comment here in chambers by submitting a speaker slip to our clerk, and then coming up to uh the lectern. Um can also uh participate remotely uh using the raised hand function uh via the zoom app. And again, the instructions for um doing so are included in the agenda. And then finally, um if written public comments are submitted to our C dev uh email account before 4 p.m. uh today um those uh written comments will be considered. And with that, uh let's please take a roll call vote or roll call of the members. Okay, Commissioner Adam Kavich here. Takahashi? Here Kramer here, Chair Coolidge? Here. We have Commissioner Twig. And Jadala here. Thank you. Great, we have a quorum. Um item two is the pledge of allegiance. If we could please stand. Flag is here. I'll leave everyone in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic. For which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Um next is item three, our community forum. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the commission uh on matters that are not on the agenda within the commission's purview. Um we'll start here with any uh public comments for um item three in chambers. Um no speaker slips in house and no raised hands on Zoom. Great. And I'll ask Director Domello if there's any uh written comments submitted for this item uh by 4 p.m. today. No written comments. Great. That concludes item three. Uh moving on to item four, commissioner announcements and agenda amendments. Um I'll look to my colleagues here to see if there's any uh announcements to be made. And I have uh no announcements. I'll uh look the staff to see if we have any agenda amendments. No agenda amendments. Great. Moving on to item five.
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