OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Belmont Planning Commission Meeting – September 1, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyBelmont, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 53:29

Transcript — Verbatim
8:21

Welcome everyone to the planning commission meeting for the city of Belmont.

8:25

Tonight is Tuesday, September first, first, twenty twenty-sixth.

8:28

It's uh seven ten p.m.

8:30

We're starting just a touch late here in the city council chambers of City Hall, one twin fine's lane, Belmont, California.

8:38

There are a few ways to attend this meeting.

8:40

You can of course come to the in-person meeting.

8:49

It's also on the city's website at Belmont.gov.

8:54

Um you can also zoom into the meetings.

8:56

The meeting ID is nine, six, eight, six, nine, seven, two, two five one four.

9:04

Um, many, many opportunities.

9:08

Um the first part of the meeting is opened up for public comment.

9:13

Uh, for anyone in the city uh council chambers on anything not on the agenda.

9:19

Um, we need to do roll call.

9:21

Oh, that's right.

9:22

Yeah.

9:22

Roll called in pledge of allegiance.

9:24

This is out of order.

9:25

Yeah.

9:26

All right.

9:26

Let's start with roll call.

9:28

All right, roll call.

9:29

Um, Commissioner Adam Kavich.

9:31

Here.

9:32

Takahashi.

9:33

Yeah.

9:33

Kramer?

9:34

Here.

9:35

Majeski.

9:37

Twig.

9:38

Yep.

9:40

Here.

9:40

And absent tonight is Chair Coolage.

9:46

Okay.

9:47

Let's all rise for the uh Pledge of Allegiance.

9:52

I played the leaders to the five.

10:00

One nation.

10:01

Under God.

10:02

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

10:08

So I think we're on agenda item number three.

10:12

Okay, so we're over to item number three, the community forum.

10:15

This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the body on any city matter, not on the agenda.

10:22

The period of public comment at this point in the agenda is limited to three or maximum of three minutes per speaker.

10:39

No speaker slips in house, and uh actually we have one raised hand on Zoom.

10:44

Oh, okay.

10:44

Let's uh see what they have to say.

10:46

Okay.

10:48

Um Ashut Thresha, please go ahead whenever you're ready.

10:52

We'll have three minutes.

10:58

Hi, uh good evening.

11:00

Uh thank you.

11:01

Uh dear honorable uh Belmont Planning Commission chair and uh committee, uh good evening.

11:08

Uh I, along with my family are property owners of two Belmont properties, parcel uh 43094040, lower lock lower lock and 430 uh 427 40 uh Bartlett Way.

11:24

We also applied for the certificate of compliance uh 10 days before.

11:29

I have two questions uh uh I would like to bring up to the uh planning commission.

11:35

One is the cross street to our uh etaro two zone uh property at lower lot.

11:40

Uh is good that uh it is being approved.

11:43

Uh uh my question here is like uh like this brings uh hope that our uh same Etaro property across the street has a good possibility of building a small 800 square feet uh home or recommended uh square footage size as per the slope.

12:00

The question here is the planning commission suggested like when I requested what are the uh how to get the building permit that uh we need to get the road improvement.

12:09

Uh I would like to know if the uh property site 3300 lower lock avenue uh if there was any the road improvement uh plan uh for this building permit.

12:22

And the next question is yeah, I have been uh uh uh appro approved by the uh planning commission regarding uh the COC review.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Design Guidelines██████████████████████████26%
Land Use Planning█████████████████████████25%
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Public Engagement███████████████15%
Personnel Matters█████████9%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Belmont Planning Commission Meeting – September 1, 2026

The Belmont Planning Commission met on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 7:10 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting included approval of the July 21, 2026 minutes, a public hearing for a single-family design review at 1941 Bayview Avenue, and staff updates. The commission voted 6–1 to continue the design review to a date uncertain due to incomplete and inconsistent drawings.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of July 21, 2026 Meeting Minutes: Approved unanimously (7–0) as presented.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ashut Thresha (property owner of two Belmont parcels): Addressed the commission during the Community Forum. He asked about road improvement plans for a property at 3300 Lower Lock Avenue and the timeline for approval of a Certificate of Compliance he had filed. Staff confirmed they were preparing responses.

Discussion Items

1941 Bayview Avenue – Single Family Design Review

  • Staff Presentation: Planner Jeremy Ruiz presented the project: a 499-square-foot ground floor addition and a 531-square-foot upper story addition (total 1,030 sq ft) to an existing 1,512 sq ft single-family residence on a 6,000 sq ft lot. The maximum permitted floor area is 3,198 sq ft; the proposed total is 2,542 sq ft. Setbacks: front 20'1" (encroaching from existing 24'), side 5'3", rear 15'. Staff recommended approval.
  • Commissioner Questions: Commissioners raised concerns about discrepancies between drawings: the roof line on the color and materials board differed from elevations; the balcony guardrail was not visible on side elevations; a rectangle on the west elevation was mislabeled; and the articulation diagram appeared to treat a painted square as a window. The architect on Zoom (Susan Chen) explained that the balcony railing is behind the roof line from side views and that the color board roof line was an error. She confirmed elevations would be corrected.
  • Public Comment: Susan Chen (architect) clarified that the side elevation does not show the handrail because it is behind the roof line, and the 42-inch guardrail would be detailed in building permit drawings.
  • Commissioner Deliberation: Several commissioners noted that while the project itself appeared to meet code, the inconsistent and incomplete drawings undermined public transparency. Non-architect commissioners emphasized the commission's role in providing clear information to the public. A motion to continue the application to a date uncertain was made and seconded.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to Continue 1941 Bayview Avenue Design Review: Passed 6–1 (Commissioner Takahashi dissenting). The application is continued to a date uncertain pending revised drawings that accurately depict elevations, roof lines, balcony details, and articulation elements.

Other Business & Updates

  • Director Carlos Mello announced his retirement after 26.5 years with the city, effective September 12, 2026. He noted upcoming events: the Rome Project Grand Opening (125-unit 100% affordable housing) on September 16, 11 AM; Movies in the Park (Zootopia 2 on Sept 18, The Incredibles on Sept 25, School of Rock on Oct 2); Coastal Cleanup on Sept 19; Water Dog Run on Sept 26; and a farewell ice cream social on September 9 at 1:30 PM. The commission adjourned in his honor at 7:54 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to the planning commission meeting for the city of Belmont. Tonight is Tuesday, September first, first, twenty twenty-sixth. It's uh seven ten p.m. We're starting just a touch late here in the city council chambers of City Hall, one twin fine's lane, Belmont, California. There are a few ways to attend this meeting. You can of course come to the in-person meeting. It's also on the city's website at Belmont.gov. Um you can also zoom into the meetings. The meeting ID is nine, six, eight, six, nine, seven, two, two five one four. Um, many, many opportunities. Um the first part of the meeting is opened up for public comment. Uh, for anyone in the city uh council chambers on anything not on the agenda. Um, we need to do roll call. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Roll called in pledge of allegiance. This is out of order. Yeah. All right. Let's start with roll call. All right, roll call. Um, Commissioner Adam Kavich. Here. Takahashi. Yeah. Kramer? Here. Majeski. Twig. Yep. Here. And absent tonight is Chair Coolage. Okay. Let's all rise for the uh Pledge of Allegiance. I played the leaders to the five. One nation. Under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. So I think we're on agenda item number three. Okay, so we're over to item number three, the community forum. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the body on any city matter, not on the agenda. The period of public comment at this point in the agenda is limited to three or maximum of three minutes per speaker. No speaker slips in house, and uh actually we have one raised hand on Zoom. Oh, okay. Let's uh see what they have to say. Okay. Um Ashut Thresha, please go ahead whenever you're ready. We'll have three minutes. Hi, uh good evening. Uh thank you.

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