Beautiful Mountain Blog of Belmont

December 10th--Property Tax Deadline

Today, December 10^th is the last day to pay your property taxes in California. Many people wait until the December 10^th deadline to pay their property taxes though they are due November 10^th, becasue there’s no penalty until after the December deadline.

The fiscal year for California property taxes runs from July 1^st through June 30^th of each year, which is why your property taxes cover those specific dates. There are two payment vouchers, one for the first installment and another for installment numbers two. Installment number one is collected in arrears in November as it covers the time period from July 1^st through the end of the year. This payment is due November 10^th and delinquent December 10^th of each year.

The second installment is due on February 10th but the tax collector gives you and additional 30 days to make this payment as it is not delinquent until April 10^th.

For those trying to get all the airline miles possible, there’s an easy on-line payment option but be aware that a 2.5% surcharge will be applied for this convenience.

Tree-mendous Power Struggle

I have brought the idea of a proposed tree ordinance to the attention of several of the influential people I know in Belmont—some who hold sitting positions. They do not appear inclined to take-up the idea since I believe they tend to shy away from anything which is a political hot potato (unless it’s on their personal agenda). Though I give credit to Bill Dickenson for occasionally challenging his fellow council members, most of the members of our current council (and Planning Department) seem to believe that anything progressive is a threat; as opposed to the other extreme which believe that development should march forward unchecked. The problem with both of these positions is that they are extreme, and we need more fair minded, balanced, and objective people to help make Belmont a great town—prosperous, and with a sustainable and alluring quality of life. Don't get me wrong, I too love our open spaces and trees but there needs to be a balance struck when considering growth and changes. Until our Belmont City Council becomes more like real council--for the people--and less concerned with their own agenda’s, I fear nothing will change.

One need look no further than the example of the council’s decision to ban smoking in Belmont to see that these folks are thrusting upon us their personal agenda (see "Where there’s Smoke There’s Fire").

I bring this point up because it's just one more an example of what needs to change in Belmont. We need a council who will do what is right for the citizens of Belmont, not what is right for their personal vision of a town they want to create.

The current list of candidates includes two candidates who are strongly supported by the current council members Coralin Feierbach and Dave Warden—two like-minded members who would love nothing more than to eliminate any challenges to their control of the current council; Christine Wozniak, who currently sits on the oppressive planning department and David Braunstein, a teacher from Carlmont High School, who’s legacy is organizing the creation of the Belmont library.

The other opposing two Candidates Jason Born and Broderick Page are challenging the status quo and who the majority of the council desperately want not to win. It is my belief with the shenanigans of Dave Warden trying to decide if he should attempt a write-in campaign, and Dave Braunstein getting back into the race, has everything to do with Dave Warden wanting to leave the council yet clone himself before he does so by convincing David Braunstein to come back to the fray after dropping out. As found in this article by the San Mateo Daily News; "Mr. Warden said at the time, "… [He] was comfortable leaving the council because he endorsed two of the challengers running to take his place"; saying, "Mr. Warden believed newcomers Born and Page lacked experience."

Ask him how much experience he had when he got elected.

Want to make a change? Make a change in the council. I’m passing this along to Jason Born and Bill Dickenson since if there’s anyone who would even consider this I believe it to be them. Now all the citizens of Belmont have to do is vote.

Where There's Smoke There's Fire--Belmont's Smoking Ban

The smoking ordinance in Belmont was a classic example of what Belmont's city council is all about. Sure second hand smoke is bad but the issue brought before them was second hand smoke in attached adjacent living spaces--the genesis of the original complaint. However our council (coached by their cronies in other departments with similar agendas—can anyone say Planning Department?) decided to pursue a ban on all outdoor cigarette smoking in Belmont—notice I didn’t say all smoking?

Be clear, this was a personal agenda. Mayor Coralin’s trama had to do with being exposed to second hand smoke from her father and Council Member Dave Warden wanted Belmont to be a "smoke free city". Mr. Warden apparently anointed himself with deciding how one should personally care for themselves stating, "…This ordinance may save lives as it may force smokers to quit or limit smoking".

What they neglected to address was wood burning fireplaces and outdoor BBQ's--no doubt much worse contributors of air borne carcinogens. Mr. Warden’s argument for not banning other more caustic causes of airborne particulate matter such as that expelled by SUV’s was answered with—"[but] we need cars". So what’s his answer to this one—banning outdoor BBQ’s will stop people from eating unhealthy carcinogen laden foods AND stop the air borne particulate matter they cause. Why wasn’t that a part of the ordinance?

Did anyone notice the volumes of billowing smoke at the Save The Music benefit in Belmont wafting by the children

as they sang on stage? The city doesn’t need to bring in experts to intuitively know that the smoke produced that day alone no doubt exposed more people to more carcinogens than any outdoor citizen puffing away on a cigarette. This council is clearly about tolerance (or lack thereof) and what they personally believe should be acceptable.

Why did they ignore addressing these two issues if their real concern was for the health, welfare and safety of their constituents? Because they only wanted to trample on a minority who they knew would not garner any support; they knew that adding a ban on outdoor BBQ’s and wood burning fireplaces would raise too much opposition—they simply stuck with an ordinance which would get them maximum media attention with minimal resistance.

Meet Jason Born

There are several new faces emerging as candidates for Belmont's city council. One I had the pleasure to meet was Jason Born. An articulate no nonsense sort, Jason Born could be a real asset to Belmont's leadership. You can read all about him on his web page at: http://www.bornforbelmont.com/

Belmont View Ordinance-Only a Vision?

Belmont—or beautiful mountain (beau mont)—is one of the most unique and charming cities on the peninsula. It’s heavily forested hillsides and undulating hills make for a delightful backdrop against the busy peninsula transportation arteries.

Belmont offers impressive views of San Francisco and the open space around Sugarloaf Mountain, the San Francisco Bay, and on any clear day Mt. Tamalpias, Mt. Diablo and Mt. Hamilton.

Belmont’s attributes are many but its highly coveted views are among the top reason people choose to live in Belmont.

The hills of Belmont weren’t always so heavily wooded as suggested by this rendering—published in "Heritage of the Wooded Hills—A Belmont History, by Ria Elena MacCrisken and available at the Belmont Historical Society. As Belmont neighborhoods developed tress were planted which forever changed the natural foliage into forested hillsides (one needs to look no further than the Watershed open space to see what Belmont’s hills probably looked like before it was populated).

Ironically, Belmont has no view or tree ordinance which regulates whether or not a tree can obstruct the view of a homeowner; one can’t build a structure to block a view but there’s nothing to regulate allowing a tree to grow unchecked into what once was someone’s impressive vista.

Many of the trees in Belmont which grow unattended such as eucalyptus are not indigenous to Belmont and in fact are not protected under Belmont’s existing tree ordinance—yet those are some of the most offensive trees in terms of obstructing views (well, and they’re pretty messy too).

When living in a society where our existence impacts others it’s essential to have ordinances to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public. We currently have ordinances to protect the quality of life and Belmont should seriously consider adding a view ordinance which will allow for the responsible ownership of trees.

Balancing the rights of a homeowner to maintain their view against that of a nearby property owner to plant and grow trees where they wish is difficult as property ownership rights are always held in high regard—as they should be. Like anything else though, these views must be preserved and a balance must be struck between the property ownership rights of both parties.

Are trimming trees counterproductive to living green? Absolutely not. The International Society of Arboriculture not only recommends tree ordinances they go so far as to suggest how to structure one. Furthermore many adjacent towns which benefit from similar views already have such ordinances in place. Cities such as Tiburon and Berkeley, both where property values are substantially affected by their views, have adopted view ordinances to cope with urban tree growth and should serve as a guide to Belmont to act to preserve our declining views.

Local Government Goes On-Line

Did you know you can view many of Belmont's planning and council meetings on-line?. Turns out our sleepy little town really delivers when it comes to technology. If you are interested in watching your elected (and appointed) officials at work, read on:

The City of Belmont, in cooperation with The Mid peninsula Community Media Center is currently webcasting City Council Meetings. Viewers can tune in to the live webcasts the second and fourth Tuesday nights of the month beginning at 7:30pm, unless there is a study session, in which case the webcast begins at 6:30pm. Viewers can also see any past meeting since August 2006, or any particular agenda item within those meetings.

Tuesday, October 9th @ 7:30PM ~ City Council Meeting

Location:  City Council Chambers - One Twin Pines Lane

City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, One Twin Pines Lane in Belmont. Council meetings are broadcast live on Cable Channel 27 in Belmont.  If you would like to contact the City Council collectively, please use the following link:  CityCouncil@belmont.gov - Please be advised: Our Mail Server does not accept files over 2 megabytes. Planning Commission meetings broadcast live on Channel 27 - Also available on the Internet at: http://www.communitymediacenter.net/watch/belmont_webcast/index.html

The Planning Commission meetings can be viewed on-line on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. The archives are available on our web site at the link below:

http://www.communitymediacenter.net/watch/belmont_webcast/index.html