Belmont Town Meeting approves hotel zoning for Concord Avenue

Special Town Meeting · Meeting of March 5, 2026

Belmont Special Town Meeting votes 196-52 to zone Concord Avenue for the town's first hotel. Members approved Article 3, creating the Center Gateway Overlay District, which allows hotels up to 150 rooms and five stories on three Concord Avenue parcels, after first voting 186-72 to terminate debate. Warrant Committee Chair Paul Richter's fiscal analysis projected a net annual impact ranging from $150,000 for a 26-room hotel to $780,000 for a 150-room hotel.

Select Board member Elizabeth Dion said the vote lets Belmont "make history," noting no hotel use has been allowed since 1897. Opponents like Ann Marie Mahoney warned "the neighborhoods just cannot take any more of that kind of congestion." Planning Board Chair Thayer Donham moved the article, which the Select Board, Warrant Committee (8-2), Planning Board, and Economic Development Advisory Committee all recommended favorably.

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Source: the Special Town Meeting meeting of March 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.