Planning commission recommends rezoning, general‑plan amendment for MidPen water site at 1510 Folger Drive

The Belmont Planning Commission on April 15, 2025 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council rezone 1510 Folger Drive (APNs 044‑352‑050 and 044‑353‑080) from R1B (single‑family residential) to Public and Semi‑Public (PS) and amend the general plan land‑use designation from Residential Low Density to Public/Community Facilities (PCF). The commission’s two separate recommendations—one for the zoning map and one for the general plan map—both passed 5‑0 and will be forwarded to the City Council for final action.

City staff said the rezone and plan‑map amendment would align the property’s regulatory status with its current and planned use by the local water utility, described in the record as Community Peninsula Water District (also referenced historically as Belmont Water District) or MidPen. Staff explained the action is a legislative, phase‑1 step: it changes land‑use and zoning designations so the utility can later pursue site improvements through a subsequent design‑review process (phase 2). The staff report recommended a Class 15301(b) CEQA categorical exemption for work on existing public utility facilities.

Representatives from the water district, including general manager Kat Wolfing, told the commission the site has historic use as a tank and pump site and that the district intends to renovate the two‑story building and add storage and landscaping to create a satellite operations center and corporate yard to support emergency response. Wolfing said the district’s primary operations center on Dairy Lane flooded during recent storms; the Folger Drive site’s higher elevation makes it strategically valuable as a redundant operations location during floods or earthquake responses.

Staff and the applicant described planned improvements including an office renovation, EV parking and a metal storage shed up to 17 feet tall. Staff noted that some improvements (for example a storage shed reaching 17 feet) would not be permitted under the current R1B zoning. The PS district in Belmont’s zoning code carries development standards (including a maximum height standard of 45 feet) that staff said are appropriate to public‑utility sites and would streamline the district’s ability to make necessary operational improvements. Staff emphasized that phase 2—the design review for any new structures—will return to planning commission and be subject to the city’s development standards and design‑review process.

Commissioners and members of the public raised questions about the effect of the PS zoning’s 45‑foot maximum on neighborhood scale. Staff said height is measured from adjacent finished grade and that the district does not currently propose structures near that height—representatives said the immediate plan is for a 17‑foot shed and modest site improvements. Commissioners asked that staff include language about adjacency and height concerns in the materials forwarded to council; staff agreed to include the commission’s discussion and neighbor concerns in the report to council.

Neighbors who spoke at the public hearing and by Zoom said they appreciated the district’s emergency‑preparedness goal but asked questions about traffic, site maintenance, security, pedestrian access and whether the easement across the site would remain. A nearby resident, Matt Salazar (1513 Folger), suggested sidewalk improvements on the opposite side of the street as part of future work. Staff and the district said the parcel’s existing easement would remain and that security and maintenance measures are part of the district’s property management plans.

The commission’s actions were recorded as recommendations to the City Council; staff will prepare the ordinance and resolution for council consideration (targeted in staff comments for the May 13 meeting).