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Belmont approves Duke/FERC memorandum to preserve opportunity for waterfront paddling and rowing park
Summary
Council approved execution of documents with Duke Energy that preserve a FERC‑approved footprint for a public paddling and rowing park, noting the agreement preserves the opportunity but does not commit city funds. The agreement carries an execution deadline (August 10) and construction windows (18 months plus possible 12‑month extension).
Belmont City Council voted to execute a memorandum of lease and associated documents from Duke Energy that preserve the city’s right to construct limited waterfront improvements for public paddling and rowing under a FERC authorization.
City staff summarized the history: in 2017 the Belmont Rowing Club (BRC) donated a portion of its waterfront acreage to the city as part of an agreement that anticipated the club operating a rowing facility. Staff said Duke's FERC‑related use agreement returned a requirement that the area be maintained as a public park, which prevents exclusive private operation as originally envisioned in the 2017 agreement. "The FERC agreement requires that the city maintain the property as a public park," staff said, and that constraint means the original private‑operation plan must be revised.
Staff explained the documents in the agenda packet: a memorandum of lease and a public‑use lease that together cover the small shoreline footprint Duke has permitted for construction (combined acreage shown in the packet as about 0.3652 acres in two pieces: roughly 0.3125 acres for a public dock area and about 0.0527 acres for a boat ramp). Miles, a staff member, told council the documents include an execution deadline set by Duke: "The deadline for the execution of the lease and the memorandum of lease is August 10," he said.
Staff repeated a key point for council: signing the documents preserves an uncommon and lengthy FERC approval process the city has already completed, and signing does not obligate the city to fund or construct the park. If the city approves the documents, the construction window in the lease is 18 months from execution with the ability to request a one‑time extension of up to 12 months; failure to construct within those windows would forfeit the opportunity and the permit could lapse.
Council discussed deed restrictions tied to the original 2017 donation (staff noted the parcel deed restricts use to park and human‑powered watercraft activities), the interaction between the lease and the older BRC agreement, and potential need to amend the 2017 agreement. Council members raised the possibility that parts of the original 2017 terms would need revision to reconcile the city’s public‑park requirement with prior expectations about club operations.
The council approved execution of the Duke documents by voice vote (motion made and seconded; passed). Staff and council members said they will continue negotiations with the Belmont Rowing Club to amend the 2017 agreement as needed and to work out any capital‑campaign or construction responsibilities. The council recorded no construction funding commitment as part of tonight’s action.
