Belmont streetscape through glass
Belmont was bustling on Tuesday, July 7, when this image was captured from the front table of Bel Rio restaurant. From left, one can see the very-soon-to-open Tavola, the groovy-terraced Local, Jean's Beauty Salon, Belmont Bar-B-Que, and just a sliver of the roof and gable of the just-approved-by-City Council Southern Crescent.
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9 comments
And against the careful consideration of the Council appointed Planning Commission. Why do they even have a PC if they aren't allowed to plan ?
Galileo - what are you talking about?
What a stunning slap in the face to the Belmont neighborhood from city council. I'm really starting to get disgusted with our local government. I knew Brown was a menace, but the more smiling while back-stabbing I see from Norris, the more I'm beginning to despise him too.
Music Lover, Did you miss the part in the brief article above that mentions city council's approval of rezoning for Southern Crescent despite strong neighborhood opposition and against the better judgement of the usually pro-development department of neighborhood development services?
The village elders really showed that no matter what others think, they do whatever they wish. That is known as democracy the TJ way. My guess is the elders will now get "low cost" food at the new joint for many years.
This decision goes hand in hand with the new parking rules. Those rules were designed to be implemented when a large new hotel was in place on the mall. Well...we have a big empty shell, but it may be a decade or more before a single person stays in the building.
Bricks...get your bricks here. $7.5 million for a few...
Does anyone remember the days when Democrats ran on neighborhood protection as their platform ? --looks like those days are over. There is a choice this time, both an independent Mr. Fenwick, and a write-in Mr. Williams are running.
Holly, like Kendra before her, seems to be there to serve one segment of the population, one that doesn't live in Belmont in large numbers. Norris won't have any problem at all with the precedent that this change has created, because he will soon be part of an effort to shove SRO housing into an inappropriate site in a neighborhood that neither needs nor wants it. Brown is simply not in touch and generally worthless on city council, so no surprise there. This city desperately needs some new blood on city council. Fenwick is starting to look good and he has my vote for now.
Its Vinegar Hill all over again. Belmont already had an active mixed business community, and a steadily growing neighborhood with hardworking folks gentrifying. City Council decides it has a different view and just runs over everything.
As one Belmonter said, if they didn't who was elected they would assume its a totally GOP agenda. All business folk, no matter how poor their ideas, must be susbsidized at everyone else' s expense.
Inluding other business owners.
Given the opposition to changing the zoning to accomodate prospective restaurant owners who knowingly bought a residential home, I really wonder how well that restaurant will do. Two Cajun restaurants have come and gone in this city. Somehow, trying that particular formula again, in this economy doesn't seem terribly bright. Add on that they're likely to be one of the first local restaurants ever to be boycotted before they even open and it almost makes you wonder why they're trying in the first place. Good luck with that.
Considering the legitimate problems Belmont residents seem to be having with the city council discounting their views, I certainly hope that there are some Belmont residents running for council next time around. Edwards, in particular, showed borderline contempt to the residents who dared to eat at the existing restaurants but opposed dangerous growth, claiming that one couldn't do both. Oh, REALLY? I'm not a Belmont resident myself and even I want an alternative to those people come election day. What they're doing to Belmont shows a "we know better and the legitimate concerns of residents or even our own planning commission don't matter" way of thinking that could easily be applied all over the city. We should ALL be concerned.