July 22, 2024
Re: Item 11B Zoning Text Amendments - Corridor Mixed Use District, Parking, and By Right Processing
Dear Mayor Mates, Vice Mayor Latimerlo, Councilmember Hurt, Councilmember McCune, and Councilmember Pang Maganaris:
This letter is in support of proposed Zoning Text Amendments related to the Corridor Mixed Use District, Parking and By Right Processing being brought forward to the city council under Item 11B, on the evening of July 23. The amendments proposed modify standards to encourage development in the Belmont CMU District.
Our family has owned a hotel in the CMU District, on El Camino Real, since 1975.
The hotel is part of our family story. Our parents acquired the hotel in 1975 and then took it through an expansion with the blessing of Belmont City Council in 1989.
Today, we hope to continue this legacy and take it to the next level by transforming the independent budget hotel to a rooms only, visitor serving hotel that can better serve the future needs of Belmont residents, visitors, and commerce. With the Stanford University Development at Notre Dame and life science revolution on the horizon, we think that an expanded and updated hotel on El Camino Real would be a welcome enhancement to the city.
Our family is committed to doing business in Belmont, and we want to be part of the next wave of transformation. The code amendments would facilitate and expedite our project goals dramatically. We believe that a new hotel is exactly the type of rejuvenation that the city is looking for in the coming years and will provide greater economic opportunities for the community at large. So far it has been a pleasure to put forth a vision of our project to Carlos de Melo, Laura Russell, and their respective teams, who are providing crucial guidance to make our vision a reality.
The collaboration is palpable.
As our project is only beginning, we hope to collaborate with the city, our community, and our neighbors to refresh and energize our CMU district. We know that communication and collaboration with all stakeholders is essential. We hope the city council agrees that an improved hotel on El Camino Real would be part of the next chapter of our downtown vision, and request that the city council support the proposed zoning text amendments.
Most sincerely,
Neel D. Patel, Sheil D. Patel, and Hemlata D. Patel
630 El Camino Real
Belmont, California 94065