Belmont voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to pay a new yearly tax to replace the Barrett Community Center, the aging building that houses many of the city's youth, afterschool and recreation programs.
Measure Y would charge 33 cents per square foot of living space on homes and 54 cents per square foot on all other buildings, according to the ballot question listed on Ballotpedia. For a 1,800-square-foot house, that works out to about $594 a year. Owners of parcels already exempt from property taxes would not pay, and neither would homes lived in by residents 65 or older, Bay City News reported via SFGATE.
What the money would buy
The tax is projected to bring in about $7.1 million a year. Supporters say the Barrett building is more than 75 years old and needs major work to meet current earthquake, fire and accessibility standards. The plan is to rebuild on the existing site, creating a center that could double as an emergency shelter and disaster relief hub, while also hosting childcare, afterschool, teen and senior programs.
The campaign site, Build Belmont Together, says the money could go toward construction, maintenance, staffing, programs and running the tax itself, and that collection would start July 1, 2027. The ballot language also calls for independent audits.
No end date
The tax would not expire on its own. Voters would have to pass another measure to end it. Bay City News reported that starting in the 2028-29 tax year, the City Council could also raise the rate each year in line with regional inflation.
How it got on the ballot
Measure Y began as a citizen initiative, not a council proposal. According to a summary of the July 14 council meeting, the petition was certified by San Mateo County on June 30 with 1,799 valid signatures, just above the 1,750 required, and the council then voted to send it to the November ballot.
That route matters. Because it was brought by residents, Measure Y needs only a simple majority to pass. City polling from 2025 found strong support for a community center tax, the city said at the time, but slightly below the two-thirds threshold a city-sponsored special tax would usually need.
Belmont is one of several Peninsula and Bay Area cities asking voters for new local taxes this fall, as cities try to pay for repairs and services with tight budgets.