Mallard Pointe project wins approval in Belvedere

After more than three years of public debate, Belvedere has approved the contentious 40-unit redevelopment of Mallard Pointe, a private community of duplexes between the lagoon and City Hall.

The Planning Commission voted 5-1 on March 19 to back the latest iteration from owner Mallard Pointe 1951 LLC, which includes a 15-unit apartment building alongside a fourplex and triplex in the residential island along Community Road. Another triplex and four duplexes, plus six single-family homes to be sold off before construction, will line the lagoon side of Mallard Road. One home will have an over-garage accessory dwelling unit and two more will be built second-unit-ready, giving the eventual owners the option to convert the spaces during construction.

The new units will range from one to five bedrooms, with four of the apartment units deed-restricted as affordable to lower incomes. The plan requires demolition of the existing 22 units of two-bedroom, market-rate duplexes, which the commission approved in a separate 5-1 vote.

Commissioner Nena Hart was absent from the meeting, while Commissioner Pat Carapiet dissented in both votes. However, Carapiet joined the majority in 6-0 votes to recommend the City Council approve both the tentative map to subdivide the 2.84-acre parcel into 12 lots and the revocable license for improvements in the public right of way, which include sidewalks and crosswalks along Community Road. The council will consider those approvals at its April 29 meeting.

Read the complete story in the March 27 edition of The Ark.