Town of Berlin officials are mourning the loss of Dave Engelhart, the municipality’s planning director, who passed away over the weekend following an illness.
Dave Engelhart
By Charlene Sharpe, Associate Editor
Town officials announced the death of the town’s planning director this week.
On Monday, the Town of Berlin shared the news that Dave Engelhart, the municipality’s planning director, passed away over the weekend following an illness. Engelhart had been with the town since 2013.
“He’s impacted a lot of folks in Berlin,” Mayor Zack Tyndall said. “He’s going to be missed.”
Engelhart, who lived in Snow Hill, was selected from a pool of about 50 applicants to serve as the town’s planning director in 2013. He came to the town after several years in Virginia, where he worked as a real estate appraiser for Accomack County’s Virginia Department of Assessments and also as zoning administrator for the Town of Onley. In Berlin, Engelhart helmed the planning department. In that role, he interacted daily with local residents seeking permits for things like fences, business owners interested in installing new signs and developers looking to build in Berlin. Engelhart also served as the staff contact for the Berlin Planning Commission and the Berlin Historic District Commission.
“He’s served as the point person for our planning department for over a decade,” Tyndall said. “His work has been impactful throughout Berlin.”
Matt Stoehr, chair of the planning commission, agreed.
“Dave’s legacy will continue to live through each and every one of us as his work and success has been instrumental in the growth, development and maturation of our town,” Stoehr said. “We are all truly blessed to have worked with a man of such great character. I will miss my conversations with him greatly.”
According to Tyndall, a part-time employee, who recently retired from a planning position on the shore, was hired last week to assist temporarily in hopes of Engelhart’s return. The individual will continue to serve the town, along with Engelhart’s longtime permit coordinator Carolyn Duffy, while the town searches for a new planning director.