Residents of Burley Street in Berlin last Wednesday during a planning commission meeting voiced objection to a proposed subdivision. The area would include the existing home on 33 Burley Street as well as three new homes, all accessible by a single driveway.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(April 19, 2018) Residents of Burley Street in Berlin were not happy about a proposed residential subdivision discussed during the planning commission meeting last Wednesday.

Planner Bob Hand of R D Hand & Associates Inc. described the proposal as a four-lot subdivision on Burley Street, just shy of two acres, with one shared “serpentine” driveway accessible by all. One of the lots, 33 Burley Street, has a home on it already.

Residents said the proposal was not analogous to the neighborhood, currently made up of homes set just off the street and spaced close together, with deep backyards backing up onto Stephen Decatur Park and bordering the tennis courts.

Planners said the proposed new constructions would instead be built staggering away from the street and partially disguised by landscaping.

Planning Commission member Newt Chandler called the concept “bastardized … where people look into other people’s back yards building houses,” and wondered if two larger homes would be more desirable.

“I don’t think people would want to live like that – I wouldn’t want to buy lot three with lot four looking in my backyard,” he said. “I think you could get more money selling two big lots.”

Resident George DeGroft said, “The whole idea is totally out of character for the neighborhood.”

“It’s a nice place to raise a family,” he said. “This doesn’t strike me as developmentally friendly to the small town idea of Berlin.”

Resident Patricia Dufendach said when she purchased her home she was told subdivisions were not permitted on Burley Street.

“This is a subdivision. It’s named a subdivision in the paperwork. I don’t know when this changed,” she said. “When did the community have an opportunity to weigh into whether or not it’s a subdivision?”

She added residents were not made aware of an easement apparently granted to property co-owner John Collins regarding the “paper street” known as Commodore Alley or Commodore Lane that borders the park.

“It’s a street that everybody walks up and down to the park on from Burley Street, because it’s a public street,” Dufendach said. “We’ve not had a chance to weigh in on that.

“[The development] is not in character of our neighborhood,” she continued. “We want to be sure that all of these things are covered, because we have some very strict details about how subdivisions are supposed to be and I just want to know that we followed all these rules.”

Resident Jennifer Neeb said she is worried about setting a new precedent on the street.

“If this is the new position, then we’ll take down our garage, create an easement, and propose to build something in our back lot,” Neeb said. “If everybody on Burley Street that owned their back lot did that … I just think you’re losing what we wanted.

“We had … children playing baseball on the big lot behind us. Our neighbors’ children play lacrosse and when the ball crossed over they use our yard – it’s one big lacrosse field,” she continued. “I don’t think this is in the best interest of the residents on Burley Street.”

Husband Barry Neeb joked he agreed with everything his wife said, “Because I don’t want to get beaten when I get home.”

“The bottom line is, you’re getting ready to open Pandora’s Box. The idea of a subdivision on Burley Street is frightening to me,” he said. “It’s a beautiful street. Yes, it’s kind of peculiar that [the homes] are all close to the road with huge backyards – that’s a selling feature to me. That’s why we bought the house and we have utilized that backyard since our kids were little.

“To be able to now, if you so choose, to petition you all to have a subdivision will completely change the change the character of that street,” he added. “I’m not opposed to them making a profit off of this piece of land … [but] I do stand in the way of subdivisions on Burley Street.”

Resident Diane Frederick’s concerns were about the stormwater impact of any new development. She said the owner of 26 Burley Street wanted to build a mother-in-law apartment, but was denied and instead built an addition.

“When they did that addition, it raised the ground level of that entire piece of property and now my lot floods,” Frederick said. “What you allowed them to do at 26 has had a negative affect on the topography of my land and I now have water in my basement constantly and the whole back portion of my lot floods.

“I don’t know what this might do [to neighboring properties] … or if it will have any southerly flow into my property,” she added.

“The decisions you make will impact how water flows on Burley Street,” Dufendach said.

Because only a concept plan was presented, Planning Director Dave Engelhart said there was “no motion to be made” during the meeting.

“The next step would be that they prepare a plat for your approval,” he said to the commission members.

“Or disapproval,” Commission Chairman Chris Denny said.

Property co-owner Chris Davis said he would take all of the resident opinions into consideration.

“You’ve heard it from the neighbors – this is a unique street, which has a consistent design plan on each lot,” Commission member Pete Crosby said. “This would have an impact, on my opinion, on the streetscape of Burley Street that would be significant. And it also could set a bad precedent.”

Collins did not agree and said one of the empty lots would “only allow for a small house.”

“And that house has to has a driveway [and] has to have a garage to maintain the character of Berlin,” he said. “My contention is that if you have two houses up on Burley Street it’s going to be very tight and all the guests are going to be parking on the street and that’s where the problem is going to arise.

“My contention is we move these in the back and landscape the front,” he continued. “They’ll have the opening area – a field with more trees like they’ve had all their lives – and they won’t even know those houses are in the back.

“I think this is a good plan for the Town of Berlin. I think this is a good plan for the street of Burley Street,” Collins said. “That’s why we’re here – to try to make it better.” lot on Church Street.