Commission nixes rezoning for big townhouse project

By Greg Ellison

(Jan. 20, 2022) Density issues and increasing the demand on town services were among the reasons  the Berlin Planning Commission voted 5-1 last week against backing a request to rezone property by Routes 50 and 818 from commercial to residential.

Developer Chris Carbaugh and attorney Mark Cropper returned to the commission last Wednesday after presenting concept plans for a proposed 176-unit townhouse project on a 24-acre parcel on the north side of Route 50 in October.

In February 2020, based on a request from Carbaugh, the property was altered from M-1 industrial use to B-2 shopping district.

After the subsequent covid-19 pandemic slowed commercial development and expanded the housing market, developers changed course to seek rezoning for a portion of the land to R-4 residential district to allow for a 176-unit townhouse development.

Cropper said the proposed mixed-use commercial area adjacent to Route 818 would border the residential portion located to the rear.

“You would travel through the commercial road to enter the residential area,” he said.

Cropper said the 2020 rezoning to B-2 was based upon a mistake.

“The Berlin Planning Commission was not made aware in 2020 of the volume of commercial zoning in close proximity to this property,” he said.

Cropper said numerous lands in close proximity were designated as commercial use when the Worcester County comprehensive zoning map was adopted in 2009.

“When the comprehensive land use plan was adopted in 2007 … the county concluded it had more commercial zoning than needed to accommodate public demand for next 10-15 years,” he said.

Cropper said if facts had been presented differently in 2020, the B-2 designation would not have been approved.

“Our position is had the mayor and council, and prior to that the Planning Commission, been made aware of the vast amounts of commercially zoned land in close proximity … this property shouldn’t have been rezoned to B-2,” he said.

Carbaugh estimated the housing project would earn the town more than $600,000 annually from residential and commercial taxes, while also netting about $3.6 million from real estate revenue.

“This would mean a 17 percent increase in revenue to the town,” he said.

Other associated revenue streams would bolster enterprise funds, including about $670,000 from electric, roughly $40,000 from water and $126,000 from wastewater.

Further, Carbaugh said the town would collect about $3.2 million from water and sewer EDUs.

“This project has a potential first year benefit to the town of $5 million,” he said.

Among those opposing the housing development was Robert Bunting, who operates Buntings Field, a private airstrip situated three nautical miles north of Berlin.

Representing Bunting was attorney Dirk Widdowson, who argued that rezoning is permitted if there was a significant change in the character of the area or if a previous determination was made by mistake.

“Based on a mistake in fact, not in judgment,” he said.

Bunting, noting the county issued a special use exemption for the airfield in 1980, said the smaller aircraft using the site tend to fly lower and are nosier than larger planes.

“Every resident in that development are going to complain to the person they bought the townhouse from,” he said.

Bunting’s operation primarily launches planes for crop dusting and displaying promotional banners along the beachfront in Ocean City in the summer.

Bunting envisioned a rash of lawsuits based on noise and disturbance complaints from residents annoyed by aircraft.

“I could be sued and the town could be sued,” he said.

Widdowson said a residents’ survey tied to Berlin’s Comprehensive Plan showed an overall preference to decrease residential development in favor of commercial ventures.

Additionally, Widdowson noted the comprehensive plan also seeks to preserve the character of the community by limiting new residential development to provide workforce housing.

“The focus is on developing jobs in the community as the main priority,” he said.

Cropper questioned the potential impact of nearby biplanes, arguing that the Ocean City Airport handles a higher percentage of plane traffic and is also located near residences.

Bunting questioned that assertion.

“I have had days I have been busier than the Ocean City Airport,” he said. “I know they will complain about my airport.”

Cropper noted the property in question was zoned R-3 residential when Buntings Field was approved.

“You think your operation should take precedence over how the Town of Berlin controls development and growth?” he said.

Bunting said his intent is to plot mutually beneficial development plans.

“We keep a common ground,” he said. “It was zoned industrial and it should stay that way.”

Concerns also abounded from residents, with about a dozen letters received questioning the need for adding so many townhouses to the housing inventory.

Former Planning Commission member Barbara Stack wrote that the site has been rezoned multiple times based on an earlier mistake.

“Why is this a recurring mistake?” she said. “The truth is the owner has not found a suitable use for the property.”

Stack said the proposed land use should not burden the town.

“The site is a primarily a commercial property and it’s a horrible location for residential use,” she said. “Who would want to live on a major highway?”

Stack also suggested that increased EDUs sale, while providing short-term profits, would ultimately push Berlin closer to a high-dollar expansion of the wastewater treatment plant.

Berlin resident Marie Velong also voiced opposition to building townhomes.

“There’s all kinds of reasons not to do this project, but the biggest one is that it’s a commercial area,” she said. “It’s not a residential one.”

Commission member Ron Cascio said the many letters and comments in opposition could not be ignored.

“Clearly, there’s no benefit to the townsfolk to approve this project as proposed,” he said.

Cascio said the intersection of Routes 50 and 818 was already dangerous and adding a slew of townhomes would exacerbate the situation.

Commission member Pete Cosby said despite earlier hopes of attracting industry by rezoning county lands, he now opposes Route 50 becoming an even larger commercial corridor.

“What’s happened between Berlin and Ocean City over my 40 years of driving back and forth to work is disappointing,” he said. “A lot of commercial development between the two will all be connected before you know it.”

While preferring to see the property remain as farmland, Cosby said he would ultimately back residential and not commercial development.

“I don’t want to see outlet shops out here,” he said.

Still, Cosby also expressed reservations with the proposed housing density.

“I also don’t want to see as intense of development as proposed,” he said.

Cosby recommended revisiting the matter once rezoning issues are settled to decide on building limits, while also highlighting the pressing need to address walkability issues.

“I don’t want to see anything happen until we get sidewalks going all the way into Berlin,” he said.

The Planning Commission voted 5-1, with Cosby opposed, to issue an unfavorable rezoning recommendation for consideration during a future public hearing with the mayor and Town Council.