(Feb. 16, 2017) The Berlin Mayor and Council discussed the following items during a meeting at town hall on Monday, Feb. 13.
Maryland’s Healthiest Biz
Kathy Wool, dietician for the Worcester County Health Department, spoke to the mayor and council about the statewide Maryland’s Healthiest Business initiative. The program promotes employee wellness.
“It’s a great program because it actually encourages employers to take employee wellness by the horns and really push it,” she said. “The whole idea is to keep your employees well.”
Wool said about 20 businesses and the towns of Berlin, Snow Hill and Ocean City had already signed up, and that Pocomoke was close to joining.
Ocean Pines, she added, was another story.
“We’re hoping to move into the district of Ocean Pines, because they’re not really a place, but they want to be a place,” Wool said with a laugh. “I’m not sure what they do, but we’ll find out.”
Tree houses and duplexes
Planning Director Dave Engelhart said questions about accessory living quarters had come up during a meeting in January.
He read an except of town code that stated such dwellings were defined as “an accessory building used solely as a temporary dwelling of guests of the occupants of an existing principal use,” as in existing single-family homes.
Kitchen facilities were not permitted in those units and rent could not be exchanged. Engelhart used converting a garage into an apartment as a common example.
Town Attorney David Gaskill added that having multiple families living in a single-family dwelling was also not permitted under the code.
Engelhart said he had also received complaints about a tree house in Berlin.
“There is no mention of the word ‘tree house’ in our code,” he said, adding that he examined the property and his only concern was whether it was too close to another property line.
He added that it was difficult to enforce every infraction.
“We can’t be in every neighborhood in front of every house every week,” he added.
Complaints of housing code violations should be addressed to Engelhart.
Maryland’s Healthiest Biz
Kathy Wool, dietician for the Worcester County Health Department, spoke to the mayor and council about the statewide Maryland’s Healthiest Business initiative. The program promotes employee wellness.
“It’s a great program because it actually encourages employers to take employee wellness by the horns and really push it,” she said. “The whole idea is to keep your employees well.”
Wool said about 20 businesses and the towns of Berlin, Snow Hill and Ocean City had already signed up, and that Pocomoke was close to joining.
Ocean Pines, she added, was another story.
“We’re hoping to move into the district of Ocean Pines, because they’re not really a place, but they want to be a place,” Wool said with a laugh. “I’m not sure what they do, but we’ll find out.”
Tree houses and duplexes
Planning Director Dave Engelhart said questions about accessory living quarters had come up during a meeting in January.
He read an except of town code that stated such dwellings were defined as “an accessory building used solely as a temporary dwelling of guests of the occupants of an existing principal use,” as in existing single-family homes.
Kitchen facilities were not permitted in those units and rent could not be exchanged. Engelhart used converting a garage into an apartment as a common example.
Town Attorney David Gaskill added that having multiple families living in a single-family dwelling was also not permitted under the code.
Engelhart said he had also received complaints about a tree house in Berlin.
“There is no mention of the word ‘tree house’ in our code,” he said, adding that he examined the property and his only concern was whether it was too close to another property line.
He added that it was difficult to enforce every infraction.
“We can’t be in every neighborhood in front of every house every week,” he added.
Complaints of housing code violations should be addressed to Engelhart.