JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin Historic District Commission Vice Chairman Robert Poli last Wednesday leads a work session to review proposed new guidelines.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Jan. 24, 2019) Berlin Historic District Commission Vice Chairman Robert Poli last Wednesday led a work session on proposed new guidelines he said would make the committee more objective in its rulings.

The 30-page document borrowed elements from historic district guidelines in Salisbury and St. Michaels, as well as standards from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Maryland Historic Trust.

“There’s no reason to rewrite any of these standards,” Poli said. “It’s all out there for us to use. We just need to organize how we approach this information to make more objective opinions,” Poli said.

In citing Town of Berlin code, Poli said the Berlin historic District was established on April 17, 1980 “to uphold the Historic District Code as set forth by the Mayor and Council.”

According to the proposed guidelines, Berlin has 181 properties listed on the Maryland Historic Trust’s Inventory of Historic Properties. There are 95 properties recognized within the original 300-acre tract created when the town was incorporated in 1677.

Falling under the historic district commission’s purview are 40 commercial properties and 42 residential properties currently within the Town of Berlin Historic District, as well as any new properties constructed in the district.

Based on town code, the commission was created to safeguard the heritage of the town “by preserving the district or districts therein, which reflect elements of its cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history.” The commission is to stabilize and improve property values in the district, foster civic beauty, strengthen the local economy, and promote the historic district “for the education, welfare and pleasure of the residents of the town and county.”

Town code states the commission “shall give consideration to” historic or architectural value and significance, the relationship of the exterior architectural features to the surrounding area, general compatibility of exterior design, and “Any other factors, including aesthetic factors, which the commission deems to be pertinent.”

Also in town code, “The historic district commission shall only consider exterior features of a structure and site and shall not consider any interior arrangements.”

Poli, in the proposed guidelines, said preservation “should always be the first consideration.” Rehabilitation is the secondary consideration, followed by replacement.

“Only in situations where the structure would be considered uninhabitable can the fourth consideration, reconstruction, be applied,” he said.

Poli also recommended the town implement 2008 suggestions provided by the Maryland Historic Trust, an agency of the Maryland Department of Planning. The Historic Trust, apparently at the request of town officials, visited Berlin and observed the historic district commission in 2008.

Additionally, Poli suggested commission members use the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties online database to gather background on each case prior to commission meetings.

Poli said each property in the district is listed in the database, which provides property names, locations, classifications and details of ownership. More importantly, he said, each included a description and information on why the property is historically significant.

“It tells you how the building was designed [and] built, and its significance and everything … and they’re very detailed,” he said. “From all this, you can see each property is unique.”

“These are fascinating,” commission member Mary Moore said, adding the commissioners could use the information as a tool for preparation.

Commission member Laura Stearns agreed.

“When we get our packet every month, the first thing we’ll do [is] … go to the Historic Trust, like you were saying, [and] look up the historical significance.”

Poli said the overall intent was to “form a simple procedure” that could be repeated for each case. He said commissioners should first look up the property address, then view the description and significance, and then look at the specific requests on each application.

“Those three steps can be done in just a few minutes,” he said. “Now, you’ve got all this knowledge … if you want to go to inspect the property, you already know in your head what’s going on.”

He said much of the commission work was based on opinion but, with the right approach and a little homework, those opinions could become better informed.

“With this extra knowledge of the property, along with a visit to the property, you have a more objective opinion … but we [also] have more facts,” he added.

Poli said town code gives the commission the option to create a set of guidelines. He said the commission could consider adopting the guidelines during its next meeting.

“I chose to develop a reference manual using information on hand, developed at the federal, state and local levels, so that the historic commission, the town council, the mayor and our residents understand that the standards are carved in stone, and yet there’s plenty of room for flexibility and opinion,” Poli said. “The reason why I say plenty of room is after reviewing quite a few of these files, there has been a lot change in Berlin – and only for the better.

“I feel, as a newer member [of the commission] and a property owner here for only 15 years and a full-time resident for seven, that the mayor and council, the historic commission, [and] the residents’ and business owners’ enthusiasm about the historic status of Berlin over the years … continue to make our town better than ever.”

Commission members widely praised Poli’s effort.

“You did a terrific job,” Moore said.

“This is very helpful,” Commissioner Norman Bunting added.

To search the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties in Worcester County, visit http://mht.maryland.gov/mihp/MIHP.aspx?Search=County&County=Worcester.