The Berlin Planning Commission intends to adapt Worcester County building standards to simplify the design process for developers who want to create new commercial spaces in town.
Downtown Berlin is pictured.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Berlin Planning Commission intends to adapt Worcester County building standards to simplify the design process for developers looking to create new commercial spaces in town.
At the group’s Sept. 11 meeting, members agreed to adopt the commercial guidelines set forth by the county for building design and construction and adapt them for Berlin use. Members of the commission will meet to remove all mentions of the words “must” or “shall’ from the Worcester document or change the phrases to “should” to avoid pinning hard and fast rules on potential developers.
The preliminary guidelines will act as a quick fix. Currently, Berlin lacks outlined regulations, which has presented conflicts to the commission and builders. Developers, like in the case of the proposed Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham, have struggled to nail down and produce precisely what the town desires in a new structure, and the planning group lacks specific standards to which they can refer them.
During a July 10 meeting of the planning commission, members expressed their dismay with concept plans for the Microtel to be placed off Route 113. The group argued that developers showed a disregard for the historic charm of downtown Berlin despite the addition of cornices, Victorian-style lights, a pool enclosure, and mature trees.
“We all understand what you are trying to achieve. The problem is the manner in which you are trying to achieve it,” Mark Cropper, hotel building applicant Thomas Zambetis’s attorney, said to the commission at the summer presentation. “At some point, if a developer does A, B, C & D, a developer is entitled to site plan approval … we are trying to be responsive and cooperative, but it’s a two-way street. … we are told to return with something different, but there’s no guidance or details to go by. We are trying to get there, but this is a hard arena to work in when there’s nothing to work through.”
The upcoming construction standards are intended to prevent similar standoffs.
The planning commission maintains that the regulations will be an interim solution. Once a full-time planning director is in place, the hired individual will shape the standards to a more Berlin-centric framework to address some of the issues highlighted by the Microtel situation.
The county-adapted document will create temporary parameters to avoid unacceptable spaces, and the planning director, once hired, will adjust them to account for the uniqueness of Berlin. The commission agreed that while the charm of downtown does not need to be massively considered out on the highway, area-specific criteria should be set forth as soon as possible.
The group emphasized that building standards specific to the town remain on hold as they are to be drafted in collaboration with the expertise of a planning director.
Berlin has lacked a leader in the planning department since the previous position-holder, Dave Engelhart, passed in April. Rick Baldwin has acted as a consultant since. Still, to not overburden staff in the absence of a director, the town has elected to halt site plan approval, rezoning, and annexation until someone is hired to fill the vacancy.
A moratorium on these actions passed in July and has since been extended twice. Per the Sept. 9 gathering of the Mayor and Council, the pause will expire on Nov. 15 but may be lifted prior if a director is hired. The governing body will evaluate the suspension at the first assembly of each month.
At the Sept. 11 planning commission meeting, Town Administrator Mary Bohlen noted that Berlin is still actively searching for a director. She confirmed that two separate individuals were offered the position but turned the job down in the end, citing unaffordable housing as the reason.
Bohlen said that “it does not appear to be a salary problem,” despite the commission arguing that it must be.
“That is not how they indicated it,” she maintained.
Berlin is offering approximately $95,600 to $100,400 for the role.
“This is in line with what we have found that other towns are advertising,” Bohlen said. “Now, at the end of the day, what they are advertising and what they ultimately end up paying, you do not necessarily know how that fleshes out.”
The town administrator also informed the commission that restrictions on annexation requests have loosened, albeit slightly.
“What I am telling people right now … is to send a letter with their intent and the reason they are seeking annexation, and we will start to review it,” she said. “That is the best I can offer right now… The annexation process itself is pretty complex. It is not just a matter of the town saying, ‘Yes, we do’ or ‘No, we don’t want it’…I will say that we are accepting them sending us their requests to be considered for annexation, but there is a certain level of professional skill and knowledge that has to be there.”
The planning commission is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 5:30 p.m. A video of the meeting will be streamed live via Facebook.