By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Feb. 12, 2026) Improvements at Berlin’s Atlantic Hotel were approved after the fact by the Historic District Commission last week following a tense discussion about the proper approval and permitting processes.

At a Feb. 4 meeting of the Berlin HDC, the body accepted landscaping and electrical work that had already taken place on the hotel property. The unanimous vote was preceded by criticism from the town’s planning department that the project did not make its way through the appropriate channels before being completed.

In January, Bryan LeCompte, owner of Salisbury-based Yard Designs, approached hotel owners John and Michelle Fager with an offer to spruce up an area with high pedestrian activity at a discounted rate.

The lodging’s modifications included the installation of brick pavers on both sides of the sidewalk at the front entrance, installation of new landscaping, installation of a removable ground sleeve for the hotel sign, and installation of electrical.

The contractor said that, to secure the lower cost, the project would need to be completed the following week because the landscaping company’s workload was about to increase.

In a rush to ensure the improvements could be made, the initiative failed to come before the HDC for approval, and permits were not secured before groundbreaking. Historic commission member and Atlantic Hotel general manager Laura Stearns got mixed up in the middle of what the town’s planning department described as a procedural error.

Michelle Fager and Stearns appeared before the commission last week to apologize for failing to follow the proper steps.

“Recently, [LeCompte] came to us and offered to beautify the front of the hotel,” explained Stearns to the HDC and town staff. “It was an opportunity that is rare…What we had there for years was roots that were exposed. It was a safety hazard and a liability for the hotel and probably for the townspeople that tripped on them.”

She added that, in terms of shrubbery, two spiral boxwoods were placed on the hotel’s front porch, and pavers matching those around town were installed for aesthetic appeal.

Stearns maintained that a dangerous electrical setup was also remedied and brought back into regulatory compliance.

Stearns said that once she realized the project would need proper HDC approval, she went to Berlin Planning Director Ryan Hardesty, who “was not positive about it happening.” The hotel manager then called John Fager, who she said pushed for the work to proceed.

Stearns went back to Hardesty, who said she should speak to Norman Bunting, the HDC chairman. Bunting maintained that he could not provide explicit permission for the initiative.

Stearns then spoke to Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall. It was decided that the HDC members could be polled via email.

“Between all of us, we thought that we could just ask the commissioners,” she said. “So it was presented to all of them in an email. They said it was beautiful. Then, I thought we were a go.”

Stearns added that she knew the improvements required public permission, but that the situation mirrored others in which projects could receive retroactive approval if the adjustments needed to be completed immediately.

However, Stearns later received a message from Hardesty that the initiative should not proceed without the necessary steps. When Stearns reached out to the landscaping group to let them know to hold off, they were already too far into the work.

“With that, I called John Fager, and he said, ‘We have to do it,’” Stearns said. “It was too late.”

Stearns and Michelle Fager apologized to staff and the HDC for the errors. A letter from John Fager was also read, in which he acknowledged the mistake. Additionally, Stearns said that the hotel would obtain the proper permits.

Still, at last week’s meeting, the town’s planning department made it known that they were dissatisfied with how the situation unfolded.

“It’s not the landscaping, it’s not the new pavers going in,” Hardesty said, addressing Stearns. “It looks beautiful, it really does. It’s that those items don’t constitute an emergency for it to have been done without approval. And if anyone knows it more, it would be you because you’re on the board. That’s the issue.”

“I feel like being on the board, you set the precedent that this is the town code,” the planning director continued. “This is how you have to go through the process. And then on top of that, even if, let’s say you did think you got historic approval because of the email vote, there’s still no permits. So, you have no permits for the town and then you have no electrical permits with the county. There are a lot of issues happening.”

Hardesty also argued that because the commission failed to vote in a public venue, it may have violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act.

Michelle Fager noted that Stearns was simply following her employer’s directions.

“If I could just say, [Stearns] does work for us, so it would actually be my husband who is involved directly in this project who would be the one to get approval, not [Stearns],” she said. “She has to work under his direction. He told her to go ahead with it, and she was just complying with her employment with us.”

Some on the commission were displeased with how the planning department handled the incident, noting that the HDC has historically been a laid-back operation. Commission member Mary Moore said that she believes Hardesty feels the body “let [her] down,” and would appreciate a clarification of expectations.

“The expectations are to follow your town code,” Hardesty responded.

Many in the audience felt that the planning department was unfairly and publicly admonishing the Fagers and Stearns.

Attendee Cindi Krempel said the discussion seemed to have turned into an open reprimand of those involved.

“It seems to me this is a public rebuke of them that should have been done in private,” she said, addressing Hardesty. “It could have been explained in another way…And just you, you want to rebuke them in public…They should have come to the board, which she has already admitted…You keep on repeating that and I understand why you want to drive it home, but the point is, everybody knows what the procedure should be…It feels more personal than anything, to be perfectly honest…It feels like you want to publicly humiliate, or make an example of them.”

Hardesty said that because approval is meant to occur transparently, the conversation had to happen publicly.

“You need to grant the public the opportunity to come and talk about each case on an agenda,” she said. “When the work was done, an application had not even been filled out yet…A poll vote can happen, but you have to have it publicly advertised that this is the topic we’re talking about.”

Berlin resident and We Heart Berlin founder Tony Weeg spoke at the meeting, noting his dissatisfaction with the current state of the town’s planning department.

“There’s a growing sense of antagonism between the planning department and many facets of this town,” he said. “If the planning department…cannot understand the gravity of the Atlantic Hotel and make that work, whatever you have to do, if that doesn’t translate, then I don’t think you understand Berlin…Whatever you had to do, I’m so glad you did it, and everyone I’ve talked to in town feels the same way. They all don’t like the antagonism that’s coming from the planning department …Contractors, residents, everybody.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, the historic commission unanimously granted post-installation approval for the Atlantic Hotel project.

The issue was brought up again at Monday night’s Berlin Mayor and Council meeting. Tyndall addressed the situation and acknowledged that the town code is not always clear, which can create confusion as shown at the Feb. 4 HDC meeting.

The mayor said that an internal working group will be launched to ensure the proper processes for projects like site plan approval and annexation are easily understood.

This team will include Town Administrator Mary Bohlen, Tyndall, Town Attorney David Gaskill, Planning Legal Counsel Emily Morris, Hardesty, Planning Commission Chair Matthew Stoehr, Bunting, Board of Zoning Appeals Chair Joe Moore, and councilmembers Jay Knerr and Jack Orris.

“I don’t think there’s been any lack of discussion when it comes to the idea of the planning department and the work that the planning department is doing, the work that is taking place with the planning commission and HDC,” Tyndall said. “There is a lot of information that becomes a little misunderstood through the processes. The town code is not always super clear on how to move forward with certain things. When we try to lay out a plan…it can be difficult because it may have been different from what folks were asked in the past. We recognize that, but it doesn’t change the fact that we as a municipality still have the code we need to abide by, we still have the boxes that need to be checked.”

The mayor added that the group will make necessary changes to the town code and publish easy-to-follow information.