The Berlin Historic District Commission and Berlin Board of Appeals last week granted approval to transform this historic home on South Main Street in Berlin into a full service, all-natural day spa. The owners, Cynthia and Anthony Betterman, hope to be open by February.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(May 10, 2018) Cynthia and Anthony Betterson of South Point breathed a sigh of relief last Thursday morning, when news was delivered their use of a historic home for commercial purposes in Berlin survived a bizarre approval hearing by the board of appeals the previous evening.

Last Wednesday, both the Berlin Historic District Commission and Berlin Board of Appeals put the Bettersons through the ringer with questions and concerns on their plans for the historic home, on 509 South Main Street, originally built more than a century ago.

The proposed redevelopment would convert the five-bedroom home into an all-natural, full-service day spa, and add a gravel parking lot to accommodate up to 20 employees and an ADA-complaint ramp into the front entrance.

According to supporting documents, the property is zoned R-1 Residential, but adjoins at least one nonconforming B-1 Business District lot and is across the street from Worcester Preparatory School.

A statement in both meeting packets read, “It is the intention of the project to renovate the facade of the home to match the original historic design of the home. This includes rehabilitation of the elegant transitional style dwelling, which displays characteristics of both Federal and Greek Revival styles. The overall property will be enhanced with landscaping that matches the style of those periods. Nonvisible parking will be added to support this low-traffic business.”

Also included in the packet were historical and present-day photos of the property, and a proposed site plan and artistic rendering of improvements.

The property is owned by Ernest Gerardi, but the Bettersons said they planned to purchase it if the exception was granted.

The historic district commission hearing lasted more than 30 minutes, but resulted in a unanimous approval vote to restore the exterior of the home and upgrade the landscaping.

Thirty minutes later, the board of zoning appeals held a roughly one-hour hearing on the matter. Board Chairman Joe Moore recused himself from the hearing, because he represents Gerardi in another matter, leaving just three members on the panel.

Planning Director Dave Engelhart confirmed the property was in the residential district, but was contiguous to business-district parcels to the east and south.

Engelhard said town code allowed the board to grant a conditional use exception.

Cynthia Betterson said the property had been vacant for more than a decade.

“The changes we’re going to make … would significantly improve the property values of the surrounding homes,” she said.

Anthony Betterson said the couple had a stake in the town as residents and parents whose children attend school there.

“The goal is to keep the historical relevancy of the home and what that looks like … in the historic district of Berlin,” he said, adding the uninhabited home had become something of an eyesore. “We look to change that, not only with just the home itself … but also, going further as far as the landscaping and making it something that Berlin can be proud of.”

Asked for public input, resident Jan Poli called the Bettersons wonderful people, but worried about the potential for increased traffic and wondered what would happen if the business failed.

Board Vice Chairman Woody Bunting said the conditional use exception could not transfer to another business or if the home were sold. Anthony Betterson added the interior floor plan would not change significantly and said the exterior changes, including the gravel lot, could be easily undone.

Cynthia Betterson said the business would have a maximum of 16 customers at a time and would not significantly affect traffic, especially when compared to the neighboring school.

Resident Paula Lynch, a former town councilwoman, said the idea was misplaced because the neighboring properties were residential and the school was a nonprofit, although Engelhart again said the home was technically contiguous to two other nonconforming businesses.

Resident Chuck Cox called the proposal “a wonderful idea.”

“The extent these folks have gone to draw this all up … they definitely put a lot of time and energy and effort into it,” he said. “The house has been vacant for 10 years. Something going in there, I think, would be to the therapeutic value of the neighborhood. It’s only going to help the community.”

The board voted 2-1 to grant a special exception for a conditional business use, with Jay Knerr voting against the measure because he felt the hardship criteria in the code had not been met.

However, there was some confusion as to whether a 2-1 vote was enough. The board of appeals can have up to five members and an alternate, although it currently only has four and one member was recused.

“You need a unanimous vote when there’s only three of you,” Engelhart said, later adding, “I’m not certain” whether approval was granted.

“We have to determine if we constitute a quorum,” Bunting said. “I was under the impression we were.”

The meeting was adjourned without a resolution and it was not until the next day the Bettersons had learned of the final ruling – approval had been granted.

“Dave Engelhart sent me an email and told me that it was approved, and I’m in meetings back-to-back-to-back all day and freaking out,” Cynthia Betterson said last Thursday. “I’m so excited right now.”

Cynthia, the senior manager of Breakthrough Innovation at Perdue Chicken, said her inspiration for the project was a day spa in a historic home in Wisconsin she visited 20 years ago.

“At the time I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is so cool. I want to do this one day.’ But, you know, marriage, kids, work, master’s degree – everything [else happened] until I decided it was finally time for me to do this spa,” she said.

Cynthia said her husband discovered the home about six months ago and gave her the idea to rekindle her dream from two decades ago.

“All of a sudden I got so excited and thought, ‘You know what? Yes. Let’s do it,’” she said. “Once I went inside and saw the view off the porch I knew this was the place … The green grass and the breeze coming from the back [led her to imagine] fixing it up and it being that much more calming and comforting to people.”

She gasped when asked what it was like sitting through two hours of meetings and earning approval, only to learn a technicality may have derailed everything.

“On one hand I felt I was very prepared, because I tried to think of every single angle on why someone would want to say ‘no,’” she said. “At the same time, I was trying to be balanced and calm … but I felt it was high stakes, because one shot and that’s it. And I spent a lot of money and time building a case.

“As we were going back and forth and one person would say it was a great idea and one person [would not], it was like a rollercoaster,” she continued. “So, finally, when the vote happened and they said 2-1, I drew a little happy face on my notepad.”

Then, when the rules of a quorum were brought up, “it felt like it was all slipping through my fingers,” Cynthia said.

She said the very next step would be putting an offer on the property. Once that goes through, renovations can begin.

If all goes well, the Bettersons hope to have The Lavender Spa at Waverly open by next February.