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Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette Logo Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette

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Lack of site plan forces delay for Shoreline Auto Sales bldg.

(March 16, 2017) Hampered by a lack of information and, at one point, the absence of a quorum, the Berlin Planning Commission last Wednesday found itself doing little more than approving the agenda.
 Site plan approval for a Shoreline Auto Sales steel pole building near Ocean Gateway and Seahawk Road was not voted on because there was no site plan.
As the meeting opened, commission members Chris Denny, Ron Casio and Newt Chandler were seated on the dais. Another, Pete Cosby, had recused himself because of a potential conflict of interest and was seated in the audience.
Cosby is an attorney and one of his clients is the operator of Shoreline Auto.
But, with two other commission members absent and an apparent lack of a quorum, Cosby eventually took his seat on the commission. The applicant, Steve Black, said he waived any potential conflict of interest.
“I have, maybe, a conflict of interest in the abstract. I [intended] to abstain tonight, but the applicant has indicated that they have no objection to me sitting here since we’re short of a quorum. I’m sitting on the applicant’s waiver of the conflict of interest – if there is one,” Cosby said.
“I waive that,” Black said.
Black said the 24-by-36-foot pole building, including a bathroom, would be used temporarily as a car dealership and later for storage.
Planning Director Dave Engelhart advised the commissioners that, because of the quorum issue, any vote to approve would have to be unanimous. That did not happen, however, as the applicant did not bring a site plan to the meeting. Only a rendering of the building and a basic architectural drawing were provided.
“We all agree what we see is good – we just need a site plan,” Casio said. He made a motion for conditional approval of the building, but it was not seconded.  
Instead, the commission members postponed the vote. Discussion of commercial design standards was also postponed until the next scheduled meeting, April 12 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.  
Engelhart said later that he expected approval of the site plan to be on that agenda.