By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer

(Sept. 17, 2020) The Berlin Planning Commission discussed the town’s “Resilience Element” during its meeting on Sept. 9.

The Resilience Element will be a new section in the town’s comprehensive plan, which is updated every 10 years and is due for review.

“We can make any changes we like to the comprehensive plan or none at all,” said Berlin Planning Director Dave Engelhart.

A comprehensive plan is a state-required master plan that guides towns and counties with goals and objectives specific to future land use and development.

Because of the increasing debate concerning growth and development in Berlin, Engelhart advised the commission to focus on those topics in the update.

“I think the essence of all that is, is it inevitable that we physically expand our boundaries?” Commission member Ron Cascio asked. “I hear that it’s inevitable, but I don’t believe it.”

Berlin aims to integrate climate change resilience into the comprehensive plan as well as other municipal planning documents and practices.

According to the town’s website, “as towns adjust to increasingly extreme weather events, stress on public facilities, and higher costs of services, there is growing need to reduce the impacts through conscious climate adaptation and resilience planning.”

Towns like Berlin are encouraged to develop local resiliency long-term goals that will lead to a sustainable future and a healthy environment amid a changing climate.

Berlin’s Resilience Element will describe climate change impacts on the region, establish resiliency strategies and identify resources that can help strengthen the community’s ability to prepare for and respond to such changes.

In 2019, Berlin received a $20,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to prepare the Resilience Element.

The town then collaborated with the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center to conduct meetings and begin drafting the resilience document.

“This was developed with quite a lot of public input,” Engelhart said.

The community was invited to comment on climate change, funding the town’s future and the growth of Berlin through a series of meetings in March 2019. Residents were also asked to submit comments this past April.

Commission member Matthew Stoehr observed that implementing some of the state’s Resilience Element recommendations will cost more than the town can afford, but Engelhart reminded him these considerations are just that, and aren’t required.

Commission member Pete Cosby added, “All we need to do is add a chapter to our comprehensive plan that says, ‘Resilience is an important thing in these regards …’ “You want simple documents that are easy to read. This thing is longer than our comprehensive plan,” he continued.

Approval of the final document and amendment to the comprehensive plan will occur later this year.

“Eventually, you’ll have to have a public hearing because you’re amending the comprehensive plan,” Engelhart said.

At the public hearing, the planning commission would recommend the document to the Berlin Mayor and Council, who will also hold a public hearing to amend the comprehensive plan.

In addition, Worcester County government has to approve the changes to the comprehensive plan under state law.