By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 21, 2019) For the second time in three days, Berlin residents stormed a public meeting at Town Hall.

Last Monday, the furor during a Town Council meeting was about proposed tax and utility rate increases.

Then, last Wednesday, members of the 27-unit condominium association at Purnell Crossing took to a planning commission meeting to object to a proposed development.

Town Councilman Troy Purnell, who owns Purnell Crossing, asked to modify the Planned Unit Development for Purnell Crossing North.

Previously approved plans for the site were for a 100-unit assisted-living facility and 19 new multifamily townhomes, the latter of which would be added to the existing association. Under the new plan, five new rental apartment buildings would be created – four 24-unit buildings and one 30-unit building – for a total of 126 units unaffiliated with the condo association.

Justin White, of Live Oak Home Builders, said the apartments would “tie in with the town’s historical feel,” with brick accents. His firm would build and manage the development.

He said the expansion would include a clubhouse with a pool and gym, and construction would take about 18 months.

Purnell said the original plans were changed because of shifting market conditions, while commission member Pete Crosby said he’d heard “some horror stories” about a similar new development at Ocean’s East.

“The buildings are noisy. You can hear somebody taking a shower outside the unit,” he said. “Some units have dogs [and] dogs bark. Doors in the hallways slam and then shake the whole building.”

He asked for assurances Purnell Crossing would not be built in a similar fashion.

Also of concern, one of the new buildings would be only 40 feet from existing townhomes at Purnell Crossing, which commission members said could be a nuisance both in terms of noise, and in blocking out sunlight.

“Let’s put it this way, there’s not one of you that would want a 40-foot wall in front you when you’re sitting on your balcony in the afternoon,” commission member Newt Chandler said.

Another worry was whether the development could turn into low-income housing if the market changed again. White said the apartments would be upscale, with the rental structure comparable to Ocean’s East, where rents are $1,400 for one-bedroom units and just over $2,000 for three bedrooms.

Purnell Crossing residents uniformly panned the plans.

Ruby Halligan, president of the Purnell Crossing Board, said that group passed a resolution opposing the development. She said little notice was given before the meeting.

“As an owner of property in the Town of Berlin and a taxpayer … I’m disappointed that the Town Council members of Berlin didn’t give us notice of any of this,” she said.

“This proposal … is appalling and doesn’t make me proud to live here,” she continued. “I would ask that a decision for final approval on the proposed apartment project be tabled until the property owners of Purnell Crossing are given the opportunity to review the plans and how it would affect our community.”

Halligan worried about safety and how rules would be enforced in an unconnected apartment complex, and was unhappy with the proximity to her home.

“If I’m going to be 40 feet away from a building and there’s balconies up there? No, I don’t want that,” she said. “I bought into the Town of Berlin because I love it. It’s a nice, small town that does not have these large units like this – and on my back door.”

Sharra Watson, vice president of the Purnell Crossing Board, said she only learned of the meeting two days earlier.

“The impact is not just for Purnell Crossing, it’s for everyone that’s on [Route] 346 coming into town,” she said. “Building apartments like that in the Town of Berlin will destroy the integrity of our small town.”

Watson said she moved to Berlin for its small-town feel. With more than 100 new apartments, she worried about the start of sprawl.

“We might as well just put a McDonalds down the street and be done with it,” she said.

Moreover, she worried about property values dropping by speculating, if the apartments were put up, “my $250,000 house [would be] worth $150,000.”

“I bought into this,” she said. “This is where I wanted to retire … so I would have my house paid for, enjoy the small town, be close to the ocean, and you just took away my investment.”

Commission member Ron Cascio said he understood her frustration, but added, “When you buy property with an empty piece of property next to it, it’s really up to you to find out what will go on it.”

Watson said board members asked Purnell that exact question.

“That is not true,” Purnell said, while one member in the audience shouted, “We were told townhouses or single-family homes.”

“It’s in the minutes,” Watson said. “All I’m saying is, when you do this, you are destroying my investment and somebody needs to compensate me for that, because it’s not what I bought into.”

Judy Henson said she bought into the community in 2009 and was told only more townhomes would go there. She said there were promises of sidewalks that never appeared and roads that were never finished.

“There’s just so many things that [Purnell] keeps saying that he’s going to do,” she said. “That’s a lot of our concerns, the things they saying they’re going to do … that didn’t get done.”

Lisa Doyle called Purnell Crossing a quiet, serene and safe community.

“I don’t want to think that I might have to experience again what I experienced in the Salisbury area, where I have to potentially give up the home that I love,” she said. “I love it here and I feel like someone is taking advantage of that, and I’m not happy.

“I just ask you, the commission, to think about the detrimental effect that 100-plus rental apartments can have on 27 townhomes [that are] proudly owned by the people who live in them,” Doyle added.

Gale Cowles, Purnell Crossing Board secretary and treasurer, also said she was promised only more townhomes and single-family homes would be added to the area. She said they were also told there would be a clubhouse, pool and park area.

“The promises have just gone on and on and on,” she said. “Nothing is true. You can’t get a straight answer … I’m just thoroughly disgusted about the whole thing … we’ve been misinformed about a lot of things over the years.

“It’s not going to the quaint, quiet place that we lived in,” Cowles continued. “We’re not going to be the ‘Coolest Little Town in America,’ because now we’re getting all too big. We’re not Ocean City – and we don’t want to be Ocean City.”

Commission members considered imposing certain restrictions if the site plan was approved, including limiting signage and ordering a shadow study and noise study, as well as shifting some of the buildings away from the existing townhomes.

Others said there were larger, more abstract issues at play.

“There’s a larger, philosophical issue here in terms of what we want to see Berlin become. We’re always confronted with it and, as time goes on, these kind of cases focus it like a sunbeam with a magnifying glass,” Cosby said. “What do we want Berlin to look like – and be?

“I have some concern with the size and the scale of these buildings, and hearing the neighbors and process they’ve been through [and] what they expected,” he added.

Cosby said residents needed to “open their eyes and realize … there’s a fairly intensive use of this property that’s already approved.”

Essentially, he said, the revised site plan included “27 less townhouses and 27 more apartments” than a previous proposal.

“Would I prefer to see townhouses here? Personally, yes,” Cosby said. “The Ocean’s East project was hard for us to digest and I’ve been disappointed when I’ve heard about the quality of the construction and the living conditions there.

“What are we supposed to do as public servants in terms of providing decent housing for people?” he continued. “I’m torn on this one, I’ve got to tell you, and I would like to see the developer get with this community association … and talk a little bit and see if you can’t reach some kind of a compromise.”

Cosby said commission members wanted to be reasonable and to encourage construction and infill, but added, “At what point are we wrecking our quality of life?”

“Do we want Berlin to be the bedroom community for everybody, the working man, or do we want Berlin to be a cutesy little town where certain people can afford it and certain people can’t. And where do you draw that balance? That’s what this case is all about,” he said.

Cosby moved to table the issue for further review. The vote was unanimous, 6-0, in favor.