RENDERINGS COURTESY JUSTIN WHITE
Renderings for a three-story apartment building for Atlantic Premier at Purnell Crossing are featured during a Berlin Planning Commission meeting as members considered approving the final site plan.

By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer

(June 20, 2019) After much debate and discussion, members of Berlin’s Planning Commission narrowly approved the final site plan of a proposed housing development project during a meeting last Wednesday.

In a 4-3 vote, the commission backed the updated renderings for a project that has prompted months of objections from Purnell Crossing and Austin Circle residents.

The project original plan was for a 100-unit assisted living facility and 19 new townhomes, with the townhomes then becoming a part of the Purnell Crossing association. But then five new rental apartment buildings were proposed in April, which included one 30-unit building and four 24-unit buildings.

The site plan proposed last Wednesday would include two three-story apartment buildings with 60 units, 36 two-story townhomes and three garages with 15 spaces total.

However, the Planning Commission members shared differing opinions on them.

Landscaping was a chief concern for several commission members.

“I think we really need to maximize screening out there,” Planning Commission member Pete Cosby said.

Member Ron Cascio agreed, but questioned its necessity and how much it would really help.

“Why are we trying to hide something with landscaping?” Cascio asked.

Cosby, however, stressed the importance of being selective.

“I’m not against apartments,” he said. “I just want the right apartment.”

Justin White, owner of Live Oak Builders LLC., said he strived to keep with the “city’s” overall aesthetic and architectural design.

Planning Commission member Barb Stack apparently took issue with that classification.

“We’re not a city yet,” Stack said.

For Cascio, he called the project “totally uncharacteristic of this town,” as he expressed his concerns with the development.

“This is not what I see as welcome to Berlin,” Cascio said.

Moreover, Stack suggested revisiting the idea of the initial plans for the property to include a 100-unit assisted living facility.

Land owner (and town councilman) Troy Purnell said the property’s R-4 residence district zoning allows for multi-unit buildings as part of the previously approved planned unit development.

“But when we change from an assisted living [facility] to an apartment it’s totally different,” Stack said. “You’ve got people who are much more mobile. They’re gonna be very active and there’s gonna be a huge amount of traffic.”

Purnell said he and White went back to the drawing board to make concessions and adjustments to appease the homeowners.

“We’ve modified this thing over and over to try and concentrate density,” Purnell said.

Attorney Mark Cropper expressed his frustrations with members of the planning commission who proposed other types of buildings on the property. He clarified this was a modification of a planning unit development that had “already been approved.”

“It’s difficult to sit here as an applicant,” Cropper said.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, several residents indicated several concerns, including the presence of rentals, diminishing property values, traffic concerns, and the height of the buildings. “I don’t want to live next to a large building,” resident Gayle Coule said. “If I wanted to live in Ocean City, I would move there.”

Resident Ray Nornas agreed, and feared the apartment buildings would detract from Berlin’s small town charm.

“We can’t have quaint and a three-story apartment building,” Nornas said. “[It’s] not the same thing. It has to be one or the other.”

Others, like resident Patricia Corson took issue with the rental units in At- lantic Premier at Purnell Crossing.

“Renters do not take care of their properties the way property owners do,” Corson said.

Conversely, Berlin resident Samantha Bickford-Pielstick disagreed, and supported the project.

“I realize that we want buyers but in the meantime we can have citizens … they just can’t afford to build a home,” Bickford-Pielstick said.

However, it seemed Austin Circle resident Wayne Harrison couldn’t be persuaded.

“This is not smart building,” Harrison said.

Planning Commission Chair Chris Denny agreed.

“If I lived there for 10 years, I think it sucks. I really do,” Denny said.

Applause from the audience filled the room.

Cosby, however, moved to approve the project’s site plan with several conditions. They included a landscaping plan, sidewalks, as well as having no Section Eight (federally subsidized) housing and no “for rent” signs.

Purnell also agreed to lower two 60-unit buildings to three stories in his planned unit development as a condition of the project’s approval.

The board split, with Cosby, John Barrett, Newt Chandler and Phyllis Purnell voting for approval, and Denny, Stack and Cascio opposed.