By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

(April 2, 2020) The Berlin Planning Commission approved a final subdivision plat request for SonRise Church on Wednesday, March 11.

The Berlin Planning Commission approved the sub division plat on Wednesday, March 11.

Pastor Daryl McCready of SonRise Church next to Routes 113 and 818 asked the Berlin Planning Commission to approve the lot lines for the church in order to create an entrance road for all three lots.

McCready approached the commission last month for the same request, but the site plans failed to show the main road access and contained some property line confusion, leading the commission to postpone its considerations.

Attorney Bob Palmer, who represented SonRise Church, explained those discrepancies during the Wednesday meeting.

“The original plan submitted back in November — we had shown the preliminary master plan of how this property might look,” Palmer said. “Moving from the preliminary plan back to the final plat, we took all that information off of the plat because none of that information would actually be recorded.”

The church used a quitclaim deed to reclaim 15 feet of abandoned 30-foot-wide road.

“That quitclaim deed created a 15-foot-wide strip of land that ran by the property boundary and that deed stopped short of combining or reverting that strip of land back into the parent parcel,” Palmer said.

The plat will combine both lands into one, which will allow the property to come into contact with Route 818, though not for entry access, he added.

Board member John Barrett had concerns regarding a potential cul de sac and safety issues that could arise from the property.

“The only concern I have is [how] to get to lot one,” he said. “To get to lot one, at the end of this entrance coming in, I was looking for safety issues … a cul de sac that a firetruck or delivery trucks will be able to turn around.”

Palmer and McCready agreed to look into the possibility, noting the original use was dedicated for self-storage.

A commission majority approved the plat, while Barrett voted in opposition.