BERLIN – The Berlin Planning Commission is set to consider a rezoning next week that would allow a 176-unit townhouse development to proceed.
On Wednesday, Nov. 10, the commission will meet to consider a request to reclassify commercial land in the area of routes 50 and 818 as R-4 residential. They’ll forward a recommendation on the proposal to the town council and that body will make a decision on the rezoning request.
“It’s a request to rezone from the current B-2 shopping district to the R-4 residence district, which is the highest density permitted,” Planning Director Dave Engelhart said. “Their intent if they can get R-4 zoning is to put 176 townhomes on the parcel.”
Developer Chris Carbaugh met with the commission last month to share plans for a 176-unit townhouse project he’s envisioning for 24 acres along Route 50 westbound. The land was rezoned last year, at Carbaugh’s request, from industrial to B-2 business. Now, however, Carbaugh wants to have it rezoned to R-4 residential. He wants to see the site developed with a 176-unit townhouse community. He told the commission the pandemic impacted his commercial plans.
“A lot of those users put their growth plans on hold,” he said last month. “Since that time there’s been substantial interest in residential development in the town of Berlin so we wanted to go back and try to see if there was a way to incorporate the residential into this project and create more of a mixed use.”
Carbaugh said there would be commercial space on the corner and then townhouses on the substantial back section of property.
Following his presentation in October, commission members said they wanted to hear from the public regarding the proposal and the requested rezoning. Engelhart said Wednesday he hadn’t yet received any written comments from citizens but advised that they could attend the meeting or submit comments via email to [email protected] prior to the meeting.
The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. at Berlin Town Hall. Engelhart said the commission was expected to make a recommendation, either favorable or unfavorable, and would forward that to the town council. A public hearing could be held in front of elected officials at their Dec. 13 meeting.
