Trustees talk development in Berlin Twp.

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The Berlin Township Board of Trustees heard about economic development among its early meetings this year.

In the first meeting of the year on Jan. 9, the trustees heard a letter from resident Jasper DeChristopher to reject an overlay rezoning request from a developer. They noted that Orange Township had “pushed back on developers in rezoning” (North and Lewis Center roads) and density/architectural issues (condos at North and Shanahan roads).

Also discussed at the nearly five-hour meeting were zoning violations in Cheshire. The trustees entered into executive session with Assistant Prosecutor Tony Stucco to go over them.

On Jan. 23, DeChristopher and Tara Shields were appointed by the trustees to serve as alternates on the Zoning Commission. In a more mundane matter, Fiscal Officer Claudia Smith said “they tried to sell the old phones on GovDeals twice, to no avail and asked what can be done with them,” the minutes read. The trustees approved declaring them “to be obsolete and of no value and ordered them destroyed and disposed of.”

Also at the five-hour meeting, the trustees passed a resolution regarding the Berlin Township Hall’s access policy.

During a special meeting held Jan. 30, the trustees approved a “complaint for declaratory judgment for preliminary and permanent injunction and for removal of an existent construction in the TowerCo matter.” This was previously noted in the minutes as an “unauthorized cell tower.”

In other matters, Quinn Hoffman was appointed to the Architectural Review Board (ARB).

Another special meeting took place on Feb. 9, and among their actions, the trustees appointed Jennifer Ludwigson to the ARB.

The trustees held their regular meeting on Feb. 13, which featured a presentation from Delaware County Economic Development Director Monica Conners.

“Conners explained that her goal is to help attract new jobs within Delaware County and help companies to expand,” the meeting minutes said. “Economic Development’s big three initiatives are communication and collaborations with the townships, focusing on the basics (attracting new businesses) and creating a new strategic plan because it’s been over five years since the county has had one along with a real estate strategy.”

In regard to the Berlin Business Park (BBP), Conners said “they are moving forward with the infrastructure for the” park’s “water, sewage and roads.” The trustees said they are looking at updating the zoning resolution this year “because BBP was not created with Intel in mind.”

The trustees expressed “their appreciation of working collaboratively for the greater good of all entities” to Conners.

Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].

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