During the Berlin Township Board of Trustees organizational meeting last month, Ken O’Brien was named trustee chairman, Meghan B. Raehll was named trustee vice chairman, and Ronald W. Bullard was named trustee executive member.
O’Brien was reelected in the November 2020 election, and newcomer Raehll ran unopposed for another trustee seat. Raehll ran on a platform of “Pro-Resident, Pro-Community, and Pro-Responsible Growth.”
Also on Jan. 3, Bullard was named liaison to Berlin’s Roads and Cemetery departments; O’Brien the Fire Department and Fire Station; and Raehll to Zoning, Parks and Trails, Buildings and Technology/Media.
In addition to setting fees and wages, the trustees meetings were set for 6 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays each month, with June through August be only on the second Monday. The year-end meeting will be 6 p.m. Dec. 27. There will also be a road inventory meeting at 9 a.m. April 30.
The trustees met again the following week on Jan. 10. A zoning hearing for Berlin Bluffs took place.
“The site is located on the north side of Cheshire Road, east of the Piatt Road extension,” said the development text from July 19, 2021. The planned residential district will sit on just over 54 acres on three parcels of land. Its neighbors will be the Berlin Manor development to the east, the Glenmead subdivision to the north, existing homes towards the center and south on Cheshire Road, and the Piatt Preserve development to the west with the Piatt Road extension further west. It is within a mile of Alum Creek State Park, Berlin Township Hall, Cheshire Cemetery and Cheshire Elementary School.
The original zoning was for 120 lots, and it went down to 85, 72 and 70 lots as the process continued.
After discussion with the trustees, applicant Joe Thomas of Metro Development made a list of eight amendments. The amendments included changing the subdivision to 69 lots, eliminating lot 7 to build an 8-foot multi-use path, and the “applicant commits to make a best effort to connect the multi-use trail north of lot 52 to cross the street and meet at the north boundary that abuts the Glenmead subdivision.”
After the changes were made, the plan was approved by a 2-1 vote, with O’Brien voting no. He said the density was still too high based on the comprehensive land use plan approved by township residents. “Delaware County Regional Planning also recommended lower density but the Berlin Zoning Commission approved it,” said the meeting minutes.
Construction will begin in the fall, in two phases, each taking up to 18 months to complete.
Also, at the 6-hour-plus meeting, the 2022 Road Improvement Program with the county was approved at $392,400, and Bullard was named the project manager for the program. Discussion items included drainage on Piatt Road and the railroad tracks at Curve Road.
In addition, Raehll said six residents are interested in establishing a Parks and Trails Committee for the township.
