Rising land prices, increasing construction costs, and a strong demand for housing have contributed to a dramatic increase in housing prices in Berlin over the past ten years. Construction prices for new units increased 380% in the last ten years (from $ 45,052 to $ 171,356). It is important to note that the above information reflects only construction costs; the final sales price for those dwellings (which would include land and profit) may have, and probably did, show an even greater increase.

The age structure of the population is likely to change over the next two decades, following a trend seen nationwide. The percentage of Berlin’s population that is over 65 is likely to increase. This change in population age structure may affect development patterns in a number of ways. Programs and facilities targeted to the senior population will be of increasing importance in the coming years.

Commercial uses cluster in the Downtown and along US Route 113, and the Route 346 Corridor. The strategy has been to provide business with larger sites along the highway to provide for their growth and to provide for compatible downtown businesses. Sufficient land has been designated for such uses along US Route 113. Atlantic General Hospital and Berlin Nursing Home are located at the intersection of US Route 113 and Maryland Route 346 intersection.

Town center commercial uses include general retailing, restaurants, financial institutions, antique shops, galleries, personal services, and offices. The shopping district provides for general business along the Town’s outer boundary.

Manufacturing and processing uses are important employment sources but have lost dominance over time. Within Town limits, the ice plant and feed mill, animal food processing and smaller operations exist. Just outside the Town the Tyson chicken processing plant, a major employer, closed in December, 2005. The Town annexed over north of US 50, known as the Davis-Taylor farm, for an upscale industrial park. Negotiations failed and the site is still undeveloped.

Preservation of the downtown’s nineteenth century historic character is the linchpin of Berlin’s charm; therefore its historic preservation shall be pursued diligently. Berlin’s downtown has evolved over time and seen boom times as well as decline. Presently it is one of the "crown jewels", attracting movie studios and tourists. Keeping its character is a central priority of this plan. Recent renovations to the Atlantic Hotel, the Globe, and Rayne’s Reef have sparked a renewed interest in downtown.

5.  Historic District

The Berlin Historic District contains 144 buildings, which are mainly in the Victorian Style. The residential district was formed in 1977 by homeowners to preserve the district’s architectural integrity and property values. The downtown business district (47 buildings) joined the National Register Historic District in 1980. Both districts were combined in a single zoning overlay district in 1984.

The historic district is a significant Town asset. The district has been entrusted to the Historic District Commission, which is responsible for reviewing all exterior construction within the district to ensure appropriate architectural standards are met.

Downtown is the geographic, cultural, and historic center of commerce and business.  Downtown is an important part of Berlin’s identity. As it includes the Town's central business district, it anchors the rest of Town with pedestrian scale buildings, streets, sidewalks, and landscaping.  The small town scale and character is apparent by the strong pedestrian orientation and emphasis on historic character, walking paths, and landscaping.  Commercial opportunities are enhanced by a diversity of specialty retail shops, services, businesses, recreational and entertainment venues, and public parks and established annual festivals.

The surrounding neighborhoods include a dynamic mix of uses linked by a common historic residential character that is culturally diverse.  The western area includes a mix of single-family homes and studio apartments, galleries, artist studios, bed and breakfast establishments, specialty shops, and small-scale office and institutional uses within existing houses. The eastern area is also an eclectic mix of primarily residential uses.  Historic structures are carefully renovated and new construction, especially in the Historic District, maintains and reinforces the historic fabric of the area. 

Berlin now contains about 1,940 acres within its corporate limits. Table ___ breaks this acreage down by land use type.

In 2006, upon a straw vote of Town residents, it was decided to sell the electric utility to Choptank Electric. If this sale is finalized, there ________ _____________________________________________________________ (could not read the rest of Pete’s comments).

The Town provides trash removal for town residences and hauls the solid waste by municipal solid waste trucks to a county landfill approximately twelve miles south of Town. A tipping fee, per ton of general refuse, is charged by Worcester County, with recyclable items exempt from tipping charges. The Town provides curbside pick-up of refuse and recyclable items on a regular basis at no additional charge to the residential properties. Commercial trash collection is charged a fee.

The Town has instituted a mandatory recycling program, which requires separation of recyclable items from general refuse and defines those materials as any class accepted by the county landfill as recyclable. The program provides for the expansion of recyclable classes as the technologies and outside markets for recycling are developed.

The Town of Berlin was established in 1868. For a good part of its history the Town of Berlin and its police department were looked at as a small town where no crime really occurred. With the ever increasing influx of people moving into the Berlin community the calls for service and the area to be policed has continued to increase. The Berlin Police Department is still attempting to work out of the same space it has occupied for decades. Although this space has received several renovations over the years it has really not increased the actual working space needed by the department. There are few offices, which leads to problems when interviews with victims or suspects are taking place. There is no real way to separate victims and suspects within the office. The officers have no privacy from the coming and going of the normal work day. There is no separation from the administrative workings of the department and the patrol division. In fact persons who enter the department and are standing near the front entrance could hear confidential information. The Police Department desperately needs its own building with the space to accommodate the growing community.

The Berlin Fire Company was chartered in 1910 and serves the Town of Berlin and surrounding areas with Fire and Emergency protection. The operations are divided into two divisions, Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The volunteer membership consists of 60 active and 15 cadet firefighters. Membership rolls are also maintained for retired life and auxiliary members. New members are required to serve 1 year probation and must complete a minimum training level of firefighter 1 (102 hours) and First Responder (450 hours) within two years.

The Fire Company has 5 full time EMS employees, 4 Advanced Life Support and 1 Basic Life Support. The schedules are arranged so that a paramedic is on duty 24 hours a day with a driver from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Volunteers provide drivers at night and on weekends.

The Fire Company maintains 2 Fire Stations and a fleet of 12 vehicles consisting of 3 pumpers, 2 aerials, 1 tanker, 1 brush unit, 1 utility, 1 heavy rescue, and 3 ambulances.

The Town’s first due response area is approximately 80 square miles containing a year round population of 8,000 people. Included in the area are the State and National Parks on Assateague Island, which host 1.5 million visitors a year during seasonal months from June through September. The average number of responses is 400 for fire rescue and 1400 for medical emergency annually. 56% of those calls are within the Corporate Limits of Berlin and 44% outside of Town Limits.

Funding resources for the Fire Company are derived from the State (6%), County (29%), Town of Berlin (55%) and 10% from fundraisers. The EMS funding resources are 39% County, 16% Town, 37% Billing service cost and 8% fundraisers and donations. The Fire Department responded to __________ calls a year, which range from reported fires to car accidents. The average response time is ________ minutes.

Education is the foundation of successful growth and prosperity. While the Town does not have a direct role in education, the importance of it to the Town and its citizens is such that it is an integral part of the Plan.

Economic development, breaking the cycle of poverty, improving the quality of neighborhoods, and maintaining basic employment opportunities are all, in part, dependent on the quality and availability of education. Since many individuals and businesses make location decisions based upon the quality of education, the Town should do all it can to enhance and promote a positive image of the school system in Berlin.

The Town recognizes the importance of the following schools in that they provide for the educational and social growth of those who are the future of Berlin. It should be a goal, as the eastern portions of Berlin are developed, and especially in the Route 346 Corridor and the eastern end of Flower Street, to provide safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle access to Stephen Decatur Middle and High Schools. As they exist, the schools are somewhat geographically isolated from the Town.

The importance of the multi-purpose building to the Town and the residents can not be overstated. This building is one of the three main polycentric centers of Town (along with downtown and Atlantic General Hospital). The building, located at 130 Flower Street, is in desperate need of replacement.

The structure is physically worn out, as clearly evidenced in the pictures above. There is no air conditioning, and currently three chicken house fans provide circulation of hot air during summer months. The roof leaks, the bathrooms do not always work, siding needs to be replaced, the floors need to be refinished, and the windows need to be replaced. Although the baseball history is important, the games are now played in Pocomoke because the conditions of the ball fields are so bad.

Tour buses routinely stop at the multi-purpose building as part of an organized Heritage Tour. These historic seminars include historical documents, old newspapers articles and pictures are stored there.

To the left of the multi purpose building, where the Shore-Up building is located, was the previous location of the Flower Street School (K-6). This historically black school used the multi purpose building as the cafeteria for the school. The flag pole that still stands was also used by the school.

Through the generosity of the J. Richard Phillips family, the Town has been provided with the wonderful Stephen Decatur Park. The Town should continue to allocate funds for the maintenance, expansion and development of the park. Consideration should be given to further expand the park north of Tripoli Street. Trees should be planted along U.S. Route 113 north of the park in order to provide a better setting and entrance.

Dr. William E. Henry Park has been improved with the addition of a pavilion, paths, picnic tables and landscaping to the existing basketball courts. The park was formally re-dedicated in October 1992, and has become a symbol of renewed community pride in the area. The park provides recreational opportunities for not just the more active youth but also the entire community. Basketball is a very popular sport and the Town should take advantage of its popularity by organizing summer basketball leagues. The leagues could be operated by volunteers under the auspices of the Park Commission or by the County Recreation Department.

The John Howard Burbage Park, a small open space area adjacent to the power plant, is an excellent example of how a little ingenuity and creativity can take a seemingly useless area and turn it into a useful spot of beauty for the Town.

Worcester County leases a park from the Lions Club which is located south of Town bordering the Corporate Limit line along Buckingham Road. The North Worcester Athletic Complex adjacent to the baseball park, which is owned by the County, also provides three soccer fields, a football field, baseball fields and other recreational equipment. A joint effort between the County and Town has been established to provide a concession facility which includes bathrooms.

If the Town should vigorously seek to acquire, or to require, new open spaces as new projects are developed or when reasonable opportunities arise. The Town should especially seek to acquire open spaces near the downtown area to provide additional parking for large events and for passive recreational enjoyment.

Atlantic General Hospital is one of the three main polycentric centers of Town (along with downtown and the multi purpose building on Flower Street).

The construction of the Atlantic General Hospital in 1992 has and continues to be a tremendous asset to the area. In 2004, the hospital completed an expansion project that enlarged the facility by one third. This included doubling the size of the emergency department, centralizing outpatient diagnostic services, and expanding surgical services.

The hospital’s inpatient areas are comprised of a six-bed critical care unit, eight-bed center for joint surgery, and forty-eight private medical-surgical rooms. A full complement of outpatient diagnostic services are available that include mammography, nuclear medicine, echocardiography, stress testing, open and closed MRI units, sleep lab, pulmonary function testing, walk-in lab, general x-ray, cat scan, vascular and ultrasound. Future expansion in the service lines of diabetic education, women’s imaging, vascular and cardiac needs are being evaluated.

The hospital supports a 160-member active medical staff. This has brought physical specialties to town include general surgeons, ENT, orthopedics, urology, pulmonary, oral-maxofacial, internal medicine, plastics, dentistry, podiatry, gastroenterology, cardiology, ophthalmology, and neurology. Future recruitment is expected to continue in primary care as well as in the area of gynecology.

Our Town’s abundance of health resources also include a free standing dialysis center, radiation oncology center, Worcester County Health Department, Berlin Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center, and several rehab providers as well as pharmacies.

Berlin is poised to be a significant regional medical center. The Town should encourage and plan for an increasing medical community to serve its aging population and to provide for a clean and desirable industry to provide and maintain a strong economic base.

Goals: Develop appropriate Design Guidelines (pattern book) for new construction and re-developments to retain the historic and small town character.

Policies:

Goals: Provide for adequate, safe, and affordable housing for all income and life-stage groups consistent with the Town’s vision to retain its small town character. Ensure an adequate supply of good-quality housing, including work-force and affordable, to meet the needs of all of Berlin’s citizens.

The second home industry will continue to be critical to the economic success of Berlin. It generates relatively low impacts on both the environment and community service demands while producing a good tax base.

Goal: Atlantic General Hospital, beyond its superior health care services, is a major component of the local economy and its future land demands must be anticipated.

2. Require buffering to prevent land use conflicts between commercial developments and neighboring land uses. The width of the buffer should be based on the type of industry and its potential to create compatibility problems.

3. Require commercial projects to put in larger caliper trees (2" – 2 /12" minimum) and larger shrubs. Require two year landscaping bonds for survivability.

4. Avoid strip center developments.

5. Concentrate commercial uses in compact centers/districts that are integrated into the community or neighborhood cores rather than as unconnected strip developments.

6.  Blend and tone down new and redeveloped auto-oriented (gas stations/convenience stores) and other intense commercial uses throughout the Town to improve their compatibility.

Goal: Existing uses should be retained, but their adaptive reuse should be planned. A good example of this occurring now is the Cannery project.

Policies:

Goals: Support and encourages reinvestment and rehabilitation activities in the downtown area and support and encourage redevelopment activities which are compatible with the traditional character of downtown.

Goal: Conserve and enhance Berlin's unique identity and its small town character by protecting significant historic structures, landmarks, and properties.

1. Town tax credits should be considered for historic restorations; the county should be encouraged to implement similar tax credits. Historic preservation will pay its way by increasing tourism.

3. Encourage the restoration and preservation of historic residential and commercial properties.

4. Develop a walking map of the historic structures in Berlin, with a key and brief description of the historical significance. Post the map on the Town web site. Develop small booklet that can be distributed which includes a map, addresses and pictures of the structure or property.

Goals: Encourage infill development in areas where infrastructure, such as roads, schools, and sewer and/or water service, is available, planned, or can be provided easily.

1. Encourage a balanced pattern of land use

2. Allow for the efficient provision of utilities, public services, and facilities.

3. Concentrates business activity within the existing commercial areas

4. Preserves residential neighborhoods

5. Promote development and redevelopment which is consistent with the current scale and historic character of the community.

6. Limit the amount and intensity of land use development to levels which minimize traffic congestion on roads, and are appropriate to the Town’s scale and character.

7. Accommodate much of planned future growth through redevelopment of existing structures and infill of existing vacant lands supplemented by logical annexations.

Goal: Provide for a variety of housing choices, so that young and old, singles and families, and those of varying economic ability may find places to live. This district provides areas where moderate scale, mixed use centers can locate, with an emphasis on development of a balance of residential, offices, and commercial uses.

Policies:

1. They should be designed to encourage design which emphasizes people-oriented environments and compatible, visually interesting development.

2. Encourage development which is scaled, balanced, and located to reduce general traffic congestion by providing housing close to principal destinations and convenient to sidewalks and bike paths.

3. Mutually support residential, offices, and commercial