Berlin Planning Board Votes to Press Developer on Inclusionary Zoning Dispute

BERLIN — March 10, 2026 — Berlin's Planning Board voted 5-0 to send a revised letter to a developer's attorney and alert the building inspector over an inclusionary zoning dispute tied to an eight-lot subdivision. Board member Thomas Andrew, who drafted the original letter, rewrote it mid-meeting after members determined the Black Pearl project contained eight lots — numbered 1 through 4, A, B, C, and a remaining parcel — putting it well above the six-lot threshold that triggers an affordable housing requirement under town rules. Andrew noted the developer appeared to be retaining one lot while selling seven others, prompting one member to remark, "That's not even kicking the line — that's stomping on the line." In a separate matter, Wilson Road homeowners association representative Laura Rego asked the board about converting the private road serving 12 homes to a public way, but members cited a July 31, 2019 ZBA decision for the Capes of Berlin LLC explicitly barring town acceptance of the common drive. The board also reviewed a consultant's recommendation to modify the town's inclusionary zoning bylaw to allow developers to satisfy affordable housing obligations through either land donation or cash payment, with the cash option set at a premium to favor land transfers, ahead of an EA grant deadline at the end of June.