Volume 20, Number 11
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
www.berlincitizen.com
Thursday, May 12, 2016
New residency rules? Lawsuits may follow By Ashley Kus
The Berlin Citizen
Residents in the Silver Ridge housing development are fired up about the possibility of the age restriction being removed in part of the area. They voiced their opinions in front of the Planning and Zoning Commission during a public hearing in hopes of keeping their units as they stand. Several homeowners threatened to take the issue to court. The Silver Ridge Owner’s Association Inc. approached
the commission for an amendment to its special permit for age-restrictive housing. Gregory McCracken, attorney for the association, explained that the permit was issued in 1997 in order for 40 units in the “Glenn” area to be restricted to residents 55 years and older. Town Development Services Director Hellyn Riggins said that the housing complex had been approved as multi-family units. “It doesn’t allow segregating in one community,” she said. According to Riggins, the
main problem is how the developer of the complex set up the communities and marketed them. She says that the conflict has existed for a couple of years without an easy solution. The Glenn is one of three communities within the housing complex along with the Woodlands and the Summit, both of which are not age restricted. McCracken said federal law prohibits restricting the age of residents living in the Glenn because it was not a A look at the gated entrance to the Silver Ridge housing development on the Berlin Turnpike in Berlin. See Residency / Page A23
Berlin faces budget shortfall from state impact By Ashley Kus
| Dave Zajac / For The Citizen
Local nurse honored with Nightingale Award
The Berlin Citizen
See Budget / Page A22
By Ashley Kus The Berlin Citizen
The Town Council is pictured during the budget hearing at McGee Middle School on March 29. | Ashley Kus / The Berlin Citizen
DRIVERS: STOP YOUR ENGINES. Get on board today.
For Joanne Addamo, joining the Berlin Visiting Nurse Association two years ago was a new and exciting challenge. “It was always in the back of my mind,” she said about her current poAddamo sition as a home care nurse in town. Addamo had spent 25 years in the nursing field, working in various specialties, including; oncology, medical-surgical nursing and orthopedics. It See Nurse / Page A15
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Transit at the speed of life
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At press time, the amount of cuts to the town budget by the state was still uncertain. The legislative session closed Wednesday, May 4, without a state budget in place. Berlin’s Finance Director Jim Wren addressed the potential town budget shortfall Tuesday night, May 3 at the Town Council meeting. The shortfall he estimated, based on Governor