Town
Meeting (January 11, 2007)
The SSARPC’s Town Meeting on January 11th was held at Sherwood
High School. There were over 100 people in attendance. The agenda covered
the current status of development on the Southeast Corner of New Hampshire
Avenue and Route 108 (Ashton Meeting Place - AMP), the Northeast Corner, and
the site immediately to the west of the Southwest Corner.
SSARPC was pleased to have Fred Nichols and Phil Perrine representing
the AMP and Northeast Corner developers, and Joe Pearson representing Chevy Chase
Bank, in attendance. They answered specific questions from the audience
(covered below).
Timeline
The following are some of the events that bring us to today:
2005: First AMP site plan was submitted to Park and Planning by the developers
Fall 2005: SSARPC convened to examine the site plan and its compliance with the Sandy
Spring-Ashton Master Plan
June 2006: AMP developers resubmitted their site plan to the county, with minor revisions
August - December
2006: AMP developers and representatives from the SSARPC
Steering Committee met on a regular basis with the goal of developing a site
design that would be acceptable to both groups
October 2006: At the end of October, the AMP developers submitted a new plan to the county
August - October
2006: SSARPC Steering Committee members and AMP developers
met with the State Highway Administration
November 2006:
SSARPC Steering Committee members met with staff from the Montgomery County Park
and Planning Commission
January 2007:
AMP developers are reworking some of their submitted plan
Ashton Meeting Place
The original site design included the back of the grocery store, a very
long blank wall, along Route 108. The plan did not comply with several of the
Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan guidelines to achieve a more walkable,
rural-village-like design.
The SSARPC developed several design solutions to conform to the
specific guidelines: active store fronts facing the street, on-street parking,
and drive aisles out of view of common space and active store fronts. In June
2006, Stu Sirota, SSARPC’s town planner, presented to the community a
concept that incorporates active store fronts, a village green at the corner,
street parking, and a rural and historic character in the details of signage,
paving, and crosswalk and façade treatments.
After many meetings between the AMP developers and representatives of
the SSARPC Steering Committee, a number of compromises were made by both sides
to develop a design that, in the opinion of most of the SSARPC Steering
Committee members, meets the intent of the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan.
The major changes are:
-
A corner green will be at the intersection of
Route 108 and New Hampshire Avenue. The green will be
approximately 12,000 square feet, or 1/4 acre, with walkways, seating
areas and landscaping. The plan includes preservation of two large trees
near the intersection.
-
The second floor of the bank building will house
offices or retail at the level of the corner green, while the drive
through area, and banking entrance and functions will be at a lower level
as will the grocery store entrance and parking.
-
The scale of the buildings has changed by the
reduction in length of the mixed use building, the deletion of three 50
foot towers, and the variation of rooflines and facades.
More... |
