Sandy Spring Zoning Text Amendment Passes

October 29, 2009

On October 27 the Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA 09-01) was passed by the Montgomery County Council by a unanimous vote of 9 to 0.  The amendment defines more clearly what Sandy Spring, as a rural village, should be, by limiting some of the land uses allowed.

Council Member Mike Knapp’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee had previously recommended adoption by a unanimous vote of 3 to 0.  The late Council Member Don Praisner had developed the original amendment, which was carried forward by Council Member Mark Elrich after Mr. Praisner’s untimely death.

Council Member-at-Large George Leventhal noted that there was a lot of citizen testimony about the amendment (including testimony in favor of the amendment by some SSARPC Steering Committee members).   He asked what would happen with the proposed ezStorage site without ezStorage being developed there.  County Attorney Jeff Zyontz said that the ZTA does limit what can be built there, but that there are still a lot of other uses allowed.  Mr. Leventhal said that it will be interesting to watch what gets developed there and see if the community gets something it will like.

Mr. Leventhal asked whether ezStorage has purchased the land it proposes to build on.   County Attorney Zyontz said that, although he has not verified it, he was told that ezStorage has an option to purchase, but that the sale has not yet been completed.  County Attorney Zyontz briefly described some of the changes that were made to the original amendment.  Some of the items on the list of prohibited uses were removed and will continue to be allowed (e.g., telephone and communications facilities, antennas, and railroads).

You can read the complete text of ZTA 09-01 as adopted by the County Council, as well as the Sandy Spring-Ashton Rural Village Overlay Zone and the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan.

ezStorage Documents