ezStorage continued, page 2

Question:  Concern about the crime rate increasing.

Response:  This is not an issue and there is no more crime rate than in other industries.  There are video cameras throughout, security codes that the clients use for access through the front door and into the storage unit, and there is a record kept of access into each area.  The police can be contacted via a silent alarm.  There is a digital record of who was in each unit that can be examined if necessary.

Question:  Could the facility be used for manufacturing items?

Response:  Electrical appliances are not allowed.

Question:  There are only about 10 acres of commercially zoned property between Sandy Spring and Ashton, and this is about 20% of what is available for development.  Each commercial development project should be trying to bring something to the community.

Response:  The stores along Route 108 will bring some commercial benefits to the community.

Comment:  Store fronts are only being used to hide an elephant.  The community will not support this use.

Comment:  Did you survey the community?  It looks like you are building something with the idea “If we build it they will come”.

Question:  What will be the approval process?

Response:  We will be submitting Preliminary and Site plans to the County for approval.  There will be time for public comment about the plans.

Comment:  This community is savvy, passionate and knowledgeable.  People know the process, how to work through the process, and let their ideas be known.  Most people are not opposed to development, but want the right type of development for a rural area.

Comment:  The Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan is the guiding document for development in the Sandy Spring and Ashton areas.  The Master Plan focuses on the rural nature of the area and is designed to create a synergy between residential and commercial uses.  What is inside a development is as important as the design.

Question:  There was a private meeting with a group known as the Sandy Spring Ashton Rural Preservation Consortium (SSARPC).  This organization does not representative the entire community.

Response:  That meeting was held to just get a pulse of the community.  The meeting this evening is being held to hear from the community and hopefully to have a cross section of the community attending.

Clarification from SSARPC:  The SSARPC is just one group of people who care about what happens to the rural community that we live in.  The SSARPC has never said that it represents the entire community; it is group of people who have gotten together to ensure that the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan is followed as development occurs.  The SSARPC does encourage everyone to get involved, regardless of their viewpoint.  For the process to work properly, all citizens who are concerned should be involved.

If you have any questions or wish to submit written comments to Siena Corporation, please contact Debra Borden at 301.961.5250 or dborden@linowes-law.com.   The SSARPC would like to get copies of your comments.  Please send them to feedback@ssarpc.org.