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Sandy Spring-Ashton Rural Preservation Consortium
The
SSARPC (PreserveAshton.net)
supports
development in Ashton that conforms to the Master Plan.
We
are pro-Master Plan, not anti-development.
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.
- The materials to be used for facade, roof and
doorway treatments have been modified.
- The square footage will be approximately the
same. However, the commercial area will be reduced and the residential
area increased.
- The wall along Route 108 will be lined with
street-fronting commercial businesses.
- There will be parallel parking on Route 108 and a
parking drive aisle parallel to the main road along New
Hampshire Avenue.
- The crosswalks will look like brick to improve
safety for pedestrians and appearance.
SSARPC representatives have met several times with staff from the Montgomery
County Park and Planning Commission. According to the Park and Planning
staff, the amount of encroachment of the AMP design into the wetlands,
including a 40 foot buffer around them, is unacceptable, as it does not meet
the Planning Board’s Guidelines for Environmental Management of
Development in Montgomery County. These guidelines provide staff with
strategies and criteria for their use in reviewing development proposals and in
formulating recommendations to the Planning Board. In late 2006 it was
determined that the wetlands on the AMP site should have a larger buffer (40
foot) than was previously required (25 foot). Unless the staff is convinced
that there is no way the developer can achieve a viable plan that avoids
encroachment, they will recommend denial of the site plan when it is brought to
the Planning Board public hearing. The developers submitted a revised plan the
week of January 15 that proposes a mitigation plan for the wetlands
encroachment. In late December, the SSARPC Steering Committee sent a letter to
the Park and Planning staff supporting the Planning Board’s guidelines
for wetlands protection.
The Park and Planning staff has indicated that they would like to see
the stores moved up to the street on New Hampshire Avenue, with parallel
parking on the street and behind the buildings, instead of the current
proposal’s drive aisle and parking between the buildings and the
street. This is one area that was not achieved by the compromise solution
negotiated by SSARPC members and the developer, but that would support the
recommendations of the Master Plan.
There has been legislation submitted to the Montgomery County Council
that places a moratorium on building for several months. It is not yet clear
how this proposal will affect the AMP development. There was a public hearing
on the moratorium on January 16. For more information, please contact Council
Member Praisner’s office at 240-777-7968 or via email to councilmember.praisner@montgomerycountymd.gov.
Fred Nichols and Phil Perrine, AMP developers, were asked if they would
like to say a few words before the Question and Answer period. They thanked
members of the SSARPC Steering Committee for doing an excellent job of
presenting community concerns and inviting them to the meeting.
Questions and Answers:
Q: What is the size of the grocery store and is there any idea as to
the type of store that will be selected?
A. The size of the store has been reduced just a little bit. AMP
developers indicated that during the past year, marketing surveys show that
demand for weekly shopping areas has increased. There is no determination at
this time as to what the store will be.
Q: Can you talk about the AMP plans for mitigating encroachment of the
wetlands?
A: There are two issues: encroachment of the parking area in the
wetlands and not meeting the required 40 foot buffer area around the wetlands.
AMP is submitting a mitigation proposal to the Park and Planning staff. The
proposal is to plant 500 trees and over 1000 new plants. The area of new
plantings will be substantially more than the area affected in the wetlands (e.g.,
the buffer zone encroachment is 8000 square feet, and AMP is proposing 12,500
square feet of plantings in an off-site area that is immediately adjacent to
the site.).
Q: Can you talk more about the parallel parking on Route 108 and how
this is designed?
A: The parallel parking is next to the sidewalk. There is a 16 foot
deceleration lane that will serve as a buffer for the parked cars, so that the
through lanes will not be immediately adjacent to cars as they pull in or back
out of a parallel space. There will be nine parallel parking places.
Q: Where will the grocery store loading dock be located?
A: When entering the parking area from Route 108, the loading dock
will be on the right, next to the grocery store.
Q: What type of retail stores will there be?
A: There is the big anchor store, the grocery store. About 50 retail
stores have inquired about being in the shopping area. There will be a coffee
shop, grocery store, salon, restaurant, ladies apparel, and a number of local
merchandisers have asked about space in the area.
Q: Has the Sandy Spring Bank signed off on the new AMP plan?
A: The Sandy Spring Bank will not be signing off until the plan is
finalized. However, all indications are that they accept the revised plan.
Q: Will the runoff from the parking lot disturb the wetlands?
A: There are three ways of handling the runoff. Runoff from the
parking area near Route 108 goes directly into the wetlands after being slowed
down with a pervious asphalt surface. Runoff from the roof of the grocery
store goes into an underground chamber under the parking lot, where it is
filtered and gradually released into the wetlands. Runoff from the remainder
of the development goes into a sand filter and is released into the state stormwater
management system.
Q: What about people who want to cut through the parking lot to avoid
the Route 108 and New Hampshire backup?
A: There are two proposed four-way stop signs, which will make it a
less speedy drive through. The route will also be somewhat curvy. If driving
through becomes a persistent problem, speed bumps can be installed.
Q: How many residents will there be and where will they park?
A: There will be 13 units on the second and third floors of a building
that is near the intersection of Route 108 and New Hampshire.
There will be parking under the building for the residents and elevators for
the residents to take them to their floors.
Q: What changes were made as a result of the meetings with the State
Highway Administration?
A: The parallel parking along Route 108 was approved. Proposed
acceleration lanes were removed from New Hampshire Avenue. The
lengths of the deceleration lanes were reduced. Stamped colored asphalt
crosswalks and push-button activated pedestrian signals were added. There was a
correction to a storm water problem.
Q: Does the SSARPC Steering Committee support the current AMP plan?
A: The Steering Committee is composed of individuals, and most of the
members support the plan, with the exception of the encroachment on the
wetlands. There are some members who are still concerned about the size of the
development. The Steering Committee believes that it is an individual decision
as to whether or not to support the plan.
Q: Who maintains the wetlands?
A: The property owners are responsible for maintaining wetlands that
are on their property. The county will be overseeing whether or not the
wetland area is properly maintained, and if they find a problem that is not
being addressed, they will fix it and bill the owners.
Northeast Corner: Derrick’s
Addition
There is about 1.5 acres for development on the Northeast corner. The
developers are the same team that is developing AMP. The developer has
submitted a Preliminary Plan and Site Plan to Park and Planning.
Along Route 108 there will be a gas station (six pumps) and a
convenience store on the corner of Route 108 and New Hampshire.
Members of the SSARPC Steering Committee have asked the developers if the store
can be wrapped around towards Route 108 in order to provide a longer active
building front.
Behind the gas station will be a two story building, which includes a
single lane automatic car wash. The SSARPC Steering Committee believes that
there is too much activity being squeezed into this small parcel of land.
Members of the Steering Committee have recommended removing the car wash and
moving the two-story building up to New Hampshire Avenue, with
parking and drive aisles behind, as the Master Plan recommends. The developers
believe that the building will block the view of the gas station from houses
nearby. Members of the Steering Committee believe that this buffer can be
better achieved with landscaping.
Members of the SSARPC have met twice with the developer and there has
been little progress at this point.
The developers added a couple of comments to the SSARPC presentation.
There will be a patio around the convenience store. There will be room on the
property to stack 15 cars for the car wash. There will be a fence around the
perimeter and the houses in the Ashton Knolls Community Association. The
canopy over the gas pumps and on the convenience store will be a sloped green
metal roof, with gables. Lighting will be downwards pointing and no brighter
than necessary in order to avoid light pollution. The developers passed around
a drawing of their current plan.
Questions and Answers:
Q: When will the current buildings be taken down?
A: The developers have not applied for a demolition permit yet.
Q: What about water runoff?
A: AMP developers indicated that the state has acquired land for
installing a sand filter, and since it will be a state pond, the state will
control the maintenance. AMP developers also indicated that the pond ties into
the Ashton Knolls Community Association pond. It was pointed out that the
state plans to develop both corners at the same time.
Someone from the audience commented that there will eventually be 6
lanes up New Hampshire to Georgia Avenue.
Chevy Chase Bank
Chevy Chase Bank has purchased the area next to the Southwest corner
which is currently the home of Sole d’Italia and the Kimballs market.
The Chevy Chase Bank personnel met with representatives from the SSARPC
Steering Committee during the development of their plan.
The lot is about 2 acres and the plans are to install a bank building
(40 feet by 90 feet) in the area. The plans include substantial tree planting
and other landscaping. The walk from the sidewalk to the bank will be
elevated.
A concern that the SSARPC Steering Committee representatives still have
is the style of signage. There are two types of signs used by the bank on their
buildings: one is a brightly internally-lit red sign, and the other sign is
less intrusive. The less intrusive sign is solid red, lit from behind, not
glowing red, creating a more rural feel. The committee requests the use of the
less intrusive sign.
Joe Pearson, the Chevy Chase Bank representative, thanked SSARPC for
the opportunity to attend the meeting and also for the input that SSARPC
representatives provided the Bank staff during the design phase. The plan now
is in the conceptual stage and in March the Bank intends to submit the plans to
the Montgomery County Park and Planning staff. The target date
to start construction is October 2007.
There will be no trash dumpsters. The maintenance staff will be
shredding and removing the paper waste. There will be a small brick garden
wall that will help hide the headlights from the cars. All the air
conditioning units will be in the attic of the building, creating a clean
site. It is nice to have a lot big enough to put in a large number of trees.
Questions and Answers:
Q: Are there locations where we can see similar bank buildings?
A: If you go down Route 1 in Laurel, there is a building
next to the shopping center at Contee Road. There is another bank building on New
Hampshire just south of Randolph Road. These buildings do not have the
landscaping that will be provided on the Ashton site. The Chevy Chase Bank
building on Route 108 in Clarksville is very different from the one proposed in
Ashton.
Q: Will you be keeping the Chevy Chase letters on the
building more rural?
A: A number of members of the Steering Committee believe that the bank
design presents a building style that is compatible with the rural character of
the area. However, members of the committee are concerned about the signage
and desire the back lit sign. About 3 or 4 branches have the back lit sign
(red during the day and not red at night). This type of building signage can be
seen at Kings Farm.
Q: The trees in the drawing are impressive. When the building goes up
what size will the trees be?
A: Small trees will not be used. It is anticipated that the trees
along the street will be 2 to 3 inch caliper (in diameter).
Q: The current turn lane at the intersection doesn’t work
because of the pole. Is this going to be fixed?
A: The State Highway Administration (SHA) is focused on the pole. The
Bank personnel have not yet received information from SHA as to what they plan
to do.
Q: I am a Sandy Spring Bank satisfied customer and am concerned that
the SSARPC is focused on holding up the AMP development with the Sandy Spring
Bank, and at the same time is allowing the Chevy Chase Bank to just slide in
without discussion.
A: The magnitudes of the projects are very different – Chevy
Chase Bank is just one building, while the AMP development is very complex. It
was noted that the Sandy Spring Bank will not be closing down during the AMP
development. If you feel that there are problems, please let others know (like
the Montgomery County Park and Planning Commission and your
neighbors).
What Can You Do?
If you have thoughts you would like to share with others, there are
several different approaches:
(1)
Communicate with SSARPC, by sending email to ssarpc@preserveashton.net or
writing to SSARPC, Box 518, Ashton, MD 20861.
(2)
Share information and ideas with your neighbors so
that we have an educated community.
(3)
Attend community meetings, such as the Town Meeting
just held.
(4)
Send your opinions to Montgomery County Park and
Planning by contacting Mr. Michael Ma, Cathy Conlon, Rich Weaver, and Joshua
Sloan; Development Review; MNCPPC; 8787 Georgia Avenue; Silver Spring, MD
20910; email: Michael.ma@mncpcc-mc.org,
catherine.conlon@mncppc-mc.org,
richard.weaver@mncppc-mc.org,
joshua.sloan@mncppc-mc.org
(5)
Send a letter to the Gazette to share your opinions
with the community. The letter should be sent to The Gazette; Editorial
Department; 1200 Quince Orchard Road; Gaithersburg, MD 20878; email: gmacdonald@gazette.net . The letter
should be limited to 200 words. Letters received by Friday at noon will be considered for the following week.
(6)
Attend the Planning Board’s open meetings and
let your voice be heard. We will keep the community informed through our
electronic mail distribution and our web site (www.PreserveAshton.net) when these
events are scheduled.
(7)
Make a donation to SSARPC to help support our paid
professional help (town planner and lawyer). See www.PreserveAshton.net about how to
donate.
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