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.

ezStorage is planning to construct a self-storage facility in Sandy Spring on the site of the old WH Rental Center on Route 108.  The Preliminary Plan hearing before the Planning Board is scheduled for January 8, 1:00 P.M., at 8787 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.  The Staff Report on the Preliminary Plan can be read here.

It is now time to make your voice heard by writing a letter and/or testifying at the hearing.  The contacts at Park and Planning are listed here.  To register to testify, call 301-495-4600 or you can also register online here. 

SSARPC would like to receive a copy of your correspondence.  Copies of letters we have received can be read here.

The SSARPC Steering Committee is opposed to the building any storage facility in the downtown Sandy Spring and Ashton areas.  There are eight ezStorage facilities located within 15 miles of Sandy Spring.  Such storage facilities are typically found in industrial and/or heavily retail areas, such as those where ezStorage has already located in Montgomery County:  Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park. These images show something of the character of the areas as well as the proposed area in Sandy Spring.  In particular, constructing an ezStorage facility adjacent to homes, close to the entrance of the Sandy Spring village and across from the Sandy Spring Museum is not in keeping with the historic and rural nature of the area, as called for in the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan. 

The developer held an open meeting on October 28 at Sherwood High School where they presented a new design for the building.  The new design is substantially better than the original design; on first glance it appears to fit well in the area.  However, the intended use of the building limited the designer.  The front of the building appears to be stores or offices.  There is a porch and doors and windows, but most of the windows and doors are false.  The view through the windows will likely be either the actual storage areas or a picture of a store or office interior.  The side and back views of the building are just what one normally sees in a storage facility: largely windowless brick walls and loading docks.  The reaction of most of the attendees at the meeting was still “we don’t want a storage facility in our community.”  A storage facility does not fit in with the rural character of the community and would do nothing to revitalize the area.

The Planning Board must find, as part of the approval of the preliminary plan, that the proposal is consistent with the Master Plan and the zoning.

The Overlay Zone’s purpose includes: “Encourage a compatible relationship between new or expanded houses or business and traditional neighboring structures that reflects the best of local village character, particularly in terms of scale, siting, design features, and orientation on the site.”  The ezStorage facility is not compatible with the surrounding homes and the Sandy Spring Museum that is across Route 108 from the site, nor with the nearby Sandy Spring village center.

The Master Plan includes a number of references that are relevant to the proposed ezStorage development.  Some of these references include:

• “Community Identity and Design:  Provide for land use patterns and land uses that offer ample opportunities for social interaction and promote a strong sense of community through public and private cooperation.”  (Page 8)  An ezStorage facility does nothing to encourage social interaction or to promote a sense of community.
• “Another important feature of the Plan is its emphasis on the vitality and character of the village centers that contribute to the community’s rural character.”  (Page 8)  The “vitality and character” should apply to the entrances to the village centers, not just the village centers themselves. 
• “This Plan makes the preservation and enhancement of the area’s rural character its top priority, closely balanced with another high priority goal, which is environmental protection.”  (Page 8)  ezStorage facilities do not enhance the rural character of the area and do not fit into rural areas, but are normally found in industrial and large scale retail areas. 
• “Create pedestrian “traffic” with uses and designs that invite frequent visits by all members of the community.”  (Page 32)  ezStorage facilities are focused on automobile (or small truck) access, and by the nature of the business, do not invite, but instead discourage, pedestrian traffic. 
• One of the Sandy Spring/Ashton Rural Village Overlay Zone’s key features is:  “Exclusion of new auto-oriented or typically large-scale uses that are inconsistent with traditional rural development patterns with flexibility to ensure the continuation of existing uses through grandfathering.”  (Page 81)  ezStorage is a new auto-oriented use. 
  
  

We encourage you to communicate your thoughts to the Planning Board before the Preliminary Plan Hearing takes place.  Please also send a copy to SSARPC.