Montgomery County Planning Department

 

Preliminary and Site Plan Review

Ashton Meeting Place

Case # 120050060 and 820070100

 

Staff Recommendations for the Subject Site

June 18, 2007

 

The final summary provides recommendations for the subject site based on our analysis of the Zoning Ordinance, the Sandy Spring/Ashton Master Plan, existing site conditions, the existing site context and the testimony from citizens.

 

  • Required parking for commercial uses must be placed on the commercially zoned portion of the site and not within parking garages.
  • There should be parking along the streets and this should be allowed to count towards the off-street parking requirement.  This can safely be accomplished in the 30 mph zone by providing through lanes along with turn lanes and adding traffic-calming measures along MD 650 and MD 108.
  • Parking should be provided behind buildings and in small, landscaped, interconnected lots.
  • Buildings should be small in scale, generally around the limits of the existing retail buildings.
  • Building details and designs should reflect the historic context of Sandy Spring.
  • Open space, public space, views to natural features, and rural landscape characteristics should predominate.
  • Streets should be lined with sidewalks, retail buildings, and residences with front porches and direct street access.
  • Building heights should rarely exceed 24 feet in commercial areas.
  • The 0.75 FAR is appropriate on small lots that can take advantage of adjacent parking, although a “critical mass” of retail will be required to keep the development viable.
  • Sites should be pedestrian oriented with plazas, greens, an sidewalks on the streets and along retail buildings.
  • Vehicular paving should be minimized and conflicts with pedestrian circulation should be avoided.
  • The commercial area of the site should provide goods and services to the local community as well as public amenities typical of a small village.
  • The residential rea of the site should house one-family detached units, which may be developed as special exception uses.