Ashton Meeting Place Update (November 2006)

The Sandy Spring-Ashton Rural Preservation Committee (SSARPC) is one of a number of groups interested in how development of the Ashton-Sandy Spring area will proceed.  SSARPC believes that upcoming development should conform to the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan and maintain a rural character in its village centers.  Others interested in how development will unfold may have other viewpoints.

Experts on the SSARPC Steering Committee have donated many hours working with the AMP developers and the State Highway Administration (SHA) to develop a compromise design that satisfies as many of SSARPC’s and the developers’ objectives as possible.

The SSARPC Steering Committee feels strongly that the ongoing design changes have made the plan much more visibly and functionally appealing than the original site plan that was submitted to Montgomery County Park and Planning more than a year ago.  A decrease in commercial square footage, an increase in the number of residential units, and a decrease in parking spaces have been achieved.  In the opinion of the Steering Committee the developers’ plan has been revised to meet the following Master Plan guidelines (p.31), in the Approved and Adopted Sandy Spring/Ashton Master Plan:

“Encourage use of traditional village design, such as height limits compatible with the Sandy Spring Historic District and buildings facing the main road,” and “active fronts on buildings, such as porches and street entrances.”  This has been achieved by the following negotiated design elements:

• Active store fronts on New Hampshire Avenue with parking on a service road

• Active stores facing Route 108 with parallel parking
• Visible portion of the rear of the grocery store (without storefronts) reduced to one third of the original size
• Loading dock no longer visible from Route 108
• No sunken grades at street level 
• Bank drive-through lanes are hidden
• Towers have been removed
• Architecture reflects a more appropriate village scale

• Construction materials are more varied and rural in character

“Create pedestrian traffic with uses and designs that invite frequent visits by all members of the community.”  This has been accomplished with the following changes:

• Green park at the corner creates a cornerstone for the area
• Access for pedestrians improved, including brick crosswalks

• Length of the deceleration lanes decreased in order to reduce the amount of pavement

“Provide lighting that is consistent with the area’s character in terms of style, scale, and intensity”

• Developer promised to install shielded lighting.  SSARPC will review the details.

The nature of a compromise means that some of the original goals of SSARPC were not met.  For example, no significant reduction in size of the grocery store occurred because it was a non-negotiable point for the AMP developers.  While the visible rear wall of the grocery store on Route 108 has been reduced by two thirds with the addition of store fronts, it is not gone.  Further, the overall square footage of the project size is still larger than a number of people wanted, but the SSARPC Steering Committee feels that the design changes have met many of the challenges presented by the project size. 

A number of issues remain under discussion.  We need to see more detail on both lighting and signage.  The SSARPC Steering Committee will work with AMP and the State Highway Administration (SHA) to try to keep the trees at the NW corner of the site.  We plan to follow this project closely, as it goes forward through Montgomery County Park and Planning, in order to try to make sure that community needs are met.

But we need your input.  How can you let us know your thoughts?  Please try one or more of the following:  [deleted - see Let Your Voice Be Heard!].

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