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The Montgomery County Sentinel
And just say "No" to Ashton Meeting Place By Sarah Barr Staff Writer Debate about how to best develop one of Ashton's four corners came to an end — at least temporarily — last Thursday after the Montgomery County Planning Board voted unanimously against a plan for the space, citing concerns about the size and character of the proposed shopping center. The project, called Ashton Meeting Place, was planned for the southeast quadrant of the New Hampshire Avenue and Route 108 intersection and had stirred up significant controversy among the rural community's residents, many of whom spoke either for or against the plan at last week's meeting, as well as earlier this spring. In April, following two-and-a-half hours of public testimony, the Board asked the developers to eliminate encroachment into the site's wetland buffers. But despite these changes, the Board remained unconvinced that project fit with the master plan for the area. As proposed, Ashton Meeting Place included space for a grocery store, retail, a restaurant, condominiums and offices, with the back wall of the grocery store facing Route 108. Both residents and board members commented that this and the orientation of other stores ran contrary to the master plan's recommendations that development in the area emphasize shops that face the road and contribute to a main street feel. "Painting windows on it is putting lipstick on a pig," said Ashton resident Wendy Shore of plans to include fake windows on the grocery store's back wall. Members of the Sandy Spring Ashton Rural Preservation Consortium who testified also worried that the development would not match the character of the historic town and presented their own plan for a larger village green at the complex's entrance, more active storefronts and a smaller overall scale. "We were very pleased that the Planning Board decided the rural village scale is appropriate for Ashton," said SSARPC Co-chair Michelle Layton, who noted that the group is also looking at plans for the northeast corner of the intersection. "Hopefully this will bode well for other projects," she added. At the meeting, other residents testified in support of the plan, especially since it will bring a grocery store to Ashton's town center. "We are many. We are passionate," Fran Simons told the Board. Fred Nichols, managing partner of Ashton Meeting Place, said that the Board's decision has given his partners and him greater guidance about how to conform with the master plan and that they will continue to look at proposals, including the consideration of SSARPC's design. "We know more than we did yesterday. It's all good. It's all positive," said Nichols. |