GREAT NEWS FOR ALL OUR ASHTON NEIGHBORS!!!

SSARPC has been hard at work since September 2005 to insure our Ashton Crossroads will maintain its rural character:

·         Southeast corner redevelopment of the New Hampshire Avenue and Route 108 intersection:  Ashton Meeting Place will now feature a greatly improved configuration based on the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan that we believe will be inviting to pedestrians and a credit to our neighborhood.

·         Northeast corner redevelopment:  the car wash and one pump from the gas station were eliminated, reducing potential traffic congestion.  Although the design is in greater compliance with the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan, the commercial building north of the gas station is not in conformance with the Master Plan as it is in the middle of the parking lot and not an active store front on the street.

·         Southwest area redevelopment – the new Chevy Chase Bank branch, replacing Sole d’Italia and Kimballs Market, will now have pedestrian walkways, fewer drive-through lanes, and low profile signage and lighting.

Ednor Road and New Hampshire Avenue Intersection:  The Park and Planning staff instructed the Resurrection Baptist Church to submit a new landscaping plan replanting large trees to reconstruct the rural entryway to Ashton (destroyed by the church’s builder), as called for in the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan.

A Town Meeting will be scheduled in March or April so that you can learn about the current status and have enough time to let your opinion be known before and/or during the public hearings for the Southeast and Northeast corners.

We Need Your Help!

SSARPC has been working hard to maintain Ashton’s rural village tone while embracing development that will make our lives a little easier.  Much of the work that has brought us to this point is being done by volunteers who live in our community.  However, critical services were also provided (at drastically reduced rates), by a prominent land planner, Stu Sirota, and a nationally recognized land use attorney, Dave Brown.  They are not from our community, but are interested in the issues we are addressing.  We may need their services in the future as new issues arise.

Please join your neighbors in helping SSARPC by supporting the professional land planner and legal counsel that make our efforts possible.  Please send your check payable to Preserve Ashton to P.O. Box 518; Ashton, MD 20861.  Our goal is to raise $5,000.  Many local families have contributed more than $1,000 toward these fees, but more is still needed.

Thanks for your support!  And, thanks to the many people who have supported this effort over the past three years.

If you have questions, feel free to contact SSARPC via email at ssarpc@preserveashton.net, phone at 301-570-9065, or postal mail at P.O. Box 518; Ashton, MD 20861.