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.

Chevy Chase Bank Public Hearing on April 10

The design for a new Chevy Chase Bank will be presented to the Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday, April 10.  The new bank will be built on the site of Kimball’s Market and Sole d’Italia, 12 Olney Sandy Spring Road, between the Chevron gas station and Porter Road.   The public hearing will begin at 9 AM and there will be an opportunity for members of the community to verbally express their opinions about the design.  Written comments will also be considered and should be sent to the Planning Board and the Planning Staff as soon as possible, so that they may review the comments prior to the hearing.  Details on where the hearing will be held and where comments should be sent are included below.

The SSARPC Steering Committee commends Chevy Chase Bank personnel for its outreach to the community, presenting the plans, asking for community input, and having a true interactive dialog during the design process.  A number of changes were made to the building design because of these community discussions:

·         reduction in the number of drive through lanes

·         reduction in the size of the building

·         change in the type of signage

·         moving the building closer to the street, with parking to the rear of the building

From the beginning, Chevy Chase Bank wanted to make sure that the appearance of the new bank will fit in  with other buildings in the immediate area (e.g., in terms of street landscaping and lighting), and paid attention to details that will make the bank fit into the rural atmosphere of Ashton.  The design conforms to the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan.

The Montgomery County’s Park and Planning Staff will be recommending “Approval with Conditions” to the Planning Board at the public hearing on April 10.  The staff reports are available for reading online here and here. 

The SSARPC Steering Committee will also be recommending that the Planning Board approve the plan. 

If you would like to testify at the public hearing, call 301-495-4600 to register.  You can also register online here.

Send written comments to:

Royce Hanson, Chairman
MNCPPC Planning Board
Attn:  Chevy Chase Bank at Ashton
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3760

At the top of the letter include: Preliminary Plan No.120070580 and Site Plan No. 820080130.  Also send a copy to Joshua Sloan, Development Review Division, at the same address. 

The Chevy Chase Bank contact is:

Joe Pearson
Vice President, Real Estate Development
Chevy Chase Bank
7501 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814

New Web Site Design

The SSARPC web site (www.PreserveAshton.net) has a new look, with the latest news on the front page and links to the various projects of interest to SSARPC.  A large amount of historical information is available, including a collection of information about each project, relevant articles that have appeared in the Gazette and an archive of all the SSARPC electronic mail announcements.

At the top of the page are a number of pictures of the rural area around Ashton and Sandy Spring, and they can be enlarged by clicking on the picture.  Each time you go to a page you get a different set of pictures.

Please let us know of improvements that you would like to see by sending email to webmaster@preserveashton.net.

Changes in the Steering Committee

We are pleased to announce that Donna Selden has joined Michelle Layton as co-chair of the SSARPC Steering Committee.  Donna replaces Paul Mannina who has resigned his co-chair position.  Thank you Paul for your many years of leadership and service!  Donna has been involved with SSARPC since the group was formed over three years ago.  Her many talents have been evident in organizing Town Meetings and presenting Steering Committee findings at the meetings.  Michelle and Donna, who are both very familiar with the issues covered in the Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan, will provide continuity and strong leadership.

Sylvia Bell has retired as Treasurer of the SSARPC Steering Committee, having held this position for over two years.  Gary Letcher is the new Treasurer.  Sylvia has been involved with the SSARPC Steering Committee since the beginning.  We thank Sylvia for her dedicated service and Gary for taking on this important job.  We are pleased that Sylvia will be remaining on the Steering Committee.

Our web site has been one of our major methods of communicating information to our community.  Thanks go to Barry Newton who had the vision and implemented it over the years.  Barry has now turned the job of webmaster over to Roger Fajman.  Barry will continue to be active on the steering committee and we know his innovative ideas will help the SSARPC move forward.

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

The following information can be used to send your comments to the Park and Planning Staff, the developers, The Gazette and SSARPC.

Park and Planning Staff

Joshua Sloan is the Park and Planning Staff contact for Ashton Meeting Place, Derrick’s Addition and Chevy Chase Bank.  Joshua Sloan’s contact information is:

Joshua Sloan

8787 Georgia Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Email:  joshua.sloan@mncppc-mc.org

Robert Kronenberg is the Park and Planning Staff contact for Resurrection Baptist Church.  His contact information is:

Robert Kronenberg

8787 Georgia Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Email:  robert.kronenberg@mncppc-mc.org

Ashton Meeting Place and Derrick’s Corner Developer

The Ashton Meeting Place website indicates that comments to the developer should be sent by email to rfuller@nicholsmanagementinc.com

Chevy Chase Bank Developer

Joe Pearson
Vice President, Real Estate Development
Chevy Chase Bank
7501 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
240-497-7032
Email: jbpearson@chevychasebank.net

The Gazette

You can also let your views be known to the community by sending a letter to The Gazette.  The letter must be limited to 200 words, and you should include your name and address.  Letters received by Friday noon will be considered for the following week’s paper.  Letters should be sent to:

The Gazette

Editorial Department

1200 Quince Orchard Road

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Email:  letters@gazette.org or to gmacdonald@gazette.org

SSARPC

The SSARPC Steering Committee would like to receive copies of letters and other comments you may have.  Please address them to:

SSARPC

Box 518

Ashton, MD 20861

Email:  ssarpc@preserveashton.net