Chevy Chase Bank Background
From a Bank handout at the
10/9/07 town meeting: "Chevy
Chase Bank is proposing to construct
a one-story 3172 sq. ft. branch bank
with a three lane drive-up ATM and
teller service. The Proposed
plan provides landscaped setbacks at
both road frontages, as well as the
abutting residentially-zoned
property to the south. At Rte.
108, a new sidewalk with an adjacent
brick garden wall will connect to a
small brick pedestrian plaza with
appropriate lighting at the Bank's
street entry."
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.
Chevy
Chase
Bank
Plan Approved
At the
Montgomery
County
Planning
Board
meeting on
April 10,
the Planning
Board
unanimously
approved the
preliminary
and site
plans
submitted by
Chevy Chase
Bank. The
SSARPC
Steering
Committee
also
recommended
approval.
If you would
like to
listen to
the hearing,
it is
available
here
(it’s a very
large file).
Preliminary Plan Review
Neil Braunstein, Montgomery County
Park and Planning Staff, presented
an overview of the plan as part of
the Preliminary Site Plan proposal.
He pointed out that there will be
three drive through lanes, with the
use of Porter Road as driveway
entrance and exit, a right exit onto
Route 108, and with parking behind
the building.
There will be changes made to Route
108 to improve traffic flow and the
Bank will work with others to make
sure that the construction on Route
108 is in accordance with the State
requirements.
The plan has been designed to retain
a specimen tree that is on the
property. An updated forest
conservation plan has been approved
that requires the Bank to provide
six additional trees. There will
also be a bioretention facility in
the back of the building, to collect
and filter rain water.
There were two concerns expressed by
citizens. The first was in regard
to the traffic on Porter road.
People who use Porter Road expressed
concern that traffic exiting from
the bank would stack up on Porter
Road and make it difficult for
residents to exit onto Route 108.
The staff believes that this will
not be a significant problem.
Porter Road will be widened near
Route 108 to provide better access
for vehicles, there will be a right
turn exit directly onto Route 108,
and sidewalks will be provided to
provide for the safety of and access
for pedestrians. The second concern
was about the safety of the
bioretention facility between the
southern property line and the
parking lot. Water will be collected
in the facility and the citizens are
concerned that this will present a
hazard for children who live in the
area. The staff doesn’t consider
this to be hazardous since there
will be a maximum of 9 inches of
water that in most cases will be
drained off within a day.
The staff recommended approval of
the Preliminary Site Plan.
Site Plan Review
Joshua Sloan, Park and Planning Staff, reviewed the Site Plan.
With regard to the Sandy
Spring-Ashton Master Plan, the
design has paid attention to
pedestrian traffic. There is a door
in front of the building leading
into the lobby area, and there is
seating and a bike rack in front of
the bank. There is a sidewalk along
Route 108 and work is proceeding to
get bus pads and benches installed
for improved bus access. There is a
drive aisle in front of the bank to
allow traffic to move easily to
Porter Road to exit. Porter Road is
the only way to exit to the left
onto Route 108 since the State
Highway Administration will not
allow a direct left turn onto Route
108. The driveway uses pedestrian
paving (looks like brick). There
will be signage warning pedestrians
of oncoming traffic and directing
cars. The design serves as a speed
control for traffic.
A commissioner asked if Porter Road
is a public street. Yes. It has
been maintained, but not all the way
through and is not fully dedicated.
There is property to the west that
can be subdivided in the future and
the road can be changed to
accommodate future development. The
portion of the road that runs along
the bank site is dedicated.
More
Chevy Chase Bank Documents
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